I don’t know about you, but I love olives!  The good news is they are a healthy fat and can be part of your daily healthy living repertoire and a part of Cambiati Living, whether the 28Day CambiatiCleanse, CambiatiLight or MyCambiati .

For a big hunk of human history, we have been cultivating olive trees and curing, eating and extracting the fruit and the oil. There is nothing newfangled about olives or olive oil – and the oleic acid, phenols and squalene in olives can help reduce blood pressure, are anti-inflammatory, can be protective against cancer, and can have a positive impact on serum lipid profiles.  Plus, the olive leaf is a strong anti-microbial.  But be sure to watch the labels at the grocery store:

• Virgin olive oil means the oil was produced by physical means, with no chemicals
• Extra virgin olive oil means the oil comes from virgin oil production and contains no more than .8% acidity, with a superior taste.

Don’t be fooled by other labels.  If it says “pure” that means it was extracted using heat and solvents and wouldn’t be a good choice for your healthy(ier!) lifestyle.  And buy quality when it comes to olive oil – many supermarket olive oils are cut with canola oil or “pure” olive oil.

So, from a nutrition standpoint, olive oil is a monounsaturated fatty acid, containing lots of Vitamin E and phenol compounds.  You can saute with olive oil and bake at a low heat.  Don’t fry with olive oil or otherwise cook at too high a heat, as that will break the bonds and damage the fat.  Always best to add olive oil later, on the plate, on the dish, or on the greens.

Here’s one of my favorite party recipes that I hope you all enjoy!

Lorie’s Most Excellent Tapenade

• 1 can/jar green olives
• 1 can/jar kalamata olives
• 3-4 garlic cloves, rough cut
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Pinch of sea salt
• Optional:  cilantro or sun dried tomatoes

Add olives and garlic (and other optional ingredients) to your blender, Magic Bullet or Nutri Bullet and pulse blend until close to desired consistency.  Drizzle olive oil and pinch of sea salt and pulse a few more times.  Serve immediately or refrigerate in glass pyrex bowls until ready to serve.  Serve with crudites or gluten free crackers or use as a topping on vegan meals, salads, or meats.

Feel free to experiment with other types of olives; just be sure they are pitted before blending!  I’ve used pimento-stuffed green olives before and found the pimentos added a festive touch of orange/red to the tapenade.  You can also substitute in a can of black olives, although that will mute the flavors somewhat.

This recipe is super easy, delicious, and makes a good amount of tapenade.  You’ll never go back to the pre-made stuff.

For Cambiati purposes, 1-2T of tapenade counts as a healthy fat serving.

Enjoy!