soapalchemist said:
I do think that frying in vegetable oils is a big culprit.
That, and there's strong research into both dairy and wheat.
I didn't follow much of the science when I read about it, largely because bread gives me nuclear heartburn so it was never something I ate much, but wheat changed some time in the '60s. The actual strains changed. Furthermore, bread production became much more wholescale with many bakeries actually buying in pre-mixed dough. The majority of the bread that you'd buy would have the same strains of flour, if not be from the same homogenised dough. Yes, there's sourdough and there are artisan bakers, but it's a struggle to get good bread, generally.
With dairy, it comes down to A1 and A2 type. There are two problems with A1 type milk: first, the beta-casein protein chain, generally, is the cause of bloating, flatulence and skin breakouts (read: lactose intolerance, but actually not lactose at all) and underneath, a histamine on the beta-casein protein is being linked with ADHD, diabetes, obesity, the list goes on. A1 type is basically "regular milk", like we get (now also homogenised, thanks to government enforcement by in the early '90s), but Channel Islands cows (Jersey & Guernsey breed), buffalo, goat, sheep and reindeer are all A2 type. Goat milk is readily available at many supermarkets now. Like many things, nature's magical gift of fermenting seems to negate many if not all of the negative effects, so yogurt and cheese are largely good, products with live cultures better. Fatty cream is good, too, since there's little of the casein protein in cream and the fat helps to bind it. Another fail for low-fat propaganda. By the same virtue, butter is largely sound - hey, Kerrygold?
Here's a diagram:
You can see that in A1 milk that position is occupied by a histamine (not good), but in A2 milk, it's a protein (fine). Otherwise, they're identical.
You can read more about that at http://www.betacasein.org - it's not just for folks with dairy intolerances, this stuff affects all humans and we're starting to pass on its issues to new generations.
Phew! That sounds preachy
Yeah, so drink a goat, or something, hippy!
So, I guess the big question since this is your thread Sharon - do you have an answer?
I gave you the chocolate recipe, which will fill in for "fat balls" and Nishy has hit the nail on the head in terms of how to make things interesting: spice it up!