Spadea’s fried rice recipe without the soy and seed oils

We have adjusted our diet to eliminate certain "foods" that are reportedly very bad for you. It started with us reading labels and not buying products with high fructose corn syrup. Then we moved to eliminate soy, which makes making some dishes nearly impossible! The reason was a series of studies showing that the product could be harmful to long-term health.

Soy, it turned out, contains estrogen-like compounds called isoflavones. And some findings suggested that these compounds could promote the growth of some cancer cells, impair female fertility and mess with thyroid function. - Marygrace Taylor and Kate Rockwood from goodhousekeeping.com

After eliminating high fructose corn syrup and soy, we turned to eliminating seed oils. Canola, cotton seed, palm, and soybean oil seem to be in everything. Not easy to eliminate for sure.

Products like crackers and pretzels are gone from our pantry as we read every ingredient.

Even many peanut butter products have peanut oil replaced with soybean oil. Awful.

Canola oil may be the biggest offender with studies showing its contribution to inflammation, cancer, and heart disease. And in case you're not convinced, canola oil was first used as an engine lubricant. Gross. Hard to convince me that it's even food.

That said, one of my favorite ways to eat leftover shrimp, pork, and chicken is to make fried rice. My recipe is simple and anyone can do it. The best part is no soy and no seed oil.

• The first step is to cook your rice. 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. Make sure you simmer the rice until the water is absorbed.

• The next step is to get a low heat going under your frying pan. Non-stick (NOT Teflon) or a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Then drop in a couple of tablespoons of clarified butter (Ghee). It's butter without the milk solids so it can cook at a higher heat and not burn or brown.

• Chop up a couple of celery stalks, carrots, scallions, and red onion. I also used half of a very hot habanero pepper in the mix yesterday. Throw into the pan and cook until you start to see thru the white part of the onions. Season with celery salt, black and white pepper, garlic powder, and a little sea salt.

• For us last night we had leftover shrimp which I had from the night before when I sauteed it in ghee, parsley, and scallions. Chop it up and set it aside. It's already cooked so you add it at the end.

• As the veggies cook, add in the cooked rice and mix it all together. Here's the key to the dish. FISH SAUCE. A simple Asian cooking sauce with three ingredients, anchovy, salt, and sugar. It will have a bad smell when it hits the heat, but DO NOT WORRY, it tastes way better than the smell! Add a generous amount as this is the replacement for soy sauce.

• Then let it sit on low to medium heat. You'll get a little crisp on the bottom of the rice. Season again and crack two eggs into the mix. Make sure you stir the eggs up and mix them throughout the rice.

• Let cook for a few minutes, then stir and let sit and cook for another few minutes. Then add in the shrimp. Stir and combine throughout, let sit on the heat for another couple minutes and serve.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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