I am having trouble giving up butter!

[Marseeya]

I knew a woman once who made a healthier butter by mixing it with canola oil herself.

We're really big on butter here. If we want to watch our calories, we switch to whipped butter, but other than that, we just stick to plain old butter.

I'd say just try to cut down on it as much as possible. Look into baking substitutions, as some of them work out really well. I'll give you a couple of examples:

One is to substitute applesauce for the oil in cakes or other desserts. It works out nicely!

Another is kind of neat for a cake. Take a box of cake mix and blend it for the required amount of time (3 minutes?) with a can of diet soda and bake as directed. It's supposed to make a really great cake.

 

[mtblujeans]

Well, that's all interesting information! I can trying all three suggestions....including whipping some oil into some butter and seeing what the spread tastes like! Interesting!!

 

[arminnie]

I'm really surprised to hear people use real butter still.

I guess that's like I'm always surprised when I go to someone's home, and they don't have butter.

I grew up on margarine - we couldn't afford butter. I used margarine in baking for years because that's all I could afford.

Now I use butter for everything. I detest fake food - I will go without before I will use margarine.

My family is all in the health food business (Natural Foods Expo, Natural Foods Merchandiser, Delicious Magazine, Knudsen juices, etc.), and they all consider oleo and margarine to be evil.

When I switched to butter my HDL cholesterol (the good kind) went up a lot and my LDL went down.

 

[mtblujeans]

....I grew up on margarine - we couldn't afford butter. I used margarine in baking for years because that's all I could afford.

Now I use butter for everything. I detest fake food - I will go without before I will use margarine....

I was raised on margarine for the same reason. I have always loved butter. DH was raised on a farm so there was no margarine. His DM made everything from scratch, including the butter.

I figured I would cut down on the red meats and butter. We raise our own beef, now, and it is as lean as it can be. But, it is most of what we eat so trying to go more towards salads and veggies. DH wants to raise chickens next year so we will be eating more of that then. I don't like to buy chicken in the store....

We don't eat pork....mostly because DH was, again, raised on a farm, and knows what goes into the processing so he REFUSES to eat any form of pork. We eat turkey sausage, etc. in its place.

I keep telling DH we should get out and walk more or whatever exercise we can fit into a routine and we might not have to change the diet quite so much. But, that is hard to do with the teenagers at home that are so active at school and community projects. It has been so hectic these last 2 years that it is hard to do anything for ourselves right now! I would have never dreamed it could get so crazy!! So....we start with butter....

 

[graygables]

I'm used to Amish butter, so when my doc advised me to switch to something "healthier", I was stymied! I finally tried Smart Balance (0 transfat, 0 hydrogenated anything) and it actually tastes very good! DDs had no idea that it wasn't the real thing. It also has a "balance" of the right omegas.

It comes in 2 varieties, one you can cook with and a "light" if you want that, but I usually just stick with the regular kind. It comes in a tub, BTW.

 

[mtblujeans]

Ok. All I could find was the light at the store I was in. I hate to make it sound like we are in the sticks, up here, but I think the stores are probably limited on these types of things because they have not got the demand for it since we have healthfood stores that people probably go to. I will try a different store and see if I can find something other than the light.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[Nancy]

I always have at least 3 different kinds of "butter" in the house. We use the ICB it's not B spay on popcon and corn on the cob. WE use the ICB it's not B light spead bread or crackers. Real butter for baking and toast. I haven't fried or cooked with butter in a long time. I use Pam Butter flavor spray or Olive Oil in frying. I don't salt anything when cooking anymore and the shaker only comes out if people request it. No one in my family asks for it anymore. It takes a while to get used to cooking and eating differently, but in the long run it will be worth it.

 

[Jockaroo]

I understand where you are coming from. I also have high cholesterol and am being threatened with medication. While butter isn't my big issue, I find it so hard to limit cheese!

We use the Brummel and Brown tub spread for our toast and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray for veggies, popcorn, etc. These have a nice flavor and are made from buttermilk I believe. For baking, I will use Mrs. Filberts sticks (come in a square yellow package with 4 sticks.) When the goodies are going out and I want to shine, yes I use real, honest-to-goodness, artery-clogging genuine butter.

But there are other ways to cut down. The tip about baking with unsweetened applesauce is great for moist baked goods such as cakes and muffins. I find these to be more moist and everyone asks what I did to make it so good! There is a pureed prune baking substitute as well, but applesauce is cheaper. You can sautee your veggies, etc. in low sodium chicken broth. You can also try the new Enova oil for frying--it is expensive, but good. Good quality olive oils are great also for savory foods. Another thing I use is the butter powder. There is one called butter buds that I use to make "fried apples" (really oven baked). I currently have a shaker bottle in the refrigerator--it is a blue bottle. Sorry I can't get to it to give the name. It is very good to put on steamed veggies. One thing to watch, is not to over season with salt to compensate or you can have additional health problems. Good luck.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I finally tried Smart Balance (0 transfat, 0 hydrogenated anything) and it actually tastes very good! DDs had no idea that it wasn't the real thing. It also has a "balance" of the right omegas.

It comes in 2 varieties, one you can cook with and a "light" if you want that, but I usually just stick with the regular kind. It comes in a tub, BTW.

This is what we just switched to as well. We really like it! I hadn't noticed it came in two varieties...I wonder which one I bought? Everybody in the house likes it!

 

[mtblujeans]

Oh, boy.....I forgot about cheese! We eat alot of cheese, too. Especially in the winter. We eat alot of soup and cheese with crackers when it gets cold. And more comfort food with cheese in it in the winter, too......Oh, boy!

 

[faith]

Here's a vote for Smart Balance margarine. Love the taste.

 

[Rella Bella]

Hi Susan!!

I am so with you on this one! I've done lots of other things to get my cholestorol to drop... but I can't give up butter competely! I do only use it for spreading... when I really notice the difference, and mostly use olive oil the rest of the time.

There are lots of other natural ways to lower cholestorol that are just as, if not more, effective than cutting out butter completely. Adding soy and fish oil (Omega 3 & GLA)to your diet can make a big difference. Although it is hard to imagine a 'Montana Man' eating tofu!

Maybe make some other changes first and see if you have to give it up completely... some times ya just gotta live a little.

 

[mtblujeans]

Hi, RB!

I don't know very much about soy but I would like to learn more....maybe I should head out to the health food store myself!

I do also use olive oil whenever I can. Now that I post some of these things, I see there are other areas I can cut things and make a difference in our diets!