Thoughts on Subbing Butter/Marge, Sugar/Sweetner

talonspiritcat

So I very much prefer the taste of "real" foods as opposed to something that is more artificial or chemical. (And yes, I do eat fast food and tv dinners on occasion but most things taste better home cooked from scratch.) Both my partner and I like to cook and bake so we have a lot of home cooked meals.

Do the rest of you feel that there really is much benefit in using margarine instead of butter in cooking and baking? Real sugar vs splenda (regular coke vs diet or zero)? Is sacrificing taste/texture worth it? (The aftertaste of asparteme for example.)

In cooking and baking I use butter, sugar, etc but cut back on the quantities. 1/2 cup sugar instead of a full cup or sub using less brown sugar for a full amount of white. A tbs of real maple syrup instead of that table syrup (and you cannot sub TS for MS in a recipe). Skim milk to replace 2%.


Useful weight control tips or am I just deluding myself?

missiontofitness

I only sub sugar for Splenda in my coffee. Other than that, give me alllll the butter and allllll the sugar!

vismal

I will use artificial sugar for baking and sweetening. The taste doesn't bother me. Same with sodas. I never drink non diet sodas. To me that's just a huge waste of calories. I don't use margarine though. I'll either use real butter if it's absolutely necessary or I'll sub no sugar added apple sauce in place of butter in baking recipes. It works pretty well for most but not all recipes.

Lasmartchika

I still go for all the real stuff. For me it's about portion control with the foods I've always eaten. This is about what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life. And its always regular Coke, never diet. (Ugh... the taste of diet )

mswoodsy

Lasmartchika wrote: »

I still go for all the real stuff. For me it's about portion control with the foods I've always eaten. This is about what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life. And its always regular Coke, never diet. (Ugh... the taste of diet )

Yup. Except I don't drink soda...
(Not restricting, just don't like it.)

Francl27

I don't even understand why anyone would use margarine. The calories suck too and it's full of trans fat... butter is way healthier.

For me, it depends. I use stevia in the raw in my oatmeal. A pinch of real sugar in my coffee. I've used splenda in baking recipes and it was just fine (but truvia... yuck). Typically I use 2/3 of the sugar called for in recipes though and it turns out just fine (if it's for other people though I'll just use the full amount). I can't stand aspartame. I use 1% milk. I use sugar free syrup because I just can't justify 60 calories for syrup, and I can't taste it that much anyway (I don't put a ton). Same for light mayo and cheddar/mozzarella if I use it in omelets/salads.

I use butter but not much of it overall, will sub applesauce in recipes if I can though.

For yogurts I go by flavor, but honestly 2% doesn't fill me up that much more than 0% anyway. But I like part skim ricotta better than nonfat.

Really it's just about taste for me, what I can get away with without sacrificing too much in taste (for example, I can't stand sugar free jello pudding but the mousses are fine).

BetterKimmer

I am all about butter. All about sweets. If I am baking, which I have cut back on, I just go for it. However, I don't remember buying it, but found in my cupboard a bag of Truvia Baking Blend. It is a mix of Truvia and sugar. I used when I found it and I could not tell the difference. Now butter, is there really a replacement for butter?? lol

jrline

I use butter and real sugar.

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bebdinosaur

Gimme full fat EVERYTHING. I don't find it that hard to stay within my calorie goal- I just have to plan everything out more carefully. I am okay with eating less of a given item, if it means it tastes that much better. It just feels so empty otherwise, and the aftertaste of aspartame is just awful. I think moderation is definitely key.
and for those who like the taste of plain milk- have you tasted creamline/creamtop? It's magical.

GiveMeCoffee

When I bake I use sugar and always butter. You can't replace butter. I grew up drinking diet soda and don't like the taste of regular.

talonspiritcat

I'm striving for portion control. I don't have a lot of vices/interests (going out to movies or bars) so eating is one of the things I look forward too. Give me a dinner party for 10 and leave me in the kitchen too have fun creating. I don't want to sacrifice flavour for inferior quality if I can avoid it.

Lizzy622

I usually stick with the real stuff too. I do sub coconut oil for lard or vegetable shortening and whole wheat flour for at least 1/2 of the regular all purpose. I have found though that if I use the full amount of sugar in some recipes, it is way too sweet now. Often I can cut the sugar by 1/3 without affecting texture.

lemurcat12

talonspiritcat wrote: »

Do the rest of you feel that there really is much benefit in using margarine instead of butter in cooking and baking?

I never use margarine, but I actually use butter pretty sparingly (I don't bake much, though). I only use it where it makes a real and important difference for the taste--occasionally on fish, for example, or a small amount on an acorn squash. Mostly, for cooking, I use olive and coconut oil, which have as many calories but can be used from a spray bottle so in much smaller amounts.

Real sugar vs splenda (regular coke vs diet or zero)? Is sacrificing taste/texture worth it? (The aftertaste of asparteme for example.)

Again, I don't use splenda, but I also use sugar (and honey, at times) sparingly, where it matters. It helps that I prefer coffee black, though, and oatmeal sweetened with fruit. However, if I hadn't long ago switched to diet coke (which tastes better to me now than regular, which feels too thick), I'd probably just drop it entirely, as I can't justify wasting (which it would be for me, not pleasurable enough to the worth the calories) so many calories on a drink.

In cooking and baking I use butter, sugar, etc but cut back on the quantities. 1/2 cup sugar instead of a full cup or sub using less brown sugar for a full amount of white. A tbs of real maple syrup instead of that table syrup (and you cannot sub TS for MS in a recipe). Skim milk to replace 2%.

I do this kind of thing depending on the recipe, but also don't bake that much. I find, though, that depending you often can make subs without affecting the taste negatively. For example, I cut most or all of the sugar out of my rhubarb-based recipes (depending on the type and amount of other fruit used) and found it tasted fine. I keep the olive oil in homemade dressings at a minimum and find they are still tasty, etc.