Best Butter/Margarine Substitute?

kgainez23

With the exception of EVOO, what is your fave butter replacement?
I'm trying to eat clean/healthier and I REALLY enjoy butter. Any ideas?

aquarabbit

I've been loving coconut butter. I just learned it from a blog. You just whip up coconut shreds and it's almost the exact same texture as butter. Great for baking when coconut oil is a little too thin. For savory dishes I like smart balance. Or I should say my husband likes smart balance, so that's what I use. I like it too though. I get the giant tub when it's on sale and it lasts for months.

beachbriel

I love smart balance lite with flax oil. It is better for you than many options, is soft and spreadable, tastes great and can be used any any recipe.

Kierda

Is real butter not considered clean? (serious question...)

MyChocolateDiet

i really love the smart balance stuff.

i also like the real butter with the indian girl on it. don't ask me why.

Lleldiranne

Is real butter not considered clean? (serious question...)

I was wondering this too. It's definitely "cleaner" than most margarines/butter substitutes, but I don't know how much.

If you were really worried, you could buy heavy cream and churn your own butter. That'd be a good workout, too! (But I know that most people aren't into that, so it's more of a lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek idea … please take it as such and just smile and move along)

kgainez23

Is real butter not considered clean? (serious question...)

I heard it's the 'cleanest' option if you have to choose between that and margarine
but i also understand it's not clean or healthy because it's sweet cream and often something else in it. I'm not sure.

AbbeyDove

Hi kgainez23,

You might want to consider checking out the following articles, a quick one from The Guardian, (a major UK newspaper) and a much more detailed discussion of the topic.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/12/good-for-you-butter

http://chriskresser.com/for-a-healthy-heart-stick-to-butter

Regards, and may you have good health!

Kierda

If you take some heavy cream (whipping cream) and fill a bottle that has a tight sealing cap on it about half way full and then shake it as hard as you can for ... oh I dunno... 20 minutes? The heavy cream will separate into butter and "skim" milk liquid. Butter is just milk fat, isn't it? Sure, you can add all sorts of weird stuff to it like salt or honey or whatever, but I mean, if you get organic butter, I am pretty sure that's gotta be one of the least processed semi-solid fats there is!

neanderthin

Butter FTW. The alternatives are left overs from the fat is bad for us wars. Anyway as a butter substitute I use mostly duck fat.

Carnivor0us

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

sallydurkin

I do not replace butter.... I don't eat it on sandwiches or toast... but it is my ingredient of choice for baking/ some sauting.... I also use coconut oil and evoo.

neanderthin

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

I keep forgetting to mention ghee, love to cook with it..........I use it constantly for Indian and SE Asian cooking.

Mslmesq

I stick with real butter, just use a little less. Evoo is good too. If it's for bread, what about bruschetta? For cooking, you can switch to broth and butter.

Carnivor0us

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

I keep forgetting to mention ghee, love to cook with it..........I use it constantly for Indian and SE Asian cooking.

Ghee's pretty awesome. I wasn't aware that butter's not considered 'clean', but I'd assume pure butterfat would be.

neanderthin

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

I keep forgetting to mention ghee, love to cook with it..........I use it constantly for Indian and SE Asian cooking.

Ghee's pretty awesome. I wasn't aware that butter's not considered 'clean', but I'd assume pure butterfat would be.

Must be those "other" milk solids that make it dirty, eh!

conniemaxwell5

I just eat the butter in moderation. There is no substitute!

Carnivor0us

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

I keep forgetting to mention ghee, love to cook with it..........I use it constantly for Indian and SE Asian cooking.

Ghee's pretty awesome. I wasn't aware that butter's not considered 'clean', but I'd assume pure butterfat would be.

Must be those "other" milk solids that make it dirty, eh!

I guess so.....and I thought *I* was strict about that stuff....sheesh.

rodneymonster

Seriously, eat the butter. It's churned cream, delicious, and you need very little of it to cook eggs, butter toast, etc. Don't buy honey-salmon-flavor infused butter crap, just buy butter (salted or unsalted).

neanderthin

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

I keep forgetting to mention ghee, love to cook with it..........I use it constantly for Indian and SE Asian cooking.

Ghee's pretty awesome. I wasn't aware that butter's not considered 'clean', but I'd assume pure butterfat would be.

Must be those "other" milk solids that make it dirty, eh!

I guess so.....and I thought *I* was strict about that stuff....sheesh.

I use a good amount of organic butter in my diet, and would never think of changing that for any vegetable product that like to promote health with big hearts and no cholesterol on the packaging........ obviously, ridiculously and greedily taking advantage of the nutritionally challenged folk..............at least after 80 years of high amounts of trans fats they have shied away from making the less obvious amount a good thing for most brands, which I find pretty funny.

kellyhargis

Just read the "5 things you should not eat to lose weight" ad that keeps popping up on the MFP webpage and it claims butter is better for you than margerin and other butter replacements. This is because they contain a lot of additives to maintain their shelf life. These additives are not good for us. Plus they keep you from losing weight. This is per the Trimdown club, whoever they are. Butter is naturally made. I have heard it other places also.

Alatariel75

Butter is very "clean" and natural! It's just cream and salt, if it is done right.

like2laugh

Butter!
We also use Ghee, coconut oil, almond oil, olive oil...

Carnivor0us

I use ghee. Or coconut oil.

I keep forgetting to mention ghee, love to cook with it..........I use it constantly for Indian and SE Asian cooking.

Ghee's pretty awesome. I wasn't aware that butter's not considered 'clean', but I'd assume pure butterfat would be.

Must be those "other" milk solids that make it dirty, eh!

I guess so.....and I thought *I* was strict about that stuff....sheesh.

I use a good amount of organic butter in my diet, and would never think of changing that for any vegetable product that like to promote health with big hearts and no cholesterol on the packaging........ obviously, ridiculously and greedily taking advantage of the nutritionally challenged folk..............at least after 80 years of high amounts of trans fats they have shied away from making the less obvious amount a good thing for most brands, which I find pretty funny.

Margarine makes me leery as well. Butter is the best substitute for butter.

TheRealParisLove

Organic coconut oil. I use it for baked goods in place of butter. Never use margarine. It is junk food, and really terrible for your health.

HeidiCooksSupper

If you want something with fewer calories by volume than butter, make homemade "light butter spread" by whipping together 1 part softened butter : 1 part olive oil : 2 parts water. It works. It really does. Like many commercial light butters, it makes toast a little "wet" as it melts from the water but it tastes really good and you know the quality of the ingredients you put in it.

Lleldiranne

If you take some heavy cream (whipping cream) and fill a bottle that has a tight sealing cap on it about half way full and then shake it as hard as you can for ... oh I dunno... 20 minutes? The heavy cream will separate into butter and "skim" milk liquid. Butter is just milk fat, isn't it? Sure, you can add all sorts of weird stuff to it like salt or honey or whatever, but I mean, if you get organic butter, I am pretty sure that's gotta be one of the least processed semi-solid fats there is!

I'm not sure how long it would take. I would say try it with something that has a mixing function, rather than a plain bottle (Like the tupperware mixer shaker thing, or BlenderBottle has some great options, at least for protein shakes and stuff). I remember when I was learning how to cook and whipping up the cream, my grandma warned me not to whip it "too much or it'll turn into butter" :laugh: I don't know how true that is, but you could maybe even use a hand mixer. You could probably do a quick google search and get some suggestions on making your own butter - or pinterest.

And I may be wrong, but I don't think the cream will separate. It's already been separated from the more liquid part, which is why it's cream instead of whole milk.

peggymdellinger

You can do this in a stand mixer... it separates into butter and butter milk. I do it using raw milk from a local farm. (by "this" I mean turn cream into butter. I've never tried with the pasteurized store bought cream. I buy raw, whole milk, skim off the cream, and use it to make butter, yogurt, and sour cream... you can also make your own cheese but I've never tried)

Then, I rarely use butter anymore. I use olive oil on bread with some herbs/spices, coconut oil at times, applesauce in baking, or you can halve your butter by using 1/2 butter and 1/2 plain greek yogurt in baking as well. Usually though, I just skip it. Bread, corn, pancakes, etc... are still good without the butter. I NEVER use "butter substitutes"... yum, chemicals spread all over my food. No thanks! lol.

kiddoc88

for baking I use applesauce, anything else i just use a small amount of the real stuff

nadiawylie

I use avocado for spreads to replace butter, also coconut oil for cooking.

thistimewillbedifferent

I agree re real butter over a substitute, but I have a hard time making real butter fit into my daily life, since I am severely restricting sat fat for cholesterol reasons. As a result, I tend to use entirely different foods: on toast, for example, instead of butter I use hummus and avocado. Same thing on sandwiches. On waffles I use fat-free Greek yogurt. Sure, these subs don't taste like butter, but they give me the same creamy/fatty texture that I was craving, so it works for me. Best wishes figuring out what works best for you!