Do you cook with butters and oils?

I've been eating food cooked with zero-calorie sprays since I was 12, and although I know it's calorie in vs calorie out butter still freaks me out. I can justify olive oil, but I just started using vegan earth balance buttery spread (which is basically butter with almost identical calories). Of course I weigh out my 14 grams, and fitting in the 100 extra calories isn't a problem. Just that it's butter makes me uneasy. I eat lots of fats elsewhere but I guess I was conditioned to hate butter :-(. I'm also somewhat skeptical that 14 g (or a tablespoon) is indeed 100 calories. That just seems to pretty of a number lol.

Do you use it regularly? I use it twice a day. 7 grams in the morning if I'm having eggs and 14 in the evening for dinner chicken and veggies
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Replies

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    I use butter all the time when I bake which is normally a few times a week. I also use it on toast or mashed potatoes. Butter is good :)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I like butter. I use it in baking and frying; sparingly of course. Hubby craves the breaded and fried chicken of his youth, so I make a lower-cal version of that. Butter browns onions better than oil.
    http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/chew-on-this/butter-is-a-healthy-fat--who-says-20140427-375hq.html
    I put Becel margarine on my toast.
  • ThePhoenixIsRising
    ThePhoenixIsRising Posts: 781 Member
    I love cooking with butter and oils! I also use wine, heavy cream, buttermilk, peanut butter, and chocolate in my recipes. It adds soo much depth to the food, and food seems to satisfy me better when I truly enjoy eating it!
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    I like butter. I alternate between butter and olive oil. Non stick pans.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I'm in love with butter. If brown butter were a person I might run away with it.

    I weigh it carefully and enjoy it.
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
    I love butter, it makes everything more delicious.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
    I use Olive oil and kerrygold butter when cooking - or Pam.
  • climbing_trees
    climbing_trees Posts: 726 Member
    No. I almost never use butter or oils.
    Partially because I can't break the fear of "getting fat by eating fat"
    and also because I just don't enjoy the taste of it.

    I mostly eat nuts to keep my fat macro at an appropriate level.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I panic if there is less than 4 lbs of butter in my house at any given time. It's one of my most used foods, near the top under the "frequent" part.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    edited December 2014
    I fry using a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan. I get free iron supplementation and as a mature pan, it does not stick. I can scrub away without fear if something does really get stuck on there good.

    I can also put the pan straight in the oven to finish cooking.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    I use butter, I use Olive Oil, I use Coconut Oil, I use Avocado Oil...

    Keep in mind, your 0 calorie spray isn't really 0 calories...it's 0 calories for like a 1/10 of a second spray. If you were to spray into a 1/2 tsp or whatever, the calories would be the same as using any other oil for 1/2 tsp.

    For the most part, if you're using non-stick, you don't need to use all that much fat. Even when I roast a big old thing of veggies for my wife and I, I only use about 1 Tbsp of oil...so that clocks in at a mere 60 additional calories of goodness each.
  • JoyeII
    JoyeII Posts: 240 Member
    I love butter almost as much as Paula Deen.
  • Butter makes everything better :)
    It actually has some pretty good health benefits too!
  • MariaAlexandra
    MariaAlexandra Posts: 126 Member
    I use Earth Balance as well!! I love that brand. You're not the only one. I don't really like 'regular' butter, either. I like how Earth Balance has more poly and monounsaturated fats but it does have more saturated fats than CountryCrock Light Butter (my parents use this one). Either way, I like the flavour of Earth balance, the ingredients, and that it's vegan :)
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Yes, I like butter and olive oil in cooking, depending on what I'm making. For frying, I usually use canola oil (low in SF, high smoke point, light flavour) or occasionally sesame oil (good for Asian stir-fry, etc.). Real butter in baking and on things like bread or popcorn can't be beat.

    However, since starting to weigh and measure all my food, I admit I am *much* more sparing in my quantities.

    But yeah, I go for the real stuff. I have some olive oil cooking spray, too, for when I really need to limit the calories to that 1/2 second spray. But I don't love the environmental impact of aerosol so I try not to use that too much.
  • walkingmommy2014
    walkingmommy2014 Posts: 46 Member
    All day, every day! FAT IS NOT EVIL! I eat 2-4 TBS butter and 4 TBS cream every day! Plus cheese and nuts <3
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
    edited December 2014
    I use butter, olive oil for general cooking and then cooking spray for scrambled eggs and such.

    Right now I'm getting ready to start baking Christmas biscotti. I have, no lie, 12 pounds of butter in the fridge. Granted it will make many dozens of cookies but I would not use anything else.

    Also remember as Julia Child said...Everything in moderation...including moderation.
  • jane837
    jane837 Posts: 68 Member
    I love to cook with butter and oil, but I definitely measure it out since it's very calorie-dense. There's hardly any nutritional difference between Earth Balance and butter, so just use whatever you like best!
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
    I use real butter and olive oil. Get so much more flavor and better for you than the engineered alternatives.