Margarine! *eeek*

[Liz]

Yep - butter here too.. coz it's yummy and more natural. I use Mainland Butter Soft - same ingredients as pure butter.. somehow they've taken out the bit that makes the butter go hard. LOL. I don't like the oil blends.. don't like the taste, and it makes the bread go soggy LOL.

Everything in moderation I say. Butter's only harmful if you have too much.

So I wonder if those ones like Logicol that reduce cholesterol absorption do it by lining your stomach with plastic? heheh.

ETA: hmm.. I get the one with salt... aah well

[Bathsheba]

SJ: weird... I've bought a few generic butters in my time and only ever seen the 2/3 ingredients. Transfats are actually banned in some countries... it makes me angry that here in Australia they sell things that are banned over seas.... like we are some kind of dumping ground

If you use plain butter in the block, just buy yourself a butter dish with a lid. Then you can store it outside the pantry (as long as it's a cool pantry) for up to a week i think, longer in winter. I used to do that when i lived by myself pre-family. Always spreadable.

[christy]

When I went to a LC she said to use devondale even if Jovie was allergic to cows milk as its the lesser of two evils. Then she found something called Nuttlex. Its Dairy free... 54% sunflower oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, water, salt,sunflower lecithin, vitamens a, d, e and flavouring from vegetable sources. It has no artificial additives, and is "virtually free of trans fatty acids".... made in Australia.

I use it for my baking... because Matilda is highly allergic to milk and I prefer more natural substances. Otherwise we use avocado to spread on bread or we use olive oil if we want the fat side of things (but only cold pressed olive oil here...).

[Bathsheba]

Sounds good Christy. I've heard good things about Nuttlex

[Nicambhar]

We only use Nuttelex in our house. I have had to cut out dairy because of my skin and honestly, I would prefer the taste over anything else. Not the cheapest product either. I am like Christy using avo instead sometimes too.

[suse]

I have vegan friends who use Nuttelex - personally I'm a butter girl myself. It's one of those things that IMO really has no substitute in terms of taste, and I'm not too fond of eating plastic. Don't use it on bread/sandwiches - I'll either use avo or cream cheese, or nothing. But I couldn't imagine a baked potato without lots of melted butter... mmm.

[Beach Mama]

Mmm Nuttelex is great! and I also love the Olive Grove stuff! Not sure if thats bad but its yum! We generally have that or Devondale.

[Serendypyty]

I prefer butter, I don't eat a lot of it anyway... but I try and get the salt reduced butter

[Emma1979]

margarine is a disgusting grey sludgey goopy colour, then they put yellow colouring in it to make it seem more like butter..... eeeeeek, i refuse to eat it... i just use low fat butter and have it sparingly. i won't let me kids eat margarine either. its a man made nothing, its not food, its manufactured goop!!

[Bathsheba]

Living in Gippsland with some of the world's best dairy products how could you eat marg hey Emma?

Oh and I put "lashings" of butter onto everything...scones...pancakes...mashed potato...steamed vegies....mmmm I should be the side of a house! LOL poor arteries... oh well, I could have worse addictions! I don't eat red meat so i guess that helps! *wishful thinking!*

[AngelPunks]

I only eat butter because I can only eat butter - I have an intolerance to canola which makes up most margarines.

I also only drink full-cream milk.

[paradise lost]

Lol, Bath i just followed your link here from the other margarine thread, and was eating a slice of sunflower bread, toasted and LIBERALLY buttered when i opened it.

From a personal point of view, i switched to butter about 7 years ago now. I don't avoid it (i.e. if i would have used a spread on my bread or something to lubricate pasta or glaze veggies, i use butter - mmm, organic carrots boiled to "just" still crunchy and then tossed in butter and black pepper!!!). It is a pure food which CAN be enjoyed safely. A good chunk of my daily fat requirement and almost all of my saturated fat allowance comes from my butter intake. On a normal day i would say i eat 20-30g of butter, and if it's a baking day then possibly more. My blood pressure is great, my cholesterol is normal (both good and bad), my resting pulse is 45bpm, and i can run a mile in under 8minutes. Health is about so much more than just the fuel.

I do think that it's true of people eat 100g of butter/day and do no exercise, of course that will be detrimental, but i also don't believe you can "undo" the damage no exercise brings by eating weird fake fats. Two wrongs don't make a right. For the vast majority of people who eat normally and exercise regularly the "risks" of butter are minimal.

Bx

[Liz]

I've been craving butter on fresh bread lately.. and I mean quite a layer of butter!! Anyone would think I'm pregnant!

I wonder if it's to do with breastfeeding two kiddies?? i haven't stepped on the scales lately - so I hope it's not just all going to my thighs! LOL (or my heart for that matter!)

[dee73]

Does anyone know where the Olive Grove spreads fit into this debate? As a person with gentic high cholesterol (ie not from diet, body produces its own) my doc has said to use either Olive Grove or those pro-activ spreads. I can't use the pro-activ atm due to pregnancy so have switched to the olive one/ Is this as scary as mayo?

[Celsie]

OMG!!! I am NEVER eating margarine again!!! That's disgusting!!!

Celsie. xoxox

[Pandora]

yeh I think between mum and this thread I'm converted to butter or olive oil (my preference but DH hates olives) now.

Cailin, with the butter you were talking about, do you buy that at a supermarket, or a deli by the g/kg?

[Liz]

Cailin - try the Mainland Butter Soft - ingredients are cream, water & salt - but it's spreadable straight out of the fridge! Not cheap tho compared to a normal stick of butter. But it's year-round butter! hehe.

[Snoopea]

I now know why I can't tolerate it. I avoid butter & marg. According to my mum since I could say no, I've not eaten it. I can't stand to watch people who pile it on about an inch thick it gives me the quivers!