I've been trying to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, the amount of trans fatty acids and hydrogenated oils my family eats. Five years ago, only the health nuts were raising the alarm on hydrogenated fats; now even the American Heart Association is on board.

Newer information also seems to indicate that saturated fats, and butter fat, are not necessarily bad. Eating cholesterol does not necessarily mean you will raise your blood cholesterol.

What does that mean for us? We're eating butter.

This has been a hard adjustment for me. I grew up eating chemically altered corn oil margarine. I'm a product of the four food groups nutritional education (that's so 80's! We've got a food pyramid now, even if we don't know how to Walk Like an Egyptian!) I really didn't like the taste at first. It tasted like food nutty cream, instead of plastic.

Plus, I'm a cheap-o good steward of our money and butter is expensive! One pound of margarine is 60 cents; a pound of butter is $2.25. And, it's hard to use. Leave a stick on the counter so it's soft enough to spread, and the baby sticks her finger in it all day. Leave it in the fridge, and you end up with a lump of cold fat tearing holes in your bread.

My solution: make a spread. You will stretch your butter dollar, and it becomes spreadable very quickly from the fridge.

Put 1 c. softened butter in a deep bowl. Whip it with a mixer until fluffy. Add 1/2 c. olive oil (). Mix it together, then slowly add 1/2 c. cold water. Watch out, this is the splatter phase!

Pour/scoop into a tub, and store in the fridge.

Notes:

• The ratio is roughly 2:1:1 for butter, oil, and water. So 1/2 c. butter would use 1/4 c. oil, and 1/4 c. water.
• use light olive oil if you don't want a strong taste; I just use regular extra virgin because I like the added flavor.
• light olive oil means that it is light tasting; it has the same amount of calories as other olive oils.

It has 25% less calories than butter, costs less than straight butter, spreads much more easily. Works for me! For more tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Labels: cooking, Frugal, Works For Me Wednesday