The whole butter vs. margarine debate has been in full force the last couple of years.
First, it was all about trying to each less saturated fat with margarines. Then, we needed to get rid of the trans fat in those margarines.
Now we are thinking that perhaps butter was best all along.
Could whipped butter be even better?
Whipped Butter vs. Stick Butter
I have been buying Land O’Lakes whipped butter for a while now. The great part about it is that you can eat one tablespoon for only 6 grams of fat and 50 calories.
This saves you 50 calories and 5 grams of fat compared to regular butter.
The only difference is that the butter is whipped, and air is added to create more volume. Yes, you are eating less actual butter by weight.
But, this is a great portion control trick!
Natural Ingredients
The great part about whipped butter is that it contains all natural ingredients–the same as stick butter: pasteurized cream and salt.
Saturated Fat Debate
There is still this great debate about how much (or if at all) we need to limit our saturated fat intake. Even though one tablespoon of whipped butter contains 3.5 grams of saturated fat, I do not worry about it. Just have your cholesterol checked regularly.
The main goal is to try to eat more whole and natural foods.
Runner-Up
The next best choice would go to Olivio brand products because they contain olive oil, and the lesser amount of omega-6 fats.
However, these spreads still contain preservatives.
The Bottom Line
Whipped butter helps me to eat a smaller portion of real butter without feeling like I am missing out on the flavor.
An added bonus is that I don’t have to worry about all the extra processed ingredients that are found in most margarine tub spreads like TBHQ or calcium disodium EDTA.
Do you have a favorite lower calorie spread that you use?
I’ve been using whipped butter for years. The taste is far superior than any margarine. Yeah you can use other spreads, but butter is the best and with whip you use so little. Toast with a little whip butter melts into creamy satisfaction.
Well this is good to know since I am a butter lover. Though I use substitute spreads that have about half the calories for everyday use, all it takes is one taste of real butter or margerine for me to know the difference.
It’s amazing how just a few little swaps and adjustments can make a calorie difference without having to give up your favorite foods.
I prefer to use other kinds of spreads on bread, like peanut butter, hummus, pesto or something else with more flavour!
I’ve been consuming between two and three pounds of butter a week for more than two decades. So I must be fat, right? No. Doesn’t work that way. Butterfat supports thyroid health. Omega-6 industrial seed oils have the opposite effect. http://lewrockwell.com/miller/miller38.1.html
I don’t really eat butter as a condiment for meat/veggies/potatoes/etc. I use it when I bake and that’s about it. For topping veggies and potatoes, I use either lemon juice and Mrs. Dash or salsa and a dollop of plain nonfat yogurt. But when I bake or make candy, I have to use the stick butter or the weight/measurements will be all wrong.
A common recommendation is to limit saturated fat to either 7 or 10 percent of calories. I figured out that at my calorie level that maintains my weight (3500) that I can eat about 11 tablespoons of this kind of butter to stay within the 10% of calories coming from saturated fat. Mind you, I exercise at least an hour everyday by bicycling to be able to eat this much. That assumes that I eat no other saturated fat. At 7% of my calories, I eat could consume 7 tablespoons of butter. At 10% of calories, even someone who consumes 1500 calories to maintain their weight could consume 4.7 tablespoons, and at 7% of calories could consume over three tablespoons a day. I find that just one tablespoon is plenty, and that if all one eats is one or even two tablespoons a day, there is no reason to worry at all, even according to the strictest standards.