I'm trying to do natural - whole foods. Fat - what do you use? Shockingly, we all need it. What do you use and why?
Don't tell me you don't use butter or margarine - you must have one of them in your house.
I admit it - i use butter! I don't use much (ie no more crusty white bread, sigh...) but when I cook, I find a smidgen of butter and a smidgen of EVOO makes anything heavenly -- the butter for the taste, and the evoo for the high heat won't burn thing LOL, so good!
and for some weird reason i'd much rather have a tiny smidgen of something that came from a cow or a plant than something manufactured -- considering the junk i used to shovel in, it's a strange turn of events LOL
Funny, I was crabbing about this to DH not 20 minutes ago! I have flip-flopped back and forth so many times, because every expert you read gives you conflicting opinions. Right now I use butter, though I just read something that came in the mail saying we should avoid butter and use soft margarine instead. I wish someone would decide once and for all which one is better for you!
Honestly, I don't use either very often. I NEVER have bread and butter, NEVER butter my veggies, I don't use it in my oatmeal. So, what's left? And quite honestly, I never liked either to begin with, even back in the day - the 287 lb day.
When I'm sauteeing or grilling or making veggies - it's cooking spray and a bit of olive oil.
When I bake, which is infrequently, I prefer to use the real thing - butter. The calories are the same, so why not go with the authentic product?
I mostly use EVOO in cooking. Sometimes canola oil.
I use Smart Balance for spread.
And I use regular mayo vs. reduced fat, because it's made with healthy fats.
I do keep butter on hand and use it sparingly in cooking. DH hates margarine, so he uses it, but it lasts us a long time.
Butter! You just have to limit how much. I just don't think that margarine can possibly good for you when it has nearly the same chemical makeup as plastic. Spooky!
I honestly don't pay much attention to whether the front of the package says butter or margarine--I just look at the nutritional information and the price. I usually buy the fat free Promise soft spread (I'm assuming it's a margarine--5 calories per tablespoon) or the Brummel & Brown spread that's made with yogurt. We don't use it a lot, though, as we never have bread and butter (except on holidays); I'd say we only go through maybe 3 of those little plastic tubs in a year, and even that may be a high estimate. I almost never bake, and if I do, I often use applesauce in place of the butter/oil. When cooking, I use oil (olive oil or macadamia nut oil) and cooking spray.
OMG, this is too funny! I was thinking that EVOO was a new product......only to just now realize that its olive oil! Yes, we use olive oil in almost all of our recipes for Southbeach.
Butter all the way, baby! I can't stand the taste and smell of margarine, and the idea of the chemicals it took to make it look and taste somewhat butter-like. I use olive oil more than butter. Natural, delicious foods can't be beat.
Butter or Margarine?
I use Organic Valley's European Style Cultured Butter. It's out of this world, even very small amounts of it on veggies are wonderful! 
Yes, we use olive oil in almost all of our recipes for Southbeach.
