Do you still use margarine?

[Paper Roses]

Since I stir fry most of my meals or bake them, I find that margarine sits in my freezer for ages. I use various oils for the stir fry meals---actually, many could be called 'sauteed'. I do not fry foods except for an occasional egg in the AM.
I use a little butter for things like spinach, broccoli and a few other veggies that I steam. I roast many other veggies.

A pound of butter lasts me months. I freeze it and use as needed. Margarine, not so much. I can't really find a use for it any more. I am alone and do not cook elaborate meals any longer. I try to make my dinner healthy and easy.

What are your thoughts?

[Arkansas Granny]

1. No, I haven't had margarine in the house for years.

I use butter, olive oil and canola oil.

[bif]

2. Haven't used margarine in years.

Usually use olive oil and butter.

[Little Star]

3. I never liked the taste of margarine so I've always used butter. n/t

[kdmorris]

4. Won't touch the stuff

I make my own spreadable butter with 2 sticks of butter to 1/2 cup safflower oil. Margarine is just too fake for me. I used to use margarine when my cholesterol was high, but ick. (with butter and "good fats" used in moderation, my cholesterol actually dropped).

[trotsky]

5. Never.

My mom always had a tub of Country Crock in the fridge and I hated it as a kid. Always liked going to grandma's where she had real butter.

Nowadays I buy this: http://www.landolakes.com/Products/Custom/15179.aspx

Very nearly just as good as butter, but keeps the fat profile a little healthier.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. I use a product called Smart Balance, which I guess is margarine. Healthy oils are in it.

But it tastes good to me, and it's great in cooking and on the table. It's also good for getting your cholesterol down. It helped mine.

[PeaceNikki]

8. There is absolutely no way Smart Balance contributed to a reduction in your cholesterol.

There are not nearly enough plant sterols in that to make a difference. There are class action suits for fraud and deceptive marketing pending against them.

Hooray for getting your numbers down, but there's no scientific way it contributed.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. OK, then it was coincidental, since my numbers did improve after using it a while.

My doctor was pleased, but we agreed that I needed those numbers down more, so then I started on the medication.

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. I've never used margarine.

[PeaceNikki]

9. Nope. I was raised on oleo but never touch the chemically laced garbage anymore.

Olive oil, butter and occasionally lard for pie crusts are my fat choices.

[bravenak]

11. No. When my stepdad died, it was back to butter.

I bought margerine once since I've been grown. It turned gross and full of water. Yuck.

[cbayer]

12. Never. I bought some recently because i couldn't read the label

and I recognized it right away.

Butter is so much better.

[OxQQme]

13. Might I suggest coconut oil?

http://wellnessmama.com/2072/benefits-of-coconut-oil/

http://wellnessmama.com/category/breakfast/

http://wellnessmama.com/category/soups-stews


Sauteed/stir fry veggies YUM --- Fried/scrambled eggs YUHUM


and for many uses besides cooking --> http://wellnessmama.com/5734/101-uses-for-coconut-oil/

Perhaps this is old news, but I didn't know this until recently.


btw Also helped keeping the pain manageable during a recent bout with a case of shingles.

[alcina]

23. I second that

I made my partner a grilled cheese sandwich the other day using coconut oil, and he couldn't believe how good it was. I also keep a small tub of 50/50 coconut oil/honey around for a sweet bread spread. Really tasty, and quite possibly good for you.

[grasswire]

14. no margarine!

I was quite surprised recently to see one of those "country" cooks on Food Network use some margarine. Might have been that Pioneer Woman.

[Freddie]

15. Yes bad habit I guess

I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (actually the store brand equivalent) because we really don't use much of it and I find real butter picks up an "off" taste in the fridge after a few weeks. I will pick up the real thing for holiday or special occasion meals, or if I'm making sticky buns (the gooey topping must be made with real butter!).

[swimboy]

16. For one recipe

It's for chocolate sauce, like for a hot fudge sundae and it's so good that I will buy margarine when I want to make it. But you won't find me spreading margarine on my hot bread. That's what butter is for.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

17. Never have - tons of chemicals

[dem in texas]

18. Butter for baking is a must!

I don't use much fat in cooking, canola or olive oil when I sauté. Even eat Pace's Picante sauce on my baked potato instead of butter. But when it comes to making cookies, pies and cakes - I gotta have butter.

[SheilaT]

19. Not in many, many years.

It really is terrible stuff.

Butter, olive oil, corn oil.

If your butter is picking up an off flavor, you need to make sure it's properly sealed and placed in the butter compartment I hope you have in the door of your fridge. If not, I'd suggest keeping it in a plastic container with a tight lid. I've never experienced that problem, although I tend to use up a pound of butter in a month or less, depending on what I'm cooking. I also normally leave it out on the counter all the time so it's soft and spreadable.

The one time I had I Can't Believe It's Not Butter I figure that some nutritionist came up with that name, because in my experience they cannot tell the difference between lots of things. They'll say, substitute low fat yogurt for full fat sour cream in a recipe, you can't tell the difference. Maybe they can't, but I can.

Butter, by the way, really is quite healthy. The French use plenty of it and they're not noted for bad eating habits.

[Lugnut]

20. I never used it.

Fat is fat but butter comes from a cow and margarine comes from a laboratory.

[JBoy]

21. Butter for low temp, coconut oil for higher temp stir-frying.

Margarine sucks.

[littlewolf]

22. grew up on a dairy farm ... I like to use natural fat

Butter
Lard
coconut oil
Pnut oil
Olive oil

those are about the only ones I use
and coconut is a recent addition.
a friend told me about it and I like it.

[HappyMe]

24. I never used margarine.

At least I know what's in butter.

[northoftheborder]

25. Used to use it, no longer do.

I used to use it all the time, the stick form for baking, and the soft tub kind for toast and vegetables. Then I learned how unhealthy it was and switched to butter for eating and baking, also use olive oil or peanut oil.

[woodsprite]

26. I use an olive oil/sea salt based margarine when we do use margarine.

Usually when we're spreading it on a soft bread. Since my daughter and I have been trying to eat more healthy, we've switched to using olive oil or coconut oil to saute or cook with. Of course, at xmas we went through copious amounts of real butter, margarine and shortening. We didn't eat a lot of it (thankfully!) but we baked *TONS* of cookies for extended family and friends.

Last night's dinner was grilled salmon, sauted squash/grape tomatoes/onions/basil, steamed broccoli, and a cottage cheese/pineapple/butter lettuce salad. It was a quick meal to throw together since we had to go to rehearsal last night. We're growing our own butter lettuce hydroponically in the basement and hubby just planted a tray of spinach and swiss chard. Can't wait for that to come in! One more stinking pound, and I'll be down 20 lbs since Halloween! Of course, I've got an even 100 to go, but I'm on my way!

[pinto]

27. Have never used it that I know of. School lunches, maybe?

I grew up in a butter, whole milk, bacon fat, lard family.

[noamnety]

28. I'll confess to using it.

I have olive oil, coconut oil, salted and unsalted butter, and margarine in my house. I'm on month 10 of sticking to $2 a day or less per person for food, and back in July I got a badly dented - and therefore marked down - 2 pound tub or so of margarine for $1.49. I still have about half of it left, so it's not like I'm wolfing it down or anything, but for spreading on toast or biscuits I prefer the softer texture of the stuff in a tub.

[japple]

29. We use butter, olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil, and nut oils for eating

and cooking. We do, however, keep one small plastic container of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" on hand for one relative who comes to dinner ever Sunday. Even though the small loaves of bread I usually serve are sliced/buttered before I heat them in the oven, he always slathers on about 1 tbsp. per slice. I think it's the salt. We use sweet butter and I have noticed that he salts EVERYTHING--even fruit.

[GreatGazoo]

30. Jamie Oliver made fun of a kid who they showed a picture of a stick of butter

and asked where it comes from. The child indicated that what they pictured as butter came from corn.

It never seemed to occur to Oliver that the child believed the picture was margarine.

[pscot]

31. No

Olive oil, butter, chicken fat, duck rendering, bacon grease, canola, sesame; but no margarine or beef tallow.