For years I have used Land O Lakes butter and margarine, whatever is on sale I usually buy, whether it be the margarine or the butter. I was doing some searching on the web, and they say a soft margarine like Promise is better, as butter has too much saturated fats. A friend of mine told me her dr. told her 2 years ago to switch to Promise soft spread, as it is one of the few with no Trans fats, and she said since she has been using it, her HDL has gone from 56 to 78, and sometimes she gets up in the 80's.

Although her TC is about 235, her dr. pays no mind to it as her HDL is so high. I know they have those new things on the market like Benicol etc., but was wondering what the majority of folks are using these days. I am on my last thing of LOL margarine, and think I will switch to the Promise soft spread. She also listed the ingredients in it, and it has alot more vitamins then LOL has, it even has E.


Hope everyone is having a great sunday, it is like spring here, but we know it won't last, but it sure feels good for now..... :cool:

Hi, JJ :) Happy Sunday to you, as well.

I have both Promise and Smart Balance Light in the fridge. I'm finding I use the new Smart Balance more. It has no t-fat, no cholesterol. It's give five grams total fat per tblspn, but 1.5 saturated :(

I like it because it's made with flax, olive & canola oils to achieve the nice 4:1 ratio of omega 6's to omega 3's.

Smart Balance Light isn't great for baking, however. I still go back to the Promise for that.

As for butter, between olive & canola oils, Promise & Smart Balance, I haven't really found a need for it. Kinda miss it on bread every now and then, but roasted garlic is nice.

I'm curious to see what others are using, too. Nice topic :)

Lysne

Both my husband and I had elevated cholesterol. We used to always have both butter and tub margarine in the refrigerator. Now, whenever I want to spread something (which isn't very often) I use Take Control. I don't cook with it. I sometimes cook with a product that is a combo of butter and canola oil. I believe that it is a Land o Lakes product. With those two products I can satisfy most needs. Since I don't make many cookies or brownies any more, I don't have a lot of call for either butter or margarine.

Hi, JJ :) Happy Sunday to you, as well.

I have both Promise and Smart Balance Light in the fridge. I'm finding I use the new Smart Balance more. It has no t-fat, no cholesterol. It's give five grams total fat per tblspn, but 1.5 saturated :(

I like it because it's made with flax, olive & canola oils to achieve the nice 4:1 ratio of omega 6's to omega 3's.

Smart Balance Light isn't great for baking, however. I still go back to the Promise for that.

As for butter, between olive & canola oils, Promise & Smart Balance, I haven't really found a need for it. Kinda miss it on bread every now and then, but roasted garlic is nice.

I'm curious to see what others are using, too. Nice topic :)

Lysne

Hi there StenoLady....Well I know a few months ago we had a discussion on here about margine vs. butter, and most thought the butter was better, most due to trans fats not being in it. This afternoon, while waiting for my kitchen floor to dry, I figured I would do some "snooping" on the web.. :D

Most of the sites I saw, did prefer the margarine over the butter, due to high sat. fats in butter, but the only 2 reg. margarines I could find with no trans. were Promise soft tub, and Fleishmans. Seems the stick type is a different story as far as being recommended. I have used the Land O Lakes, Promise and the Fleishmans, depending what was on sale, as we don't use margarine or butter very often anyway, as there is just hubby and I now.

I found it very interesting that my friend had said her dr. told her about the Promise, and also the increase in her HDL, although she seems to been blessed with high HDL anyway, but she feels the Promise helped her even more. We were going to switch to the reg. butter, but now I am not so convinced it is a smart move, even though I have used it before. Hubby does like to have a couple of pieces of toast in the a.m., so am thinking of getting the Promise. Haven't tried any of the new things they have out, so can't make any comparison, and hubby is a definite creature of habit, so sometimes trying to get him to try something new isn't always that easy.

Many on here I know use Take Control, Smart Balance or the Benicol etc. etc., but just wanted some ideas from folks who use just reg. butter or margarine, as to what they use. Yup, we do have some nice discussions on here every so often, and it really gives one some good ideas.

I had never heard of using cinnamon do lower LDL, Trigs. and also for keeping blood sugar levels stable, but Frankie..heart44, had posted about it. 4 months ago I tried the 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. each morning with my oatmeal, sometimes I even just put it on a spoon and eat it, and I also started drinking green tea. Don't know if it was a fluke or what, but my TC went from 239 to 198 and my LDL went from 161 to 126. To say the least I was shocked, so I'm still wondering if they sent the wrong results to my dr. and some poor soul is wondering why their cholesterol is high.... :D Oh well, we will see what happens next time, but it got hubby to start taking it, as he has type 2 diabetes, so hopefully it will help. Oh the things we go thru just to keep these drs. off our backs about numbers huh? We have tried statins, and they didn't agree with either of us, so we do the best we can with diet, exercise and any other lil thing that might help.

Hope U have a great rest of the day, sun is going down here, but it still is like a nice summer day, with NO humidty, but I know soon enough we will be crabbing about the snow, ice and freezing temps. Take care, and TTYL.. :wave:

Both my husband and I had elevated cholesterol. We used to always have both butter and tub margarine in the refrigerator. Now, whenever I want to spread something (which isn't very often) I use Take Control. I don't cook with it. I sometimes cook with a product that is a combo of butter and canola oil. I believe that it is a Land o Lakes product. With those two products I can satisfy most needs. Since I don't make many cookies or brownies any more, I don't have a lot of call for either butter or margarine.

I'm not one for baking, so basically I am looking for what is best if used to spread on bread. Very seldom do I have any bread and butter, but hubby likes his toast in the a.m. I looked at the box of LOL I have in the freezer, and although it says nothing about Trans fats, when I went web snooping, it showed a box of stick LOL and it did list it as having trans fats... :confused:

Could be since they are making food companies list trans fats in the upcoming future, maybe LOL stick does have trans, as the soft didn't show any trans. I know they tell U to read labels, but seriously, if we had to read EVERY single label when we went shopping, we would never get out of the store..... :D I will have to look into this Take Control, as both U and StenoLady use it, as does another friend of mine. Either way, even if I stay with the LOL, I am going with the soft tub stuff, as it seems that is what is mostly recommended.

Thanx for your input also, and TTYL.. :wave:

Sorry, my mistake,Steno Lady uses Smart Balance. BTW ladies, are these also soft tub stuff or sticks, and when U do use the Promise, do U use the stick or soft tub? Thanx again..... :cool:

BTW ladies, are these also soft tub stuff or sticks, and when U do use the Promise, do U use the stick or soft tub? Thanx again..... :cool:

Soft tub for me on both Smart Balance and Promise.

Congrats on your awesome numbers, BTW. I, too, am trying half a teaspoon of cinnamon on the cheerios every morning. Sometimes I switch it out for ground flax seeds, tho. Doc recommended a daily serving of squash, too. I found a whole-grain bread recipe w/squash to help facilitate that. I sure hope it helps like it did you.

TTL :wave:

Lysne

Soft tub for me on both Smart Balance and Promise.

Congrats on your awesome numbers, BTW. I, too, am trying half a teaspoon of cinnamon on the cheerios every morning. Sometimes I switch it out for ground flax seeds, tho. Doc recommended a daily serving of squash, too. I found a whole-grain bread recipe w/squash to help facilitate that. I sure hope it helps like it did you.

TTL :wave:

Lysne

I love squash, but around here is it so seasonal, so unless I buy the frozen stuff I don't eat as much as I would love to. Sounds like a nice recipe, but trust me, I really stink when it comes to baking. Don't ask me what it is about me, but I would rather scrub a floor then cook, I know, WEIRD!! I keep telling my friend, we should move closer to each other, as she loves to cook, and I will do her cleaning...... :D

Hope all this stuff helps U also, I know sometimes U want to toss up your hands and say..I QUIT, but we keep on plugging. Time for a shower, as I have been going all day, so need to sit and watch my Desperate Housewives to complete my day.

CYL...... :wave:

BTW...I did notice 2 different local restaurants we go to at times, always serve the Promise lil soft cups. Hmmmmm. I'm not a bread eater, but if I do have any, it is Whole Wheat, but I do love garlic bread at times, especially if I have spaghetti and a salad, now that is a tasty meal. Can't have it often, due to carbs, but hey, we have to spoil ourselves every so often.... :)

I'm a traditionalist, so I'll just stick with butter (no pun intended). I was brought up on butter as a kid, although we did have margarine in the house. But I hated it. I'm sure the new spreads out there are probably better tasting and healthier than the old margarines. But the way I look at it, I eat butter by the pat, not by the pound, so why even worry about it. Although some people may disagree, I don't think that butter is really as bad as some people think. A hundred years ago, people used primarily butter and lard, and heart attacks were rather rare compared to today. Besides, can you imagine frying a sunnyside egg in anything but butter? Oh, perish the thought!! :eek:

I'm a traditionalist, so I'll just stick with butter (no pun intended). I was brought up on butter as a kid, although we did have margarine in the house. But I hated it. I'm sure the new spreads out there are probably better tasting and healthier than the old margarines. But the way I look at it, I eat butter by the pat, not by the pound, so why even worry about it. Although some people may disagree, I don't think that butter is really as bad as some people think. A hundred years ago, people used primarily butter and lard, and heart attacks were rather rare compared to today. Besides, can you imagine frying a sunnyside egg in anything but butter? Oh, perish the thought!! :eek:

I'm like U, I always used butter as I grew up on it also, as did hubby. I just alternate between the LOL butter and margarine, but thought it interesting about the high sat. fats. I'm not going to get overly excited about it, but think I definitely will switch to the soft stuff. Like I said, when I looked the LOL margarine up, the sticks had a check mark next to Trans fats, but the soft tub didn't. That kind of convinced me the soft was better, even though I don't use it often, hey, it won't hurt to try it. I saw the label for Promise, and there is NO trans fats, nor is there any on fleishmans margarine.

I don't fry anything, don't even own a frying pan, but NO, can't imagine a sunnyside egg done in anything but butter. Definitely know hubby goes down to a friend's local diner and has 2 sunnyside eggs at least twice a week, and I'll bet it is done in butter knowing this guy.... :)

Enjoy the evening, and TTYL.... :wave:

I don't fry anything, don't even own a frying pan, but NO, can't imagine a sunnyside egg done in anything but butter. Definitely know hubby goes down to a friend's local diner and has 2 sunnyside eggs at least twice a week, and I'll bet it is done in butter knowing this guy.... :)

Enjoy the evening, and TTYL.... :wave:

I once made a sunnyside egg using margarine. Never again! It tasted like plastic! I also tried making one using olive oil, believing that somehow it would taste okay. Well, it didn't. It tasted awful. Never again! From now on I will use only butter! ;)

I once made a sunnyside egg using margarine. Never again! It tasted like plastic! I also tried making one using olive oil, believing that somehow it would taste okay. Well, it didn't. It tasted awful. Never again! From now on I will use only butter! ;)

I'm not a lover of sunnyside eggs, like mostly hard boild, scrambled or egg salad, but hubby likes em sunnyside. I can only imagine what those eggs tasted like using olive oil, definitely doesn't sound appealing at all....... :D

Hey, we all have to experiment with things, sometimes it works, sometimes not. Tomorrow I need to go to the store, so am going to look for both the Promise tub stuff and the LOL butter and compare them. I'm not sure if they have the butter in soft tubs, but I will find out. Definitely going to get away from the LOL sticks, as now I know they have the trans fats.

U have a good one, and no more frying eggs in oil....... :wave:

Hands Down Winner:
SMART BEAT.

A tbsp has ZERO trans fats, ZERO saturated fats and only 20 calories (butter and margerine 80-100)
Taste is pretty good. Only drawback is that it doesn't take to heat well and resists melting.

Give it a try...2 pack of 8 ounce tubs sell for anything from $.99 to $1.49 so the price is sweet. It is the lower fat version made by the SMART BALANCE people and is available now at most supermarkets.

It takes the guilt out of slathering a piece of toast with the yellow stuff. ;)

Hands Down Winner:
SMART BEAT.

A tbsp has ZERO trans fats, ZERO saturated fats and only 20 calories (butter and margerine 80-100)
Taste is pretty good. Only drawback is that it doesn't take to heat well and resists melting.

Give it a try...2 pack of 8 ounce tubs sell for anything from $.99 to $1.49 so the price is sweet. It is the lower fat version made by the SMART BALANCE people and is available now at most supermarkets.

It takes the guilt out of slathering a piece of toast with the yellow stuff. ;)

Hmm, never heard of that one, guess I have some looking to do at the store. Seeing it doesn't take to heating, what do U use if U need something that does need to melt? Sometimes I like to put a pat of butter or margarine on my veggies, so obviously I need something that melts. Thanx for all the input, and hope everyone has a great day....... :wave:

Hands Down Winner:
[COLOR=Red]SMART BEAT


Lenin,

Have you tried frying a sunnyside egg in Smart Beat? If so, I'd like to give it a try, and compare it with butter.

SMART BEAT works fine for bread and toast, and even on pastry or pound cake and the like when I have it. It is also fine on French Toast and pancakes, although the soft but not melting quality takes a little getting used to..

I haven't tried it for frying an egg because it's basically whipped Canola oil and water held together with xanthan gum so I use a tsp. of liquid canola instead for frying and brush it round the pan before I do the eggs. I don't think the SB would work well...but I don't know for sure.

I HOPE the Smart Balance people don't realize what a fine product they have and triple the price. :eek:
THose 20 calories/Tbsp. are so great for perpetual dieters like me.

I haven't tried it for frying an egg because it's basically whipped Canola oil and water held together with xanthan gum so I use a tsp. of liquid canola instead for frying and brush it round the pan before I do the eggs. I don't think the SB would work well...but I don't know for sure.

Well, either way, I can't see any reason not to use it. My mother uses it quite often, although I still don't know why. But I've read the ingredients, and I can find nothing wrong with it. It's definitely better than the old margarines. But I think that I will continue to use butter when I make my sunnyside eggs. I'm through experimenting. I think that last fiasco with olive oil just about did it for me. If I go much further than that, I'm likely to end up in the emergency room. :eek:

I love the taste of olive oil EXCEPT on eggs or fish. Something about the taste of olive that makes a salad delicious will make fish repulsive.

I love olive oil/garlic for sauteed vegetables but even there, I'm tending towards half olive-half canola or all Canola.

Canola seens to be very useful precisely because it is the most nearly tasteless oil I've found, with less taste even than corn, soy, or peanut oil so it's ideal for the delicate taste of fish and eggs, although from a purely TASTE consideration, NOTHING beats butter for these two foods but I'm giving all butterfat products as wide a berth as possible.

Hi all, this is a head scratching subject !!. I have avoided all margarines and moan when I think of the baking done with that artery plugging Crisco. But here I am trying to use the new margarines because of sat. fat and the bad oils, here is my problem and it sounds like it is everyone's problem, WHICH ONE ? I have bought the Smart Balance with 0 trans fats, but has 2.5gr sat. fat , Poly. sat fat 2.5gr and Mono. fat 3.5gr. per Tablespoon, that adds up to 14 % fats. Hubby does not like it because of the taste and it does not melt right and is hard to spread right from the fridg where it has to be. Today I bought the Land O Lakes (after all I live in Minnesota right) Here is what it has O trans fats, Sat.fat 2gr., Poly. 4gr., Mono 2gr., 0 cholesterol which adds up to 12% fats. Tasted good and spreads well cold and hubby likes it. All good and well except for this, on the Land O Lakes Margarine in ingredients it lists Partially Hydrogenated soybean oil and the same for the cottonseed oil. my concern is this how can you have Hydrogenated anything and still have 0 trans fats. I noticed on the Smart Balance there is no mention of any Hydrogenated oils. Can someone clear this up for me? :eek: Oh yes I'll add this, while shopping I saw Crisco and on the package in big letters it say "no trans fats" :confused: :confused:

Hi all, this is a head scratching subject !!. I have avoided all margarines and moan when I think of the baking done with that artery plugging Crisco. But here I am trying to use the new margarines because of sat. fat and the bad oils, here is my problem and it sounds like it is everyone's problem, WHICH ONE ? I have bought the Smart Balance with 0 trans fats, but has 2.5gr sat. fat , Poly. sat fat 2.5gr and Mono. fat 3.5gr. per Tablespoon, that adds up to 14 % fats. Hubby does not like it because of the taste and it does not melt right and is hard to spread right from the fridg where it has to be. Today I bought the Land O Lakes (after all I live in Minnesota right) Here is what it has O trans fats, Sat.fat 2gr., Poly. 4gr., Mono 2gr., 0 cholesterol which adds up to 12% fats. Tasted good and spreads well cold and hubby likes it. All good and well except for this, on the Land O Lakes Margarine in ingredients it lists Partially Hydrogenated soybean oil and the same for the cottonseed oil. my concern is this how can you have Hydrogenated anything and still have 0 trans fats. I noticed on the Smart Balance there is no mention of any Hydrogenated oils. Can someone clear this up for me? :eek: Oh yes I'll add this, while shopping I saw Crisco and on the package in big letters it say "no trans fats" :confused: :confused:

Your having the same problem as me. Although my LOL says nothing about Trans. fats, if U look it up on the web, it says it DOES have trans fats. Maybe the new boxes are going to say about the trans fats.. :confused:

I'm going to get the stinking Promise soft tub stuff, or the LOL soft stuff, as they list them as having NO trans fats. The gal that told me about the Promise is from MN. also, but her dr. recommends the Promise. To me it is like 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other as far as problems. We have used the Promise, LOL and the Flishmans, and the only one I find on the web that lists trans. is the stick LOL, but not the soft tub stuff of LOL.

Oh well, just something else to make us just a tad more nuts.... :D

Have a good one, and TTYL... :wave:

I have heard that butter is better than margarine. They told me that margarine has some type of plastics in it. Just what I heard. ;)

I have heard that butter is better than margarine. They told me that margarine has some type of plastics in it. Just what I heard. ;)

That is exactly what I heard, but, someone sent me an article saying..Margarine is ONE molecule away from a plastic particle, so that is a whole different ballgame. Some say butter has too many saturated fats, others say margarine without the trans are better. I think it is up to every person to decide what they prefer, as long as it doesn't have Trans. fats in it. The way things are changed around so much, I'm getting so I believe half of what I see or hear anymore. They are going to make us CRAZY!!

Take care....... :wave:

Well your post makes a great deal of sense to me. With everything the key is MODERATION and spread it thin on the bread. ;)

Well your post makes a great deal of sense to me. With everything the key is MODERATION and spread it thin on the bread. ;)

Glad it makes sense to you, half the time I can't make sense of anything. LOL I swear, the more I read the crazier I get. They change everything so stinking often, U just don't know who or what to believe. I'm off to the store today, and going to pick up some Promise or Land O Lakes soft tub margarine, as at least I know they have NO trans fats. Even though my LOL stick margarine has nothing about trans fats on the label, if ya look it up on the web, the sticks DO have trans fats. I'm thinking that the new boxes will probably have to label the trans fats, and these older ones just don't, but it does say partially hydrogenated, so that isn't good. No wonder we are confused, they make NOTHING too clear, and yup, like hubby's cardio man always tells us...Everything in moderation!!!

Enjoy the day, and TTYL... :wave: