🚀 go-pugleaf

There has been a bit of controversy in the past, about whether using real 
butter or margarines is best for your health. We saw a news segment a few 
years ago saying that, while natural butter clogs your arteries, margarines 
that contain hydrogenated oils can cause cancer and there's a lot more they 
can do about heart diease than cancer. Whoopee. What great choices.

But about a week ago, I caught part of a commercial for this new product that 
seems to solve the problem on both fronts. It's called Smart Balance and has 
an interesting history on the package.

"Brandeis University Cholestrol Researchers improved the ratio of HDL "good" 
to LDL "bad" cholestrol by using a balanced blend of fats as a significant 
part of a balanced diet which followed dietary guidelines of the American 
Heart Association Step 1 Diet.  The blend of four natural vegetable oils used 
to make this delicious spread provides precise amounts of polyunsaturates, 
monounsaturates, and saturates in proper balance ( we call it in Smart 
Balance ) as a ready-made fat source to help balance fats in the diet. 
Replace diary, hydrogenated and other fats with Smart Balance for cooking, 
baking, recipes and table use... We use palm oil along with soy, canola and 
olive oils..."

They advertise "no hydrogenated oil" and "no trans fatty acids". 

It says the product is 80 calories per tablespoon, compared to maybe 100 with 
butter, I think, and it has 0% cholesterol compared to 30% cholesterol for 
Land O Lakes butter. 

They have 2 products, one which is just for spreads and not for cooking too, 
and I think is even less calories, and the other which I bought, in a 
larger tub package, for cooking too, because I don't use it as much for 
spreads as cooking.  

Ok, I was a little skeptical because we've tried other butter substitutes, 
and most of them tasted pretty crummy compared with real butter, but I 
decided to give it a try anyway.

Well, this stuff tastes REALLY GOOD. It was only fair, I thought, to try it 
as a first test, over some popcorn. :-)  I was amazed! It tasted BETTER THAN 
REAL BUTTER! So much, in fact, that I've decided to dump the Orville's 
Butter Light microwave popcorn that I like for TV every night ( which 
contains hydrogenated oils ) , and get a hot air popper ( which we got rid of 
years ago because by itself it used to make popcorn taste like eating straw ) 
and use a little of this on it instead! Sounds a lot healthier.

I also made some great tasting French toast for breakfast yesterday.

Has anyone else used this product too? If so, please share your experiences 
here too, I'm curious. 

-- 
- Melissa.  Copyright 1999  <http://www.dimensional.com/~melissa/>
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