Butter Plus

If you're a fan of butter, but want less cholesterol and more healthy fats, try this! This butter is better for you because it's half butter and half olive oil. It's got the good taste of butter, the spreadability of whipped butter, and the health benefits of olive oil. It's butter plus! Here's how:

Ingredients:

1 cup butter
1 cup olive oil

Bring the butter to room temperature. Blend with 1 cup olive oil. Pour into container and refrigerate.

While this butter has some of the benefits of using olive oil, it still has similar fat content as regular butter. Also, butter and oil are nearly equal in calorie count per serving. So, remember that this butter recipe may be more healthful than regular butter, but it won't save any calories! Even though I don't use butter very often, I use this spread when I'd normally use butter. I also find this mixture convenient for cooking. If I'd use a butter and olive oil mixture when sauteeing, I just need to reach for this in the fridge. So, it's a time saver, too!

Stealthy Cooking Tip
Make extra-virgin olive oil your oil of choice. Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fat, which may be helpful in lowering blood cholesterol levels. Butter, on the other hand, is high in saturated fat, which plays a role in raising blood cholesterol levels. For good health, it's important to eat less saturated fats and more monounsaturated fats