Healthy alternatives to butter?

Wanderer2010 · 29-06-2019 05:55PM #1

Taking stock of my diet of late and I realise I eat way too much butter. Every sandwich is laced with the stuff and I really enjoy the taste of it but im trying to get suggestions on spreads or anything which would still make a sandwich taste nice but without all the heavy calories of butter? I read peanut butter but surely that would be even worse than butter on sandwiches.

Mars Bar · 29-06-2019 05:57PM

I find that mayonaisse is easier to control because it spreads better. You can get the light version too.

Lackadaisical · 29-06-2019 05:58PM

The main thing is buy nicer bread. If you're having a sandwich in good quality sourdough or something like that you'll probably not notice that it's not slathered in butter.

Also use tomatoes and other vegetables that have high moisture content to make your sandwiches more interesting.

If your making sandwiches for a lunch box just place the ingredients between a layer of lettuce to prevent the bread from absorbing all the moisture and going soggy.

jaykhunter · 29-06-2019 11:22PM

Yo! Recommend laughing cow (purple variety) each triangle is 20 calories and would just about spread over two slices.

Alternatively Hellmann's Lighter Than Light Mayonnaise is 3% fat. I'm really impressed at how good this low calorie stuff tastes!

Just to throw it out there, in dunnes and restaurants you can get 7g pats of butter which perfectly ration out real butter usage. Heat it near the pan/on the toaster to get it melty and is coats pretty far!

silverharp · 30-06-2019 09:54AM

jaykhunter wrote: »

Yo! Recommend laughing cow (purple variety) each triangle is 20 calories and would just about spread over two slices.

Alternatively Hellmann's Lighter Than Light Mayonnaise is 3% fat. I'm really impressed at how good this low calorie stuff tastes!

Just to throw it out there, in dunnes and restaurants you can get 7g pats of butter which perfectly ration out real butter usage. Heat it near the pan/on the toaster to get it melty and is coats pretty far!

your portion control idea is a good suggestion , mayo wouldnt pass my "healthy" altenative test :pac:

https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=264365313

Water, spirit vinegar, modified corn starch, sugar, pasteurised free range EGG & EGG yolk (4%), rapeseed oil, salt, cream powder (contains MILK), citrus fibre, colours (titanium dioxide, carotenes), thickener (xanthan gum), flavourings (contain MILK), preservative (potassium sorbate), lemon juice concentrate, antioxidant (calcium disodium EDTA)

dudara · 30-06-2019 09:59AM

Butter is delicious, but rather than cut it out, I’d cut it back. Watch the amount you use and keep it for occasions when you’ll enjoy it.

Much as I love butter, I’ve largely cut it out at home, but if I’m in a restaurant with good sourdough and good butter, then yes, I am going to treat myself.

Alf Veedersane · 30-06-2019 10:02AM

I think part of it is addressing the number of sandwiches that the butter goes on. Not because bread is bad or sandwiches are bad but if you're having so many the quantity of butter you're consuming is too high, then you probably also need to look at how much of what you're having the butter on.

iguana · 30-06-2019 10:07AM

Butter is delicious and super healthy. It's a natural source of of many vitamins and minerals including selenium and vitamin K2, which aren't the highest in most people's diets. It's going to be way better for you than most butter substitutes. Just cut back a bit and enjoy it in moderation. You could always switch to over-ripe avocado for having with eggs and salad sandwiches and use butter when it suits better.

Tar.Aldarion · 30-06-2019 10:40AM

I'd look at changing what you eat, that's too many sandwiches, what are you missing out on because you are eating bread and butter and whatever filling?

OsZa · 30-06-2019 10:44AM

I use Connacht Gold half fat butter. Tastes very good and 100g has only 384 kcal.

brick tamland · 30-06-2019 11:10AM

Butter isn't unhealthy........

If your trying to cut back on calories use less (butter 1 side ect) or just ho without. I wouldn't use any of the spreads tbh. Dont taste nice and dont like the ingredients.

I quite like yellow mustard as if not using butter but can depend what you have in your sammich I suppose :-)

Wanderer2010 · 30-06-2019 06:09PM

Thanks for the suggestions people. Yes, I know I probably eat too much bread. Its become just the obvious choice for lunches and often dinners. A few sandwiches with ham and cheese in it. I am trying to cut back though a bit at a time because its just sooo easy to lace it over the bread instead of just barely spreading it.

The only spread I ever really took to was Benecol but then like a lot of things, the health claims on such products are probably greatly exaggerated.

antix80 · 01-07-2019 03:12PM

Op, all fats have the same amount of calories so it doesn't make sense to say the "heavy calories of butter". You just have to use less of it.
Keep it at room temp so it spreads thinner.
Or you could use some sort of calorie-free sauce, but that sounds disgusting as a substitute for butter. Soy sauce sandwiches anyone?

Worztron · 08-07-2019 09:57AM

Flora spreads.

Markcheese · 08-07-2019 10:13AM

First off I'm a butter fan.. I'd have bread with my butter...
But if you're cutting back a bit on the good stuff, a little bit of good olive oil drizzled on is a good start, someone above said about using decent bread, that makes a huge difference...
Cut a tomato and rub that onto good toast, add a tiny sprinkle of salt if you fancy, (and a small bit of olive oil if you like)
Use hummus in your sambos, it's not fat free but it's not full of rubbish like light spreads...

Kind of depends what youre trying to achieve, personally I think butter is healthy, but it is almost pure fat, and we tend to slather it on everything... So I can see the logic of using less

silverharp · 08-07-2019 10:22AM

Worztron wrote: »

Flora spreads.

dodgy processed seed oils , noooope

deandean · 08-07-2019 10:24AM

Instead of butter, I spread extra virgin olive oil on the bread using a pastry brush. Lovely, and healthy

Tar.Aldarion · 08-07-2019 10:32AM

silverharp wrote: »

dodgy processed seed oils , noooope

What's the reasoning for them being unhealthy?

Mooooo · 08-07-2019 10:37AM

If you use real butter as opposed to the other "butters", just leave a certain amount out of the fridge so it's more spreadable. It has more flavour so a smaller amount required. A lot of the deli counters would use the other spreads which aren't the same and too much deli counter sambos, even aside from the butter, prob wouldn't be great depending on what your putting in, esp for the pocket

SozBbz · 08-07-2019 10:54AM

Have you thought of using relish in sambos instead of butter? I like ballymaloe or aldi do a nice one also.

I also like avocado as a sandwich filler and you don't need butter/oils wtih that.

Finally, I can totally accept that sandwiches are handy for lunch, but to have them for lunch and dinner sounds a bit unimaginative. I think you've to take responsibility for making a bit more effort with your meals. Most of us do not have sandwiches for dinner.

silverharp · 08-07-2019 10:55AM

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

What's the reasoning for them being unhealthy?

They are very highly processed. Compare them say to olive oil which is basically a squeezed fruit, canola/rapeseed oil has to be heated to high temperatures and chemicals and solvents added to extract the oils. its not like people's health has improves with less butter and more margarine.

wakka12 · 17-09-2019 10:42AM

SozBbz wrote: »

Have you thought of using relish in sambos instead of butter? I like ballymaloe or aldi do a nice one also.

I also like avocado as a sandwich filler and you don't need butter/oils wtih that.

Finally, I can totally accept that sandwiches are handy for lunch, but to have them for lunch and dinner sounds a bit unimaginative. I think you've to take responsibility for making a bit more effort with your meals. Most of us do not have sandwiches for dinner.

If he likes sandwiches for dinner then thats all that matters, doesnt have to change because most other people dont do it

Macy0161 · 17-09-2019 02:14PM

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions people. Yes, I know I probably eat too much bread. Its become just the obvious choice for lunches and often dinners. A few sandwiches with ham and cheese in it. I am trying to cut back though a bit at a time because its just sooo easy to lace it over the bread instead of just barely spreading it.

I'd consider batch cooking something, if the sambo's are purely convenience.

Otherwise, just leave a knob of butter out of the fridge. Or ham and cheese on toast, and just skip the butter.

fwiw I tend to use Flora Light. Just purely for convenience, and it's not my own self control that's the issue with real butter in my household! I prefer it to the other spreadable options.

Alf Veedersane · 17-09-2019 05:57PM

wakka12 wrote: »

If he likes sandwiches for dinner then thats all that matters, doesnt have to change because most other people dont do it

He should change not because other people don't do it (though there's probably something in the fact others don't do it) but because of the absence of nutritional value in having bread plus filling as the major part of your food intake.

As Macy says, there are ways to have more nutritious options that are as convenient.

manbitesdog · 30-10-2019 06:43PM

A drizzle of olive oil, or a small amount of crushed avocado.

wakka12 · 30-10-2019 06:58PM

Social Medium wrote: »

Continue to eat real butter, we are blessed in Ireland to have such nutritionally rich butter from grass fed cows. Avoid those spreads, they are pure garbage.

How is it nutritionally rich? One tablespoon of butter has over 100 calories, and gives just 12% of your daily vitamin A, 2% of your vitamin E, and literally nothing else other than saturated fat. Its empty calories, absolutely and you shouldn't eat it other than a bit for taste, I dont necessarily think the saturated fat is a problem but eating anything other than a bit of butter to make other things taste better is a huge waste of calories because youre not getting any nutrition out of it

While in another thread you said whole wheat was not nutritionally rich, and yet 100 calories of whole wheat pasta gives you 40% of your daily manganese, 46% of your daily selenium, 18% of your daily copper, 15% of iron, 12% of vitamin A,15% of your B3, 10% of your B1, 10% magnesium, 10% zinc and at least 5% of the RDI of 5 other vitamins and minerals

What are you even on about? Or are you just not aware of what nutritionally dense means??

igCorcaigh · 30-10-2019 07:22PM

Thanks for that SM.
Can you please cite your sources though?

I didn't know much about K2.

Personally I do eat a lot of oily fish, although I'm still a bit unsure about how much fats our bodies need.

wakka12 · 30-10-2019 07:23PM

Social Medium wrote: »

Ever hear of vitamin K2, a very important vitamin if you want strong bones and not to die of a heart attack or stroke. It ensures calcium goes where it's supposed to go, to teeth and bones and appears to reduce and prevent arterial plaque.

Yes and butter is not a good source of it. Eat some natto or liver. Or even eat some cheese instead, at least you get some other nutrients. Butter is really quite a bad suggestion, even it was just for the sole purpose of getting vitamin k2

Avocado is a good alternative fatty spread because its actually nutritionally rich

igCorcaigh · 30-10-2019 07:26PM

I don't think I could ever bring myself to eat natto or liver...

Is milk a decent source? I drink enough of that.

igCorcaigh · 30-10-2019 07:43PM

Got a little jar of Happy Butter ghee recently, and it's a great base for a curry. Or fried potatoes.

I generally use EVOO for cooking though, not too high temperature.

igCorcaigh · 30-10-2019 07:46PM

In relevance to the OP though, I think avocado or hummous might make decent alternatives to butter for spreading.

The calorie count might be less, not too sure. As always though, portion control.

Healthy alternatives to butter?

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