What pat is best? Butter pat that is.

Butter. So good, but so bad for you, right? Well, kind of right, but not totally. My grandma lived to be 93 and she ate butter, lard, etc. You would think that our society would get the picture that eating simpler foods in moderation would help you live longer.

Back to butter. So figuring out what butter or margarine is the healthiest is a funny concept because neither is really healthy. But if you were to eat a pat of butter or margarine, choose butter. Butter has only one or two ingredients, naturally simple. Just don't overdo it.

Now if you want a spread try using real butter first. Take a stick of butter and put it in one of those butter dishes (the dish that a stick of butter fits into) and leave it on the counter. It stays good for about 10 days. But if you just can't do it, then choose the spreads that have the least amount of ingredients in them. I used to buy the tanish/brown container...no names, which tastes great and is a popular spread; but then I switched to the olive oil spread. It's a little more expensive but it has less ingredients and good fats in it. And NOW I am using the good old fashion stick butter.

All in all, stick to the natural stuff and be aware of your portions. You don't need to put butter on everything that society is used to buttering. Skip the butter when you can.