Fat

There's a lot of play these days for the types of fats folks use to cook with and smear over their toast. Margarine. Butter. Oils of every shape and size. I Can't Believe It's Not Greasy whateverness.

We've had an evolution in our house. We started as ICBINB folks (generally the generic kind). Then, back and forth between this (or some sort of margarine) and unsalted butter, never sure which was really "better" for us. There was a time that we even bought Earth Balance. I used to bake with Crisco and generic vegetable oil. We've always used olive oils (at times lighter for cooking, extra virgin for salads). It's all over the place.

But, after years of reading and learning and re-learning, we seem to have plateaued: olive oil (it's so damn expensive, so we get the store brand...one day I'll find it in me to find cold-pressed organic) and straight-up butter. Until recently. Coconut oil enters stage left.

I haven't used it yet. I'm a tad intimidated. It's a huge jar o' whiteness. Wait, a huge jar of green, should I say? It cost over $20. Yeah, you read that, but it's a HUGE jar (as I said) and should last me forever and a day.

It comes in a quasi-solid, sort of the consistency of Crisco, and once heated to 73 degrees (F), it melts. I'm excited to try it and hope that its health benefits are worth the price tag.

We've read about the benefits of extra virgin olive oil, and heard both sides of the butter argument (Dave has slightly high cholesterol, but half the battle is getting him not to slather his toast as much as he does), and have seen and heard LOTS of crazy goodness touting coconut oil. Heck, if we've reached the end of our oil/fat journey, I'd be happy. But, I'm sure there's more research and more decisions to be made. Either way, I'll let you know how my C.O. try-outs go.

Oh, and on a side note, we DID find organic olive oil and butter recently at our local Aldi grocery store. Talk about cheaper! It's great to have other budget options!! Let's just hope it sticks.