Hi,
I am working my way to becoming vegan however, I have not been able to find any substitutes for Butter AND margerine. My parents (who are nutrionalists) always said NO to margarines because they (if I remember correctly) are heated oils and have just as much Saturated fats as real butters. They also remember when it was considered the "poor man's butter" because it was a collection of all the unwanted oils (Of course, I'm sure they've updated it now since we are not in the Great Depression anymore, heh :P). I have also read several articles by nutrionalists stating that margarines rest in the arteries and clog them just as real butters (well, it holds it shape at room temperature just as real butter), so I am trying to find a natural substitute.
Are there any people out there who have discovered a butter AND margarine substitute?
I have found tahini works as a wonderful spread on toast. But what about other things?
(Ahhh after much searching, I found why my parents were anti-margerine. We always tried to stay away from trans-fats. I googled "Why are trans fats bad?" since I couldnt remember why. :P hehe
Here we go: "Trans fats. You may have heard about these man-made fats, but what's so bad about them, and how do we avoid them? Trans fats are basically vegetable fats that have been changed chemically by a process known as hydrogenation and typically they take a healthy fat, such as corn oil or soybean oil and make it solid. They're frequently found in foods that contain some kind of fat, such as:
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Fried foods (like fried chicken)
- French fries
- Doughnuts
- Margarine
The problem is that the body treats the hydrogenated fat like it's a saturated fat, similar to butter or animal fat. As most of us know, saturated fat is the culprit that clogs arteries. So in essence trans fats, while initially a healthful oil that's unsaturated, becomes a saturated fat through this process of hydrogenation and is linked to causing heart disease."
I'm trying to stay away from all animal products/trans fat products for health (and for the animals
)...
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