Let me start by saying this is by no means a “healthy” recipe. But it falls into the category of “approved by Cooking Light” PLUS these brownies are incredible so I thought I’d share. I am a big believer in dessert – which I suppose offsets the rest of the healthy eating I try to do, but I love sweets too much to skip dessert. Everything in moderation, right?

I made these today, using the recipe from this month’s Cooking Light magazine. It went against my main rule for baking – never bother with anything in a 9×9 or 8×8 pan because it’s just not worth the effort. I mean, we could go through a small pan in an afternoon…

Anyway – considering how delicious these sounded, and considering the fact that we were trapped at home all day due to our friend Irene, I decided to try them. And I’m so glad I did – they are so yummy! And actually, (as hard as it is for me to admit this) they are so rich that the small batch is probably a good idea.

My biggest complaint, however, is that the caramel layer (which is more like a layer of penuche fudge – YUM) is much thinner than they showed in the picture. They must’ve made a double batch of that layer for the photos – which bugs me. If you make these, you should expect that you will have barely enough caramel to cover the brownies. It ends up being fine – it is so sweet that the small amount is sufficient.

Phew- long preamble! Now for the good part – the recipe. I have “borrowed” the photo from Cooking Light (and remember, yours likely won’t look like this).

Salted Caramel Brownies (adapted from Cooking Light magazine)

For the brownies:

• 3/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• cooking spray

For the caramel layer:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark – I used dark)
• 3 1/2 tablespoons fat-free evaporated milk, divided (I used 1% milk and it was fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 heaping tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped)
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt (I used Kosher salt which isn’t quite coarse enough but it was fine)

For the brownies:

• Preheat the oven to 350
• Spray an 8″x8″ square baking pan with cooking spray (Cooking Light recipe says 9×9, which you can use too. Just cook for about 19-20 minutes instead – I just like the thicker brownies)
• Mix the dry ingredients together (flour through baking powder) in a large bowl. You might want to sift the cocoa to avoid lumps.
• In  a small bowl, mix the eggs, melted butter and vanilla.
• Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix until combined (don’t overmix)
• Spread the batter into the baking pan
• Bake for about 25-28 minutes (check at 25 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center has only a few wet crumbs. Don’t forget – if you’re using a 9×9 pan, bake for about 19-20 minutes. These will be rich and fudgy brownies – not cakey. Set on wire rack to cool.

For the caramel layer:

• While the brownies are cooling, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Spread this mixture onto the cooled brownies.
• In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate and the remaining milk for 20 seconds. Stir until chocolate is melted. Drizzle over caramel layer (I put it in a plastic zip-top bag and snipped the corner to make the drizzling easier).
• Sprinkle the salt evenly over the top.
• Let stand 20 minutes or until set.
• Cut into 20 bars (according to Cooking Light) – or more likely, into 16 bars

(OK first off I have to admit I stole this photo from the internet because I don’t have enough salad left to photograph…) But this is what it looks like – so bright and colorful. This salad recipe was given to me by the mom of a friend of mine in my “bridal shower cookbook”. All the guests brought a recipe written on an index card – and it is still one of my biggest go-to cookbooks. Great recipes! And this is one that I make all summer long because it is so yummy and always a hit at cookouts and parties. And big bonus? It’s actually very healthy! But best of all – it’s super easy!

Black Bean + Corn Salad

In a big bowl, mix:

• 2 cans organic black beans
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained – OR 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed OR 1  1/2 cups fresh corn, cooked and cut from cob
• 2/3 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• OTHER suggested additions: chopped avocado, chopped mango

Dressing (mix together in a separate bowl):

• 2 T chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 T chopped cilantro
• 2 T chopped scallions
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 T olive oil
• 10 T fresh lime juice (about 5 limes)
• Salt & black pepper

Pour dressing over beans and vegetables, then mix until well combined. Chill in fridge to let flavors marry. Serve cold or room temperature. Keeps in the fridge for 4 or 5 days. Also excellent as a salsa with chips, or over chicken or fish.

Can you tell I have been in a baking mood these days? The thing is, I just don’t like buying treats at the store – they are so filled with yuck that I don’t enjoy them as much. And with my darned sweet tooth, I like to have a little something sweet every day (everything in moderation is a big motto in this house!). On top of that, having a son with a nut allergy makes it even more challenging to find cookies or baked goods that are safe. Soooo that all adds up to me doing a lot of baking.

This recipe is one I based off of other recipes that I saw online, after watching Paula Deen make chocolate bread that looked amazing – but it was loaded with fat. So, purely driven by a craving, I set out to find something I could make without feeling too guilty.  This is a nut-free, and low-fat quick bread that could easily be tweaked (per my notes) to be a dairy-free treat as well. And I’m sure those of you that are challenged with baking without eggs and without gluten could easily adapt this recipe as well.  But most of all, it’s just plain YUMMY!

Chocolate Bread

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4-1/3 cup applesauce (I confess I wasn’t meticulous about measuring – I’m thinking closer to 1/3)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon espresso powder (totally optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher – less sodium)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (OR 1 cup milk mixed with either 1 tablespoon white vinegar or 1 tablespoon lemon juice OR 1 cup soy milk with the vinegar or lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare a 9×5 loaf pan by spraying with cooking oil spray
3. In a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil, applesauce and sugar. Beat well.
4. Add eggs one at a time – beating well after each addition.
5. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, cocoa, espresso powder -if using, salt, baking soda, baking powder).
6. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk to the oil/sugar/egg mixture, beating well after each, and scraping the bowl a few times.
7. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
8. Bake for about 1 hour (depending on your oven) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Let rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool (of course, I skipped the cooling step and dove right in, but patience is not one of my virtues, especially when it comes to baked goods…)

This is a quick treat to make, and was inhaled by my kids (ok, and me, too!). There are recipes for chocolate butter spreads to go with it, or chocolate honey butter – but we liked it plain, or toasted with cream cheese. YUMmmm.

Soup is such a great thing to make on a Sunday. You can have it for dinner, then have the leftovers for lunch during the week. And since I have had WAY too much cake this past week (too many birthdays at this time of year in our family!) I decided tonight was a good night to have a light dinner. I was trying to find this recipe that I had seen for easy tomato soup and I couldn’t find it, so I figured I’d have to wing it. And it’s not bad – so I thought I’d share it (I know it’s pretty close to the recipe I had used before). And as a little twist – I added light coconut milk to it instead of  half & half or evaporated milk. It’s delicious – makes it a little more exotic. (and apologies for the not so great photo…)

Why am I bothering to make my own tomato soup? Well, I don’t know about you if you’ve ever read the Campbell’s Tomato Soup label but when I did I was blown away. It has always been my favorite of their soups – and now I realize why. They were sucking me in with CORN SYRUP without me realizing it! No wonder I liked it so much – it was like a can of tomato candy! (OK – actually that sounds gross but you get the idea). Ugh.  So I looked for a healthier but still yummy alternative. I have posted a recipe before that’s perfect in the summer with fresh tomatoes (it’s delicious!) but it’s far too time consuming for a quick dinner. So enter canned tomatoes.  Let me know if you try this – I’d love your feedback (or if you made any tweaks to it). Also – after I made tonight’s soup, I found this recipe from Cooking Light. It sounds really good – kind of halfway between what I made tonight and the roasted fresh recipe that I shared this summer. You roast canned tomatoes as the base. Yum! I will have to try that one next.

Here’s my Kristin’s Easy Tomato Soup recipe:

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• One 28oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano tomatoes)
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (less if you want thicker soup – you can play around with the amount)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk OR half & half OR light coconut milk (optional – to make “cream of tomato”. I love it with coconut milk – it gives it a whole new flavor )
• Salt & pepper to taste

To make the soup, in a medium saucepan saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent (don’t brown). Add the crushed garlic and saute 1 minute. Add the can of tomatoes, the tomato paste, the broth, brown sugar and basil. Stir to combine then simmer for 20-30 minutes until thickened. Blend either in batches (carefully!) in the blender, or use a stick blender until the consistency you prefer (chunky or smooth). Add salt and pepper to taste. If you would like to make the soup creamy, blend in the evaporated milk, half & half or coconut milk, if using, before serving.

It is surprisingly fresh and flavorful, and really only takes about 15 minutes of actual prep time.

As a total side note: RIP to my trusty Braun Stick Blender, circa 1991. Yep really – I had it that long. My college roommates gave it to me when I graduated. I just noticed tonight that it has a big crack in it. But boy was that thing made well – it has been around for many many sauces and soups. I guess that means I have an excuse to get a new one, though!

My son’s 5th grade class put together a cookbook. Each child brought in their favorite “healthy” recipe. I have to say, although some of them aren’t especially healthy, it is a great collection of recipes. We have had fun making many of them together (he is becoming quite the cook – although he, like his mom, prefers baking to cooking). Recently he made these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins all by himself, and we all loved them. They are really low fat, very yummy and easy to make. Much to my husband’s dismay (since they clutter up our freezer), I throw bananas in the freezer when they are starting to get too soft. Storing them in the freezer means you can always have bananas ready for baking! They look nasty on the outside, since the skin turns black, but they are perfect for recipes like this. Just thaw on the counter or even microwave them, pricked, for a minute or so to soften them up.

Low Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (we used 1/2 all-purpose and 1/2 white whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 3 mashed ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips  – optional – but clearly, why would you ever leave chocolate out?

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray two 12-muffin pans (total of 24 muffins) with cooking spray or line with paper muffin cups. (I found some great ones at our grocery store that are unbleached and biodegradable)
3. Whisk together in one bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
4. Whisk together in another bowl: egg, mashed bananas and oil.
5. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and blend just until dry ingredients are moistened.
6. Add chocolate chips and stir lightly to mix.
7. Divide batter among the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
8. Bake until toothpick inserted in muffins comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. (I suggest checking at 20).
9. Let cool 3 minutes in pan, then let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or cool.

When you’re looking for something fun, festive and not totally unhealthy to bring to a holiday gathering or to set out at your own party, Sugared Cranberries are the perfect thing! I have been making these for a few years, ever since I saw the recipe in Cooking Light (photo: courtesy of Cooking Light). They also make a great gift. They literally sparkle and look like little gems if you put them in a candy dish. Plus they are always a huge hit – they are delicious and intriguing.

The recipe is easy – you just need to remember to soak them the night before you need them.

Sugared Cranberries

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 bag fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked through (remove soft ones)
• 1 cup superfine sugar (if you can’t find it, you can put regular sugar in the food processor)

Step 1: Combine the 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve. Bring to a simmer (do not boil) and remove from heat.

Step 2: Add the cranberries and stir. Pour into a bowl and cover. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 8 hours). I actually just leave them in the saucepan, put the lid on, and put them in the fridge.

Step 3: Drain the cranberries (you can reserve the pretty pink sugar water and – in theory – make some kind of cocktail from the syrup if you’re really crafty). Put the superfine sugar in a bowl. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Step 4: In small batches, drop cranberries into the sugar and roll them around until they are completely covered. Remove the cranberries from the sugar and put them on the lined cookie sheet to dry. Continue until all the cranberries are sugared. Let dry 1 hour. They say store in an airtight container, however I have found that they get squishy if you do that. I prefer just to leave them out in a bowl.

Note: You can play around with the recipe by adding cinnamon sticks and cloves, lemon peels or orange peels to the sugar water.

Sweet, tart and packed with Vitamin C and anti-oxidants. Not bad for a fun, festive snack!

This past Saturday I went with a friend to the Stonewall Kitchen headquarters in York, ME to take a cooking class. As neither one of us had been before, we were unsure of how it would go – would it be “hands on”, would we get just tastes of the food or a whole meal, would there be wine? (key question!).  When we arrived, we walked into a room with a long open kitchen on one end, and rows of high narrow tables facing the kitchen. Each seat was set with a full set of tableware (a good sign!) with a cute little vase of fresh flowers. We were offered tea or coffee and the chance to mill around checking out the cool Stonewall Kitchen jams, sauces, jellies and mixes for sale (10% off for class-goers). Plus they had all kinds of fun kitchen gadgets. When the class started we sat down and were immediately served a gorgeous roasted beet, blue cheese and walnut salad and offered (yea!!) a glass of wine for purchase.

The class turned out to be fantastic – with the chef and her assistants demonstrating each recipe but serving (full-sized – another “yea!!”) dishes that they had prepared earlier. The first recipe she demonstrated turned out to be one of my favorites of the evening – Roasted Tomato Soup. So I thought I’d share with you that recipe – it is fairly easy and unbelievably delicious! And with this being tomato season, it is a great way to use the juicy tomatoes that are available in the farmer’s markets. In addition to the salad and soup, we had Shrimp and Chorizo Skewers, Artichoke Risotto Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms (incredible), Lemon Broccolini and Peach Raspberry Pie (making my mouth water just thinking about it).

So here’s the recipe for the soup, and if you are interested in any of the other recipes, just let me know! This soup can be served chilled or hot, and you can skip the crisps and the bruschetta if you just want the unadorned soup (saves a lot of time too!).

Roasted Tomato Soup

• 12 large (about 4 pounds) tomatoes, stemmed and quartered
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/4 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar
• 12 large cloves garlic, peeled (you could cut back on this if you don’t like a lot of garlic)
• Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves, plus a few leaves torn for garnish
• 2 cups cold water

For the bruschetta:

• 1 loaf country-style bread
• Finely minced garlic
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt

For the parmesean crisps:

• 2 cups grated parmesean cheese (good quality)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees

Prepare the tomatoes. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, 1/4 cup of the oil, the vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Spread the tomatoes out on a non-reactive baking sheet. Roast the tomatoes in the oven until very dark in spots, 35-40 minutes. Remove and allow to cool a bit as you prepare the next two steps.

Prepare the bruschetta. Cut the bread crosswise into slices about 1-inch thick (you will need 8 slices). Lightly brush the slices on both sides with oil, a little garlic and sprinkle with salt. Place the slices on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until they are golden brown and just beginning to crisp – about 6 minutes. This can be done ahead of time if you’d prefer.

Prepare the crisps. Lightly fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup with the grated parmesean cheese. Tip over onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or silpat (or sprayed with cooking spray), and flatten slightly. Repeat until you have 8 flattened mounds of cheese. Bake in 350 to 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until they are golden brown (watch to make sure they aren’t burned). You can do this at a higher temperature but just watch more carefully. This can be done ahead of time if you’d prefer. Also – if you’d like smaller crisps, you can use a heaping tablespoon instead of 1/4 cup.

Prepare the soup. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining 1/4 cup of oil, the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are very soft, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the 2 cups basil leaves and saute with the onions for about 1 minute.

Add the roasted tomatoes and water to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Puree the tomato mixture with an immersion blender or in standard blender. The mixture should be very smooth. You should have about 8 cups. You can prepare the soup to the point and refrigerate it. When ready to serve, pour the soup into a medium saucepan and bring it to a slow simmer over medium heat.

Serve the soup. Place 1 bruschetta in the center of each shallow soup bowl. Pour the soup around each bruschetta. Garnish with one parmesan crisps and torn basil leaves.

If you are growing zucchini in your garden or have a CSA farm share, now is the time of the summer where you start finding creative ways to use zucchini. It is always so plentiful this time of year and it’s hard to keep up with it all. But one of my favorite ways to use zucchini is easy and so yummy! This Zucchini Bread recipe is adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. It’s my favorite zucchini bread recipe  – the top gets a chewy crust and the inside is soft and delicious. And even my picky boys who won’t eat zucchini on its own with gobble this bread down. It’s a fun way to get their vegetables in!

Zucchini Bread
from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

2 zucchini (1 pound) ends trimmed
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use non-fat Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour (here’s a place you can substitute 1 cup of white whole wheat flour for one of the cups of flour without there being a big difference)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped coarse (optional)
3/4 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously coat a 9×5 loaf pan with oil spray.
• Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze the zucchini between layers of paper towel or a clean dishcloth. (note: this is key to keep the batter from getting too moist). Whisk the sugar, melted butter, eggs, yogurt and lemon juice together in a large bowl.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a separate large bowl. Gently fold the zucchini, raisins or cranberries (if using) and the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in nuts (if using).
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes.
• Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

If you’re not already on Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution email, I highly recommend it. He doesn’t send out a zillion emails – just maybe one every week or two – but they are always interesting, helpful and thought provoking. Jamie’s “Food Revolution” is his effort to improve the health of children by encouraging them to eat healthier foods – and his first target has been improving the foods served in school cafeterias (an effort I fully support!). But he also looks to parents to get their children to eat better choices at home as well. And in this week’s email, he underscores the fact that one of the biggest sources of sugar in a child’s diet in the U.S. is from soda. We’ve heard that over and over in the news as well. However, he also reminds us that sugar is in many other drinks that are popular with kids. And some are even “healthy” options like juices.

So he created a handy “toolkit” using data from the Harvard School of Public Health’s The Nutrition Source (another great source for tips on healthy living and eating). Jamie’s toolkit is an easy to read chart that shows how much sugar is in 12 ounces of drinks like cranberry juice cocktail (12 teaspoons!!!), orange soda (11 teaspoons) and even orange juice (10 teaspoons). It’s pretty eye opening!

And if you want to get even more detailed, check out The Nutrition Source’s How Sweet Is It? chart. Oh boy. I always knew that 100% grape juice was sweet – but didn’t realize that it has 15 (!) teaspoons of sugar per 12 oz. glass! How about that tasty Odwalla Apple Raspberry drink? A whopping 14 teaspoons. I definitely recommend a quick browse of the chart – and possibly printing it out.

We are not big soda drinkers in our house – but my oldest son loves it as a treat. I told him about a “The Nanny” episode that I saw once where she made one of the children, who was addicted to soda, spoon 12 spoonfuls of sugar into a 12 oz. glass. It took up nearly half of the glass. She pointed out to him that he was drinking that, basically with water and colors and flavors, every time he had a soda. It was a pretty strong visual. And even just telling my son about it got the point across. If you want more visuals, check out this cool site, Sugar Stacks, that shows you exactly what the amount of sugar in drinks and food looks like by featuring photos of the food and drinks with stacks of sugar cubes next to them (the photo above is one of their photos).

And Jamie Oliver’s point? Sugary drinks are OK for a treat, but stick to water for the bulk of your beverage consumption. No calories. No concerns. He even has some great ideas for flavoring your water and some fruit smoothie recipes as well. Fruit smoothies again can pack some serious natural sugar if you use too much juice or milk, or add additional sugar. But they are also a great way to start the day with protein and vitamins. And Jamie suggests throwing in a handful of nuts and/or natural oatmeal as well, both of which can slow down your body’s process of absorbing the sugar.

I have been on a smoothie kick for the past year and a half (ever since I got my Silver Bullet little blender – I love that thing!). Anyway – I do a quick smoothie in the morning with about 1/3 cup frozen blueberries (look for pesticide-free or washed frozen berries as they are often loaded with pesticides, unfortunately…), a little OJ, and about 1/3 cup fat free greek yogurt. I throw in a handful of oatmeal and some flax meal. I know – it sounds nasty that way but it’s surprisingly good and incredibly filling! And this summer I ventured into new territory at the suggestion of a friend who’s a nutritionist. I add a couple of leaves of kale into the mix. Granted you have to have a lot of berries to overpower the kale taste but it grinds up so small you really don’t even realize it’s there. And with kale being such a “super food” – it’s a pretty great way to start the day! (OK, I can hear collective groans from you all – but really, it’s way better than you’d think!)

Regardless of whether you want to do a deep dive into crazy smoothie world or not, the moral of this whole story is that you can easily cut out wasted calories by watching what you drink. Choose water, seltzer or sparkling water (try it with a splash of juice), tea & coffee (easy on the cream but it’s even ok to have a teaspoon of sugar in there) or other low-calorie, low-sugar drinks.  Save the other drinks for a treat. And keep an eye on what the kids drink – teaching them healthy habits at a young age will pay off for sure.

I know – this seems like a pretty random post but I was intrigued when a colleague recently told me that his wife makes her own spreadable butter. He said it’s healthier than butter and tastes better than the other spreads. I checked it out online and there are all kinds of posts on different sites from people who make soft butter. Most people do it for the cost savings (which is definitely a bonus) but I was more interested in the fact that people say it tastes like butter but it’s better for you. I also checked out the Land OLakes soft butter spread and saw that it’s essentially a blend of canola oil, butter and water – similar to the “recipes” I’d seen.

So the other day I made it for the first time. It’s incredibly easy, and I have to say it tastes just like butter (which I LOVE). All you need to do is mix equal parts of softened butter with canola oil in a food processor (or you could probably use a mixer as well). Other recipes say you could do 2 parts butter, 1 part canola oil and 1 part water. I haven’t tried the version with water yet, but I will try that next. But this worked really well – I just put it in a clean Earth Balance spread tub that I had saved. It’s really soft – almost liquid- when you first make it. But no worries – once you put it in the fridge it firms up. But the great thing is that it stays soft enough to spread. It does get very soft if it’s left out – but you just can pop in back in the fridge to firm it up again.

I’m thinking you could also bake with this since I know you can substitute oil for butter in a lot of recipes anyway? I’ll be trying that out, too!

So it’s nothing exciting, for sure, but I thought it was pretty cool (and yummy!). Let me know if you try it!