Butter makes me happy

A week has passed and it's time to write another blog. Something as simple as writing for the sake of someone else reading can sometimes be not-so-simple. For those of you thinking it sounds awful in the first place, then maybe you can’t relate but bear with me.

Sometimes it is easy - and sometimes, it's a lot.

Today, I’m going to let it be a lot, and easy, all at the same time.

Because yes, you can have two things that differ happening simultaneously. 

For example, you can be having a good day and be really grateful for your good day all while struggling with your chronic pain and your mental health.

You can love your children while being totally disappointed in their behaviour.

You can feel like a million bucks but wish you felt like more.


Anyways, today.

Hard, and easy, all at the same time.

Today is hard because (let me just say it out loud) moving is exhausting. We decided on a whim (eighteen days before our possession date) that we would move from our tiny studio apartment into a two-bed, two-bath house. Of course, this decision has been amazing and already we are loving every minute of it, but this decision has also been exhausting and the list of things we could or should do - is long.

We’re tired.

Today is easy because I’ve decided that my topic of the day is going to be butter.

Yep, BUTTER.

Why butter, you ask?

For the simple reason, that butter is utterly delicious and, for some reason or another, a large portion of you have likely stopped eating it because somewhere along the line someone told you it was bad for you. 

I relate, I really do. I don’t know where I heard it, or if it was heard in pure black and white as I had interpreted it, but I am one of the people in the world who was under the impression that butter was bad for me. I come from the lines of the I Can’t Believe It's Not Butter! phenomenon that rocked households during the late nineties. 

I also started melting coconut oil and using that as an alternative to butter because one of my fitness friends told me that's what she was doing and I was led to believe that obviously, butter was bad.

The number of different spreads that have come and gone through my kitchen over the years, whether it be my parent’s or my own, is astonishing. Each and every one of them is marketed and sold as the next best thing.

However, I have to admit, none of them is as good as butter.

Butter has been around since 8000 B.C. I’m not very knowledgeable on how long ago that was but based on the little knowledge I have, that's a really long time for butter to be a part of society.

Plus, as far as I’m aware, butter is literally made out of one ingredient (two, if you like the salted kind).

I Googled again to make sure and if you’re making it at home these days it's also sometimes necessary for you to have a third ingredient - ice water.

In telling you, someone who is likely very well aware already, of the ingredients of butter, my intention is to make a point that butter is a) delicious, and b) made out of wholesome, natural ingredients. 

Alternatives like margarine, are made out of a handful of ingredients that seem somewhat questionable at the best of times. If you’re vegan or have a health situation that stops you from eating butter, I want you to know that you don’t have to eat butter - that's not my point. Eat margarine or the vegan spread or whatever.

However, if you’re not eating butter simply because you think it's bad for you - stop.

Eat the butter.

It’s not going to ruin your life.

In fact, it's my belief that it will dramatically increase the quality of your life.

Every morning I have two choices after I drink coffee. Will I toast some sourdough and lather it in butter, or will I make a big bowl of hot oats and plop a big dollop of butter on it and watch as it melts into my milk of choice?

Every morning I choose how I am going to eat butter.

This morning as we were eating our toast, and talking about blogging today, Lucy asked me what I felt like writing about. I was completely honest with her as I told her that I really had no idea. Selfishly I didn’t want to talk about health or wellness, instead, I wanted to talk about what I felt about something. I didn’t care what it was, I just knew I wanted it to be about how I felt, instead of the science of something.

And then I took a bite of my toast and I instantly knew that I wanted to talk about butter; about how much better I feel about my life since caving and buying actual butter months ago after not buying it for anything other than baking for years.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Why, when we love something, do we stop ourselves from having it?

Where did I go so wrong in believing that I shouldn't buy/consume butter?

Who in their right mind felt it was necessary to convince me that butter was bad for me?

Let me Google now why butter is bad for me, and I’ll share my findings below:

(But wait, because I Googled it and it seems that times are changing and people are instead sharing some of the benefits of butter. I'm shocked. Let me keep reading).

• Butter is high in calories and if you aren’t watching your caloric intake, you could gain weight,

• Butter is high in saturated fats, which are apparently the bad kinds of fats,

During my Google search I also found these potential benefits of butter:

• Butter is high in beta-carotene, a compound that your body converts into vitamin A

• It could help your eyes.

• Butter contains vitamin D, a nutrient that is vital for bone growth and development. It also has calcium, which is essential for bone strength

• It can help make your skin healthier

• It makes you happy

• It tastes delicious

• It runs down your arms when it's melted and that makes you giggle

• Popcorn tastes way better wet with butter vs dry with no butter

I can’t declare that butter is good for you or bad for you, but what I know is that pretty much anything is a mix of positive and negative. Everything is fine in moderation (in this household, anyway) so if you feel like eating butter, then please just eat it. Try not to place too much value on whether it's good or bad - instead, if you want it, eat it.

If you don’t, that's okay too. You do you, boo.

Please comment below and tell me your favourite thing to put butter on.

I love butter on toast, butter in my oats, and I’m a massive fan of my grandma's bran muffins cut in half (horizontally, of course) and slapped with some room temperature butter.

I could keep going obviously because butter is life, but I want to share this space with you, too!

Happy butter-eating, friends. Enjoy!