The quest for a "better butter"

I frequently have little moral dilemmas with food. For example, iceberg lettuce lacks anything nutritional and has no taste, so on that basis I'm morally opposed. Oh, to be nice as a guest I will eat it and I'm not mad about it, I just feel that unless you need an excuse to ingest large amounts of ranch dressing, it's pretty much pointless. One of my other dilemmas with food comes with deciding on a spread for my bread.

So the world's most tasty spread, butter, has saturated fat which contributes to heart disease. So then, enter margarine, which had less calories/fat and spreads oh-so-nicely on your morning toast. But wait!! After years of downing the cheaper spread we find out that the hydrogenated oils that are used are actually worse than the saturated fat. So then we go back to butter. And for most things I love butter. But all you toast lovers out there can agree with me on this. There is nothing worse than trying to spread cold butter on toast and suddenly having a big hole in the middle of your toast and little chunks of butter in various places. I know there are people that use olive oil or flax, but I just can't figure out how to work that (or the fact that it just doesn't taste as good).

So that's my dilemma. Butter is my favorite choice because it is closest to the source. In my book, the more chemical processes have to go through to get to my mouth, the more likely it is that it won't be good for me. But it lacks the ability to spread (you can buy spreadable butter, but don't rain on my parade here). So enter a recipe for "better butter". I found it in "Healthy Foods" by Leanne Ely. And it's simple. Here's the recipe is it appears in the book:

1 stick butter
1/2 c. safflower oil (or other mild-tasting, cold pressed oil)

Let butter soften at room temperature. Mix oil and butter together. Refrigerate.

So I tried it...but I used canola oil instead. And you know what? Success. Next time I'll mix the two together a little better and probably double the recipe...but in my fridge is a good tasting spread made from natural ingredients that won't put a hole in my toast.

So if you'll excuse me, my morning toast is waiting.