Make a healthier choice with olive oil!

Thanks to BzzAgent, I got to try out Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil for free! It was when I received my kit that I also received this brilliant information! I always knew you could substitute olive oil for any other kind of oil in a recipe by using the same amount. However, I had NO IDEA you could use 3/4 the amount of olive oil in place of the full amount of butter in most recipes! What a great thing to know! Now, we have already established that I am by no means a health nut, BUT if I can make a healthier choice without sacrificing flavor- I am all for it! And here is such an easy way to do that!

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil has many benefits over other oils and butter:

• it is 100% natural
• it can help reduce the risk of heart disease
• it can help control blood pressure and blood sugar levels
• it contains no trans fat or cholesterol
• it is high in monounsaturated fats (aka the good fats)
• it contains no sugar, salt or gluten

You can see why this is a healthier alternative!  And it is simple. For a printable conversion chart for the substitution and more information on the health provided by olive oil, visit the product's website link below.

Filippo Berio

So of course after reading about this, I had to put it to the test. I was a little skeptical on how it would affect the flavor and texture of different dishes.  So I tried substituting for butter in Riceroni and Mac N Cheese. It did not change the flavor AT ALL. It was not more oily. My family didn't even notice a difference at all! So it made me feel good making the dishes a little bit healthier for everyone.

Then I tried substituting this olive oil for butter in homemade chocolate chip cookies. This was a bit of a different story. The cookie dough was thick and extremely sticky. The cookie dough flavor was a bit odd but still decent, but after seeing the consistency I was convinced that this was going to be a total failure. However, the dough was already made- I figured I should just finish it and see. So I did, and I tried one while it was still warm. It was terrible. The flavor was disgusting. But I still finished the batch and let them all cool. Somehow, after all that, I decided to taste it again after they cooled down. It was probably my inability to resist chocolate when I see it! But I am glad I did because once they cooled down the cookies were actually really good! There was a little difference in flavor... maybe just not quite as sweet, slightly like shortbread cookies, but just in an aftertaste. I couldn't quite put my finger on it... my husband thought it almost tasted like there was peanut butter in it. But they were moist and still delicious! My mom, my kids, and my husband all ate them and loved them! The cookies were actually a little bit fluffier than my typical cookies, which was surprising! All in all- they looked and tasted really good! (See the pic below.) Needless to say, they did not last very long. I was impressed. I would definitely make it this way again.

You can also use this as dressing and drizzle it on salad. However, I am totally a ranch girl, so that would not be even remotely close to compare for me. But I plan on trying it on some pasta and vegetables. Now, I have to be honest- I have no idea if the flavor would be any different with another brand of olive oil. However, I plan on trying out an oil dip recipe for bread in about a week, and I am going to compare another brand. So I will update on the difference in flavor. But overall I am absolutely pleased with the Filippo Berio brand, and I will definitely be using olive oil as a substitute for butter more often now- as much as I can in cooking hot dishes, and I would like to try out some baking dishes like this again too! Why not be healthier when it's so easy?! (and of course still tastes good!)