2 butter questions

[calendulamama]

Hello Everyone- I have a couple questions about butter. The first one is how much do your kids eat? And do you ket them eat as much as they like? We get good pastured organic stuff and my kids (5 and 2.5) have been eating so.much.butter! I have been letting them eat as much as they like, though sometimes I wonder if they are overdoing it a tad! They like to eat "butter popsicles" which is just hunks of butter licked straight off a butter knife! Plus it goes on everything- toast, oatmeal, eggs etc. How much is too much? My 2.5-year-old isn't a great eater, and I don't know whether letting him fill up on butter is a good thing or not.

The other question I have is if this is the season to stock up on butter? In Canada where I am, the grass is starting to grow, does that mean that the butter is at its prime right now? And can I stick it in the freezer for the winter?

Thanks!

[HollyBearsMom]

I have no idea how much is "too much" but I guess butter is like most things, best in moderation. 

My son goes in stages.  Weeks could go by w/o a desire for butter (or milk or yogurt or apples or meat, etc) and then he could go on a kick putting butter on everything (or drinking gallons of milk, eating multiple apples a day, wanting yogurt morning noon and night). I tend to look at his diet over a span of a week or weeks, not a day. For the most part it all balances out. So as long as it works in your budget I wouldn't worry about it.

That said the thought of butter popsicles totally grosses me out.

My local farms dairy prices don't change a lot from season to season so I tend to buy what I need when I need it and always have some in the freezer too. However I often use more conventional butter (whole foods 365 or the like) when I have huge amounts of baking to do. That I buy on sale (or use a coupon) and keep in the freezer till needed.  Butter freezes really well, IME

[mommy212]

I buy cheap butter (challenge brand) because GOOD butter is not in our budget atm... That being said, my son is too young (19 mo)  to request butter, so i add it as I see fit. He eats maybe 1-2 teaspoons a day depending on the menu, usually in oatmeal and veggies. We use EVOO a lot as well and he eats that regularly. I bake with butter fairly often (twice a week or so) things like biscuits and oatmeal cookies so he gets some there too. When he gets old enough to request it I will probably set out an amount I feel is appropriate (3 or 4 tablespoons maybe? not sure yet) out and tell him he can eat this however he wants today but no more unless there is a dish cooked with it. Something along those lines. LO's favorite fat is good bread dipped in EVOO

[jenniepaige]

Oh YES! Let them eat it! And butter is at it's best right now with all the fresh grass! Butter is pretty much one of the only sources of vitamin K2 which is good for growing bones and teeth. When I was a young girl I wouldn't eat hardly anything but LOVED butter. My Mom would let me eat it just as your mentioned despite her not thinking it was a good idea at the time. It's a good thing she did too because it was one of the only forms of healthy fats I was getting. And yes, stock up too! Stick some in the freezer for when the grass isn't as green to still get the vital nutrients. Give them FCLO while then are eating the butter too, perfect time for it!

[calendulamama]

Thanks everyone- hollybearsmom- I agree- butter popsicles gross me out too! But the babes love 'em! Jennypaige, thanks- that is helpful. I did wonder if there was a change in the butter to inspire such intense love from the wee ones- maybe they really need that k2 right now? And it is good to know that it freezes well, as we live in the north where even the best "pastured" animals eat hay many months of the year as there is no green to be seen! I have them eating CLO, but not the fermented stuff yet. I just am scared I'll spend all that money and then not be able to get it into them. But I think I'll try soon.

[mamakah]

I don't have an answer to your question, just a story.

When I was young it was right in the height of "low fat mania!!" and my mom was always very conservative with her use of butter when feeding us. I specifically remember sneaking into the kitchen when she was reading or busy with something, and cutting off thick tabs of butter to eat. I always had an intense craving for it.  It never went away either. My whole life I've secretly cut tabs of butter to eat, and I can't resist taking sips of cream either.  Half and half, whipping cream, I've always NEEDED it. :)

[JMJ]

Personally, we're fighting tooth decay in my little one. Yellow butter is one of the best things I can give her. I let her have as much as she wants, and sometimes she asks for slices of it, which I give to her happily. I also make pate with ghee and beef liver that I try to get her to eat some with every meal. Those fat-soluble vitamins are so important to children.

[Piglet68]

Yes, butter is an excellent source of fats and super good for you.

Yes, this is the time of year to stock up on butter from pastured-cows. It freezes very well.

[moss]

do cesium 137 and iodine 131 bioaccumulate in pastured butter?