Do you ever find yourself thinking, “Oh, this fake butter spray has zero calories and 0.1 grams of fat – therefore I can douse my broccoli in three coats of it, the culinary equivalent of Amy Winehouse and her AquaNet. Spray! Spray! Spray! More is more! Spray! Spray! Spray…”

Me, too.

Until my friend Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, author of The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life (McGraw-Hill Professional), opened my eyes to the errors of my slutty buttery ways.

“It’s not bad for you but those sprays are not as innocent as you think,” she warns.

I warn you all, hold onto your Pam cans and jars of reduced-fat Skippy Peanut Putter because…

A single bottle of spray butter contains 900 CALORIES and 90 GRAMS OF FAT.

Exactly how on earth is it possible that “no-fat” fake butter is actually as lardy as a Paula Deen appetizer?

Dawn explains: “The label says it has 0 calories and 0 grams of fat because the Food and Drug Administration allows companies to put zero on the label if a product has less than 5 calories and 0.5 grams of fat per servings. The trace amounts of calories and fat in the butter spray do add up over its 900+ sprays per bottle. If you like the buttery flavor, just be sure to spray lightly - 25 sprays has 20 calories and 2 grams of fat. The spray is a buttery bargain since a pat of real butter would be 10 calories more and double the fat – not to mention real butter is much harder to keep portion controlled.”

Dawn actually had a client who would open the bottle and POUR the stud over potatoes, submerging pasta and drowning veggies with it.

If you’ve ever wondered just what ingredients make up that spray, the main component is water with a pinch of salt, a splash of buttermilk, a little added color and some thickening agents. All ingredients are considered safe by the Food and Drug Administration.

That said, these sprays don’t deliver any nutritional benefits, and for the same or fewer calories as 25 sprays, Dawn says there are other tasty and healthful ideas for topping your toast and veggies:

On toast, try:

-      2 teaspoons of apple butter (found in the jelly & jam aisle of your grocery store such as R.W. Knudsen™ brand) will spread on a tiny bit of fiber, calcium and potassium.

-      3 teaspoons of non-fat cottage cheese (I whip mine in the blender for a cream consistency) will spread on 5 filling grams of protein.

On veggies, try:
 
-      Dried spices such as curry which contains a chemical called “curcumin” which may prevent cancer with its antioxidant powers.

-      Fresh herbs such as chives which contain sulfur-compounds which may help prevent heart disease by keeping our arteries healthy.

Any other fake butter sluts out there?