I generally love corn on the cob by itself, whether it’s baked, boiled, or roasted over the barbeque.  But once in awhile, it’s great to “dress it up” a little bit.  Here, I make a cilantro-garlic butter that just melts over steaming hot corn on the cob.  I use Land O Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil to cut out 50 calories, 6 grams of fat and 5 grams of saturated fat from regular butter. Best of all, it doesn’t come with the trans fats that you’ll find in some of the other butter/margarine “spreads.”

What is all this fuss about trans fats anyways?  That artery-clogging, man-made type of fat that can increase your LDL (bad cholesterol) and lower your HDL (good cholesterol), increasing your risk of coronary heart disease.  It’s made in a process called hydrogenation – chemically adding hydrogen atoms to vegetable oils to make a more solid fat and prolong the shelf life of foods.  They provide zero benefit, and more harm to those who consume it.  Heart disease is THE leading cause of death in the United States – it ranks higher up there than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, and strokes, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  And according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, over 12.5 million people have CHD.  Pretty depressing numbers, I would say.

This is why whatever little changes we can make to our diets these days will do us a world of good, not to mention buy us some time.  And thankfully, our country is taking a hard look at the facts – states like New York and California (thanks Arnold!) have banned trans fat use in its restaurants, and companies like McDonald’s and The Cheesecake Factory have nixed the nasty fat from its menus as well.

Don’t be fooled if a product still says “trans fat-free” on the product package – if a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving, the manufacturer does not not need to list it and you’ll see a nice round “zero” on the nutrition facts label.  Feel jipped now?  Well, here’s a trick to figure out if your food contains any trans fats, even if the label tells you it’s “trans-fat-free.”  Take a closer look at the ingredients label.  If you see “partially hydrogenated oils” anywhere in there, you’ve got trans fats.  Doesn’t matter if it says “partially hydrogenated cottonseed/sunflower/soybean/palm/vegetable/whatever oil,” trans fats abound.  You’ll mostly find it in margarines, baked and packaged cookies, cakes, and crackers, and shortening.

Anyways, back to my corn.  It’s yummy, and dressed with some cilantro and garlic, it adds a nice herby kick to sweet corn.  And although I do use butter in some of my cooking (in moderation of course), I like to use this Land O Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil for toast or spreadable uses to save up on calories, fat, and cholesterol you’ll usually find in regular butter.

Cilantro-Garlic Corn on the Cob

serves 4

2 Tbsp Land O Lakes Light Butter with Canola Oil

1/2 clove of garlic, crushed and minced finely

1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped fine

Small pinch salt

Small pinch garlic powder

Freshly cracked black pepper

4 medium ears of corn, prepared the way you like it (I cut each ear of corn in half and serve 2 halves per person)

1.  Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl and adjust seasonings to taste.  Spread about 1/2 Tbsp of the cilantro-garlic butter onto each ear of corn.

Nutrition Facts (per 1 medium ear of corn + 1/2 Tbsp serving): 93 calories, 3.5 grams fat (1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat), 17 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein