The New Year is finally here, many of us are making resolutions to eat healthier, or to get organized.  At least those are my usual New Year resolutions.  Each year I manage to make one or two small steps in the right direction, but there is always more to do.

This year my goal is to replace butter (gasp!) with olive oil.  Being a mom who loves to cook more than anything, this will be hard.  However, I want my kids to grow up healthy too, so it came down to what I want more.  I’m not suggesting that I’m throwing out my butter and banishing it from ever making an appearance in my house again.  That’s ridiculous.  Some things NEED butter, like mashed potatoes, or freshly popped popcorn.  And of course, I am also a huge nerd so I am aware that butter and olive oil have different viscosities, and are therefore not always interchangeable.  Cooking is after all, chemistry.

You can probably tell, I’m a butter purist, but that’s okay, baby steps.  I have started just having olive oil and vinegar on my salads.  I’m not a huge dressing fan to begin with so this was an easy option.  I’ve also discovered that my kids will eat their salad with the oil/vinegar mix as well.  Score one for mom!

Plus I have found several places that sell specialty olive oils with different flavors, and made from different olives, and with different techniques.  Well, to make it short there are thousands out there to try.  Places like Olivia Olive Oil (http://www.olivianashville.com/) are great places to start.  They can help you taste and discover new flavors.  I brought my kids in to have them taste too.  Always helps to let the kids pick.  One resolution down, one to go.

-Stephanie Wright