What do you prefer, butter or margarine? Well it isn’t that simple any more. There are now lots of new spreads available to choose from Have you heard of avocado spread?  It’s a relatively new recipe that is vegan friendly, however it isn’t the green colour that you might expect as it isn’t entirely avocado but is mixed with other ingredients too. Only 24% is actually derived from the avocado itself. It is a source of vitamins A, D and omega 3 fatty acids,but these are added rather than being contained in the natural ingredients, so you are probably better off just mashing up an avocado and using that instead!

Coconut oil is another spread which is again slightly misleading as it only contains 21% coconut and the rest is a blend of vegetable oils,mostly rapeseed. Again, it is marketed as containing vitamins A,D and omega 3 but these are all added artificially.

Olive spread is another popular one that has appeared on the supermarket shelves, this does contain dairy fats however, but is actually one of the lowest fat spreads.

Soya spread is also readily available and has a high soya content at 42%,but this has been linked to allergies, so just be careful when you first start to use it and watch out for any unusual responses.

Finally, the lacto free spread which has had all of the lactose removed which is generally the cause of most allergies, and also as it’s made from butter is does have more calories than the other options.

So there is no longer a simple choice of what you put on your toast in the morning, but whichever one you choose,make sure it’s the right one for you and your body!