margarine=oil

one stick of margarine equals 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

I am in agreement with the measurement and the fact that oil (especially canola or olive) are better for us than margarine. BUT…… certain recipes cannot use oil and margarine interchangeably, so if it is a baked good, like a cookie or pie, you may be altering the texture, or it may not come out right. If you are using it to saute something, or just add a little fat to, say, a rice dish, then the oil will do fine. For the amount of margarine in a given recipe, sometimes it is worth just eating the darn cookie, transfat and all. Occasional transfats, like occasional indulging in anything, probably will not hurt you. It’s the chronic abuse by eating transfats all the time, that clog our arteries.

just a side note that might be of interest… often, especially in baked goods, applesauce is a better substitute than oil. It would still be 1/2 cup per stick. I’ve tried in in a number of cookie & bar recipes and it seems to work pretty well. Sometimes you have to use some combination of any 2 or all three (marg, oil, applesauce) to get the right texture while reducing (or eliminating) fat. Hatzlacha!!!

There are also margarines available that don’t have transfats.

I will try that applesauce substitution. It wouldn’t work in my chockolate glaze, but it should work in other things.

Different is sometimes better. While margarine is easier to work with, oil may yield better results.

I use oil instead of margarine all the time, but I am not particular about the texture of my baked goods.