The Skinny on Cheese
Folks, don’t send me a box of chocolates for Valentines Day, my love language is cheese! There are very few of these milk-derived, taste treats I avoid. The joy my mouth gets from eating cheese is so great, I think if I ever became lactose intolerant, I might fall into a somewhat depressive state.
Growing up Italian, the typical cheeses I ate on a weekly basis were mozzarella, ricotta, sharp provolone, and Pecorino Romano—freshly grated before the meal. My family found ways to eat cheese at most every meal. (Have you ever had room temperature ricotta spread on toast and drizzled with honey? Mmm… Sorry, I digressed.) One of my uncles was from Berlin, Germany, so he added another whole variety of “exotic” cheeses to my culinary experience.
Cheese certainly is packed with protein, but it also contains a great deal of calories, being that it contains so much fat. If you’re thinking about why I just don’t begin eating low fat cheese, I simply cannot. (Cheese snob alert.) All these reduced fat varieties taste waxy and “fake” to me, so I’d rather pass.
These days—having to keep an eye on my aging waistline—I’m having to cut back on the quantity of cheese I’d LIKE to eat. But I’ve also began to question whether some cheeses might be better for me to enjoy than others, as it pertains to my health.
Turns out, some cheeses are, in fact, overall better choices than others. Here’s some of what I learned:
- Hard cheeses contain less fat. Examples include varieties such as cheddar, Swiss, parmesan, or Romano.
- Feta, goat, and blue cheese are great choices to use on salads, burgers, and the like because they have even less fat than hard cheeses.
- Mozzarella is pretty low in fat, yay!
- Ricotta and cottage cheeses pair well with breakfast and are definitely on the better-for-you cheese list!
Shaved, grated, or crumbled cheese gives you great flavor, while allowing you to use them more sparingly, so when using cheese for salads, soups, chilis, etc. skip the cubes and slices and go for a sprinkle.
When a dish calls for slices of cheese, just cut them (or have them cut) real thin so you can enjoy the flavor and not get buried in calories. Using these portion tips will allow you and I to eat cheese more responsibly, and most importantly, to keep eating it!
