cheese please :)

When I was not so health conscious and focused on losing weight I used to put cheese on just about EVERYTHING. Now that I am aware of the amount of calories and fat cheese has I never have it and I am missing my cheese. I eat sandwich cheese slices and sometimes sprinkle a little crumbled feta on my salads but I want to get away from processed cheese slices and feta has too much salt to enjoy it every day. So my question to you is this: What are some kinds of cheeses that I could incorporate into my diet without adding hundreds of extra calories to my meals?

Parmesan packs a lot of flavor in small amounts, sprinkle that on steamed vegetables or salads and the like. I'm not sure about the salt/sodium content though.

1) I must be one of the few who like this, but as far as low-calorie goes, Kraft's nonfat mozzarella and cheddar are really low in calories (45 compared to 200 regular in 1/4th cup) and low in fats, of course.  The sodium is not too bad either.  Most people who don't like it say it doesn't melt right, etc.  I have been using it on my homemade pizzas, whole wheat wraps, cabbage salads, etc.  I like it and recommend it to people who don't want to give up eating cheese but don't want all the calories.

2) Laughing Cow cheese wedges are very tasty and low in calories.  Also, the little red Babybel cheese circles are very tasty.  The little wedges are only 35 calories and make a great "spread" to put on lowfat snack crackers or on celery, etc.

I think smaller amounts of stronger cheese is the way forward (diet cheese sounds all wrong to me). I used to be a cheese fiend too! Now I am mostly satisfied with 20g or so of cheese, which is not that many calories. Just logging the larger amounts was too painful! So I always buy really good stuff from a very cute cheeseselling kid who is far too young for me in the market

bairn:  I would agree with you that if one can control him/herself, that your method works best.  But since I loved eating regular cheeses as much as I did drinking Imperial Stouts and eating chocolate-covered nuts (none of which I showed moderation with), I can not regulate myself to small amounts.  I used to eat dozens of crackers and 8 oz chunks of a variety of cheeses (total = 4000 or more calories) at one sitting, while watching the boob tube.  So for me, because I like quantity over quality, I find grated parmesan, laughing cow and babybel, and nonfat cheese keep my cheese cravings satisfied.

Use unsweetened yogurt for toppings.  Not quite the same as cheese, but it's tart.

ricotta cheese is great.

mozzerella balls.

light cream cheese.

they are lower calorie.

however- perhaps try buying cheese from a cheese counter, and only buy a small bit, but buy 5 different types- that way, you can vary them a lot without having a lot of cheese left to use up.

And for the record- cheese should really have its own food group- its that good

The only low fat cheeses I like are the Sargento Reduced fat, shredded cheeses.  They don't seem to have the added gooey, gummy ingredients.

What I usually do is weigh out an ounce of my favorite, really good cheese and count it as a serving of dairy.  I limit that to about 3 times a week.  An expensive wedge of cheese lasts a long time if you dole it out like that.

I use the Sargento to make things like THIS  It's a low fat cheese sauce and I like it on vegetables or pasta.

I am in the quality over quantity camp, so I would try to stick with real cheeses that pack a lot of flavor.  Despite the sodium, feta and similar cheeses (like Mexican cotija) can be good because it often takes little more than a crumble to add some flavor to a dish.  IMO, sometimes 5-10 grams of feta is all it takes!  With parmesan (or grana, pecorino romano, etc.) it often takes even less than 5 grams to add significant cheese flavor.  If you use a really fine grater (microplane makes great ones) that will also allow you to get more flavor out of less cheese.  I also buy extra sharp cheddar because it adds so much more flavor than a milder cheese would without requiring me to use a ton of cheese.

Original Post by coreyander:

I am in the quality over quantity camp, so I would try to stick with real cheeses that pack a lot of flavor.  Despite the sodium, feta and similar cheeses (like Mexican cotija) can be good because it often takes little more than a crumble to add some flavor to a dish.  IMO, sometimes 5-10 grams of feta is all it takes!  With parmesan (or grana, pecorino romano, etc.) it often takes even less than 5 grams to add significant cheese flavor.  If you use a really fine grater (microplane makes great ones) that will also allow you to get more flavor out of less cheese.  I also buy extra sharp cheddar because it adds so much more flavor than a milder cheese would without requiring me to use a ton of cheese.

I am with coreyander. Find a good quality, full flavor cheese like strong cheddar, or double or triple brie cheese. It would be more expensive, and in smaller quantities then blandish cheeses or cheese things sold in grocery stores, but keep in mind cheese is a flavoring not a "food". If that makes any sense. :)

UD

Ditto Coreyander and UD.  Quality over quantity.   Pungent cheeses pack a lot of flavor in a small amount.   Besides those already mentioned, Swiss and Asiago are a couple of my favorite high-flavor cheeses. 

Kay.

i think mozarella is the healthiest cheeze, i suppose if u cant live without it just use the smallest amount possible and make up for it by doing extra exercises.

unouno

i lovelovelove mozzarella cheesestrings only 60 calories and FUNNN lol... playswithfood

String cheese and other cheese sticks are great.  Sargento colby jack sticks are individually wrapped for portion control help, about 70 calories each and melt nicely in the oven in recipes - i.e. couple slices of turkey, diced tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, fresh spinach and one cheese stick rolled up in a tortilla.  Lite cheddar, lite colby jack and lite pepper jack are my favorites.  I stay away from fat free since I don't like to think of what they put in them instead of milk fat, but the lite ones are usually just the regular stuff made with skim milk.  Read your labels and find brands which have decent ingredients and you'll be okay enjoying cheese.

Of all the things I loved eating and drinking in excess such as:

• fatty rib steaks
• baby back ribs
• Imperial Stouts and Porters
• chocolate covered nuts
• buttery popcorn
• homemade caramel popcorn
• natural cheese such as sharp cheddar and pepper jack
• cookies
• french fries and onion rings
• fried chicken
• Pizza Hut pizza

The one thing that has been the most difficult from that list for me to give up or cut back on is natural cheese.  That is why I eat lowcalorie cheese, because I simply am not satisfied with 1 oz (220) or 2 oz (440) of sharp cheddar or extra sharp or pepper jack or longhorn, whatever.  I could 16 oz. if I weren't particularly very diligent.  So I am happy with my nonfat choices and my lowfat choices such as Laughing Cow wedges. 

I don't know which cheese would have 220 per ounce. I buy sliced Havarti and Muenster cheeses which are about 20-21 g (28 g is an ounce) and have 80 and 70 calories per slice, respectively. I eat some kind of cheese every day, but I can't stand the lowfat kind. I prefer "real" cheese but I know I can't overdo it.

I agree with parmesan being good to add flavor; since it is a strongly flavored cheese, you can use less of it. 

Good catch!  I forgot that when I first went on my diet, I would cut an 8 oz cheese chunk into four 2-oz sections and only eat one section for a snack, wrapping each of the other 3 up as separate snacks.  So I was eating 220 or 240 calories per 1/4th chunk (2 oz, not 1 oz).  Thus, the cheese I bought (sharp cheddar, extra sharp cheddar, pepper jack, colby, etc) had 120 calories an ounce or 110 depending on which kind.  But none of the "regular" cheeses that I bought, including the mozzarella, ever was as low as 70 or 80; the lowest I can remember any variety being was 100 calories per ounce.  I am not including any low-fat cheeses or specially made mozzarella cheeses.

Cheese is the best food in the entire world!! :) When I first started dieting I had to give up cheese AND peanutbutter because there was no way I could eat them in moderation.

With cheese: I have learned to only buy expensive cheeses and eat them in moderation. Asiago, for example, is like $11 for a small brick. It's SOO good, and can be eaten with something healthy instead of a cracker. . .say some roasted red peppers or olives and basil. With less expensive cheeses. . .such as cheddar, swiss, etc, I'm always tempted to eat it because it's so much more available and cheap. When I treat myself to something nice (gourmet cheese) I'm most likely to spread it out and make it last, thus only eating a little at a time!

If you don't like the expensive cheese route, then buy some fat free cheese. I have some american singles that are 30 calories a slice. No, they don't taste amazing, but their perfect for tuna melts or a grilled cheese if you need a quick fix without the calories.

And if you like blue cheese, maybe buy some blue cheese FF dressing for wraps and stuff? You'll get the cheesey taste and no fat :)

Good luck fellow cheese lover!

I have found out that ricotta and feta can be used in something like whole wheat pan cakes and bruschetta, so I can get my cheese fix occasionally those ways.  But, alas, it all comes down to I have to be really careful that I can stop temptation and only eat small amounts of almost any kind of cheese per day.  Which is why I like the 45 calories, 0% fat of Kraft nonfat cheese.

You could have the low calorie, creamy tasting ones such as mozzerella or cottage cheese mixed in with a dish, then topped with a small amount of parmesan or very strong, sharp cheddar - that way you get loads of the protein and calcium plus flavour, with less salt and less fat.

Also to cure a cheese craving, you could keep pre-weighed, 1oz portions of your fave cheeses to have as a snack with say, some celery, apple, or grapes. Then you get a cheese hit and it'll only give you about 150 calories.

Laughing Cow Lite Cheese Wedges can be incorporated into almost anything. For a great burger, season ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, whatever) and wrap the raw meat around a Laughing Cow, and flatten it back into a patty. Grill that up and you've got a really great, cheesey outside-in burger.

(I didn't come up with this. I just eat it ALL THE TIME. Credit goes to Hungry-Girl.)

http://www.hungry-girl.com/thursdaypreview.ph p?newsletterid=1747

Check out the rest of her website for other ideas w/ Laughing Cow :)