Good replacement for cheese?

bluesheeponahill

I love wraps. They’re easy to put together and quick. They can be toasted in winter so it’s an easy all round meal.

Except the cheese! The calories in cheese! 25 grams of grated cheese can be easily 100 calories.

What’s a good replacement for it? I was thinking hommus, but for example I do like a simple ham, cheese and tomato wrap. Ham hommus and tomatoes don’t really gel well.

Maybe other wrap filling ideas that aren’t cheese?

TIA

manderson27

There is no replacement for cheese.... that would be......just ......wrong.

I love cheese and just try to make it fit my calorie goal. It is the one thing I will never ever stop eating. It is so versatile in all its forms.

Seriously though I like chicken, with sweet chili sauce and some lettuce and cucumber. Tuna with salad and a bit of mayo.

AnnPT77

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

I love wraps. They’re easy to put together and quick. They can be toasted in winter so it’s an easy all round meal.

Except the cheese! The calories in cheese! 25 grams of grated cheese can be easily 100 calories.

What’s a good replacement for it? I was thinking hommus, but for example I do like a simple ham, cheese and tomato wrap. Ham hommus and tomatoes don’t really gel well.

Maybe other wrap filling ideas that aren’t cheese?

TIA

How about cottage cheese? Refried beans (nonfat ones have slightly fewer calories)? Labneh (it's yogurt, further drained to make it thicker)?

juniperfox

You could use a babybel snack cheese or cheesy popcorn seasoning instead?

runnermom419

Born and raised Wisconsinite here. You simply cannot replace cheese. Fit it in your calorie goal. Mmmm...cheese.

Keto_Vampire

Currently liking Alfredo sauce...
Only 315kcal/jar...this one is worth the extra few kcals over the "light version" (a bit more water-y)

Only 280kcal/jar "light version"


They are decent, not a true substitute for cheese, but definitely a viable way to save a few hundred kcals/day - more of a compromise. Not nearly as good as the one's with 8+g/fat per serving but just good enough to work

snickerscharlie

One of my favourite non-cheese wraps is grilled chicken breast strips, guacamole, salsa, lemon, cilantro and a sprinkle of salt. Delicious!

gallicinvasion

Goat cheese is only 70 calories per 28 grams

MikePTY

Mozzarella (part-skim) is only 70 calories per ounce. I'd say on average I probably eat around 3-4 ounces of cheese a day. Worth it.

Pebble321

Parmesan cheese is strong in flavour, so a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan can add a nice bit of flavour without too many cals,

TavistockToad

Reduced fat cheese, or cream cheese.

missysippy930

I will always make room for cheese. It’s worth the calories. Besides, you don’t need much to top a salad or sandwich. For example, there’s less than 30 calories in a tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Laughing Cow cheese wedges are a low calorie option as well.

lin_be

Try different cheese! Feta is pretty low cal.

lilithsrose

How about light cream cheese? Its pretty low cal. You can also add seasonings (like ranch powder) to it.

zeejane03

Pebble321 wrote: »

Parmesan cheese is strong in flavour, so a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan can add a nice bit of flavour without too many cals,

This. I've started using Parmesan more because you get a lot of flavor for a smaller calorie intake.

Also, I love those cheese spread triangles (Laughing Cow is the name brand but Aldi has their own line for $1.29/6 triangles, 25 calories per triangle). I use these every day-on my toast, in wraps, to use with crackers/veggies etc.

sheloves89

I'd look at some of the things vegans do to replace cheese in their diets - they're magicians with taste and texture!

There are ever more vegan cheese options available in typical grocery stores, and they can be much lower calorie than the non-vegan equivalents.

Nutritional yeast is a seasoning agent that adds a cheesy flavor to things. I have it over popcorn quite often, and there's a super easy recipe here for a vegan "cheese" that uses chickpea flour (high protein) and nutritional yeast. It's under 1000 calories for the whole block, so if you managed to get 10 servings out of it, it'd be about 90 calories per. I haven't made this yet, but I've done some of this blogger's other vegan recipes with good success!

My local Kroger recently started carrying nutritional yeast so it's beginning to make its way into mainstream stores, but if you can't find it in the store, Amazon carries it!

Kathryn247

Harder cheese, like sharp cheddar or parmesan (ooh, Wisconsin white cheddar!), has a stronger flavor so you can use less. I think 14g of flavorful cheese goes further than 28g of something bland.

apullum

Laughing Cow light wedges are 35 calories each and are soft enough to spread on your wraps.

endermako

28 grams of Kraft Fat Free Cheddar cheese is only 45 calories. I've replaced the good cheese with this in most of my food and it's pretty good.

lx1x

Replacement for cheese in wraps?


🤔

🥓 🤪

Or not have cheese at all. 🙃

mbaker566

you can use less of the stronger flavored cheese because of it's taste
fresh Parmesan is nice.

there are vegan cheeses but i don't know that they have lower calories.

salsa is a nice way to add flavor
nutritional yeast

i just make room for cheese cause Wisconsinite like @runnermom419

AnnPT77

Back in after giving substitution advice, because my practice is like most: I eat the cheese, in reasonable portions. To eat in featured roles, the good stuff: Good goat cheese (Cypress Grove cheeses are way expensive, but make me deliriously happy), brie, good feta (brands vary a lot), real parmesan (I buy blocks, grate, freeze).

I think 2% mozzarella type tastes fine, and in the string cheese formulation prefer its seemingly slightly chewier texture. Paneer (unsalted!) or farmers cheese are lower calorie and good, too. Mozzarella "pearls" are also pretty good. Part-skim ricotta is good in some contexts, too.

I will use other reduced-fat cheese in non-featured roles, but haven't found a fat-free that is worth the calories to me (taste and protein-wise . . . plus if I'm low on any macro, it tends to be fat). Occasionally, I'll use a pre-shredded 2% "Mexican blend" (so-called) as a melting cheese on top of stuff (I keep some in the freezer).

Cabot makes an extra-light cheddar (hard to find) that has around 60 calories per ounce, and 9g protein. It's texture isn't great for cold-eating on its own (very chewy, for cheese), and it melts less than fattier cheese as a shredded topper, but it tastes good to me in sandwiches or in cubes in soup/stew, for example. I wouldn't call it super Cheddar-y tasting, but it does taste like cheese (unlike some reduced fat options).

Personally, I don't care for the reduced-fat flavored things like Laughing Cow wedges, though the Babybel waxed ones are OK.

lorrpb

Less cheese
lower fat cheese
stronger flavored cheese (e.g. sharp rather than mild cheddar) so you don't as much to get the flavor
less of something else so you can have your cheese and eat it too!

missysippy930

If you don’t have them, a good thing to invest in is a cheese planer, and a micro grater for thinly sliced and very finely shredded hard cheeses and a vegetable peeler for shaved cheese. Weigh it out on your food scale. You may be surprised to discover how little you need and the calories are less than you may think.

angelsja

Eatlean cheese like normal cheese but less calories and more protein can be expensive though

DX2JX2

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

I love wraps. They’re easy to put together and quick. They can be toasted in winter so it’s an easy all round meal.

Except the cheese! The calories in cheese! 25 grams of grated cheese can be easily 100 calories.

What’s a good replacement for it? I was thinking hommus, but for example I do like a simple ham, cheese and tomato wrap. Ham hommus and tomatoes don’t really gel well.

Maybe other wrap filling ideas that aren’t cheese?

TIA

One note...most of things often recommended to replace cheese (hummus, guacamole, etc.) have similar calorie counts. Hummus is one that gets a lot of people because it seems like it should be low cal until you consider the ingredients (chick peas, tahini, olive oil). Ditto guacamole because what fruit is high in calories and fat?

JennJ323

Cream cheese is something you could use, they have lots of different flavors and it's generally lower in cals than other cheeses.

kam3190

Sour cream is good and less calories. Along with plain yogurt. Sometimes I put a tiny sprinkle if cheese for the meltinessand then sour cream as well. Salsa is another option. Light italian dressing.

JohnBarth

Wisconsin born, so I'll never give up cheese. I fully support some of the statements above about using a stronger or sharper cheese in smaller quantities. 0.5oz (14g) of some good cheeses go a long way.

kshama2001

I replace some full fat cheese or salad dressing with fat free cottage cheese, which has a similar mouth feel to cheese, but for far less calories. (And a protein bonus!)

For example, for a salad, instead of 2 T salad dressing, I have 1 T dressing plus 60 - 80 grams of cottage cheese (generally whatever the weight of the lettuce was.)

For a chicken lettuce wrap, I would like 1 T ranch or Caesar dressing, and would experiment with the amount of cottage cheese as the above amounts would be sloppy.

cheryldumais

As a couple of folks have already noted if you like cheese flavor top quality is the best choice because you get more flavor for less volume. If it's texture that's a different matter. Personally I like a good aged sharp cheddar for flavor or a really good quality parmesean. If you want volume the low fat cheeses are ok. They do tend to be more chewy.