Too Much Processed CHEESE?!?

Well, if you gotta have cheese (and sometimes, you just gotta!), real is always better than fake, even if it is high in fat and sodium.... Just use less of it. One slice of what you currently use might be less fat, but how much less fat is it? If you use a half of a slice of REAL cheese, complete with real fat, you've changed the chemistry involved for sure, and think about it; are your taste buds really going to be able to tell the difference between a whole slice of fake and a half slice of real? Your appetite really doesn't care, but your thighs and your intestines really DO!
hth

I am a cheese lover! However, I strongly dislike goat cheese! :sick: It is truely an aquired taste. I would suggest a "real" slice of swiss cheese by Finlandia, it is higher in protein than processed, but it's still better for you. (And occasionally treat yourself to a slice of the "other stuff" so you don't crave it and binge eat a whole package! lol Learning to eat healthy is like weening a baby from the bottle-it takes time and definately does not happen overnight!)

What about cottage cheese? It is high in protein, low in fat and sodium?

I love Asiago... especially in a spinach omelet!

I've never liked processed cheese, but I sent my husband out to pick up a few staples for the house and he brought home, you guessed it, processed cheese. I hate how it sticks to your teeth and if it does that in your mouth, imagine what it's doing in your stomach and colon?!!
I am appalled :grumble: that my girls LOVE it. They eat it by the slice! I've tried giving them "real" cheese and they eat it, spit it out and give me a sour look.:sick:

This may be a dumb question but how do you tell the real cheese from the processed cheese? Real cheese comes in a block in your grocer's refrigerated section or is it more involved than that?

When cheese is pre-packaged in single serve slices, you can usually safely bet it's processed, however the surest way to tell is that 'cheese food' must be marked as such. Read the label.
Most deli counters have blocks of cheese for slicing and this is 'real' cheese.

When cheese is pre-packaged in single serve slices, you can usually safely bet it's processed, however the surest way to tell is that 'cheese food' must be marked as such. Read the label.
Most deli counters have blocks of cheese for slicing and this is 'real' cheese.

Not always. I know plenty of deli counters that sell processed cheese. Read the ingredients--if it has added oil, flavor, color, or preservatives, it's processed. Real cheese is made from milk, some type of culture, an enzyme (either animal [called rennet], vegetable, or microbial), and maybe salt. That's it.

I've never been to a deli that sliced processed cheese-food. Maybe I've been lucky. Also, having worked in a deli myself, processed cheese food would stick to the slicing blade in a way that would have made it impossible to get the job done.

My whole point is that most processed cheese foods must be marked as such, because the consumer has a right to know what it is they're buying. Any deli you go to must allow you to view the contents of the products they serve, and if they won't, you shouldn't buy from them.

Cheese:

Cheese is made from milk, and that milk comes from animals as diverse as cows, sheep, goats, horses, camels, water buffalo, and reindeer. Most cheese makers expedite the curdling process with rennet, lactic acid, or plant extracts, such as the vegetable rennet produced from wild artichokes, fig leaves, safflower, or melon.

In addition to milk and curdling agents, cheeses may contain various ingredients added to enhance flavor and color. The great cheeses of the world may acquire their flavor from the specific bacterial molds with which they have been inoculated, an example being the famous Penicillium roqueforti used to make France's Roquefort and England's Stilton. Cheeses may also be salted or dyed, usually with annatto, an orange coloring made from the pulp of a tropical tree, or carrot juice. They may be washed in brine or covered with ashes. Cheese makers who wish to avoid rennet may encourage the bacterial growth necessary to curdling by a number of odd methods. Some cheeses possess this bacteria because they are made from unpasteurized milk. Other cheeses, however, are reportedly made from milk in which dung or old leather have been dunked; still others acquire their bacteria from being buried in mud. (Yummy)

Processed Cheese:

The unusual texture and flavor of processed cheese are obtained by combining several types of natural cheese and adding salt, milk-fat, cream, whey, water, vegetable oil, and other fillers. Processed cheese will also have preservatives, emulsifiers, gums, gelatin, thickeners, and sweeteners as ingredients. Most processed cheese and some natural cheeses are flavored with such ingredients as paprika, pepper, chives, onions, cumin, car-away seeds, jalapeno peppers, hazelnuts, raisins, mushrooms, sage, and bacon. Cheese can also be smoked to preserve it and give it a distinctive flavor.

These become your velveeta, kraft singles or other cheese singles, and imitation cheeses.

Now that being said, I have worked in a few deli's and have never sliced anything that resembled Velveeta or any other soft cheese. I would love to know what deli or deli's you have been to that slice that kind of cheese so that I can avoid them.

Processed American cheese, both yellow and white, are available in all grocery deli's that I've been to--Albertson's, Safeway, Von's, Ralph's, SaveMart, Smith's, etc. It's not soft like Velveeta, but it's still not "natural" cheese.

:flowerforyou: