cheese

oh and does anybody know the feeling when they eat sharp cheddar? it's almsot like this amazing hinging yumminess in your mouth. awesomeness!!

Food porn soundtrack... "Bow-chicka-wow-cheese."

no...my food porn sound track is I wanna kiss you all over.....cheese

OMG you guys are AWESOME!!!! :laugh:

Life is too short for low-fat cheese.

mmmm you know you want it.....

I need a tissue now.

Kerrygold has a Light Cheddar that is just lovely. So does Tillamook. If you stick to smaller quantities of hard cheeses, you get all the flavor with a lot fewer calories because - in theory- you eat less cheese to get the flavor. If you dive right in and can't stop, maybe opt for Goat Cheeses. Lower cal, easier to digest and all around tasty.

Also, if you are desperate for a cheese sauce, try mixing light cream cheese or neufchatel with som very strong cheddar. One block to a 1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Mix this up and melt it with some herbs and serve over noodles or veggies. You need just a little of it to get a big taste of cheese and you don't have the guilt.

Laughing cow and baby bel are great, too.

Or...eat any cheese you want, but make sure it's just 1 oz. That should be about the size of a lipstick tube. Everything in moderation!

Hard Cheeses vs. Creamy Cheeses - here is the thing -
**before I start rambling, I'd like to qualify my rant. I've worked for a gourmet foods distributor specializing in perishables and cheeses for about 7 years, so while I'm not a food scientist, I have been in MANY cheese classes to hone my skills. Others are better and may have more knowledge and I happily defer to them on formulation, density and the like***

Creamy Cheeses simply have a higher moisture content and therefore remain creamy and delicious. Hard cheeses have had all of the moisture drained out of them to preserve them. Since cheese is the preservation of milk, that was the historic goal.

With this in mind, Hard cheeses can have a higher calorie to oz ratio because of their density, but they are extremely flavorful in most cases. There are odd exceptions but this is a fairly standard observation. Soft cheeses are still very perishable and have a slightly lower calorie to oz ratio since they still have all that moisture to spread around the fats and calories over volume.

Generally though, cheese will have between 70 - 120(ish) calories per oz. As a rule of thumb, I assume what I am eating (usually semi-firm cheese like cheddars) is about 110 calories per oz. Then I can have anything I want and fit it into my calories for the day!

Livestrong had a great summary of different cheeses:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/409887-cheese-nutrition-guide/

I also like cheese... For me, the reasonable alternative to dairy cheese is veggie cheese slices...

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Cheddar is the sun.
Arise, fair Stilton, and kill the envious Parmigiano-Reggiano ,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than cheese

The lady doth protest too much.

Lower carbs in your diet and increase protein and fats (inc cheese). You'll find it easier to incorporate cheese if you free calories from the non-essential food group, carbs.

Amen. And the higher the fat content of the cheese, the lower the carbs.

I have never restricted my fat or protein intake, only carbs (not counting those from veggies). Lost weight incredibly easily and never felt hungry once.

I LOVE cheese and I also LOVE Cabot's 50% or 75% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (they even come in snack size)!! I use it for my salads, mac-n-cheese, as a snack....everything!! I'm also a fan of Sargento's Thin Sliced Reduced Fat Swiss!!

I buy Cabot extra sharp white cheddar in 2lb blocks and also eat a lot of their Greek yogurt. Good brand. I prefer Sargento shredded cheeses for cooking, especially 4 cheese Mexican and the Mozzarella & Provolone blend. And I often use grated Parmesan much as I used to use butter to season vegetables or grilled chicken. A half tbsp packs a LOT of flavor for only 10 calories.

Sometimes I buy Kraft, but I quit buying Bordon's years ago because the dog I had at the time refused to eat it. A pug. What a pug won't eat isn't fit for human consumption.