Cheese, please

When thinking about a healthy lifestyle, one of the main reasons people "fall off the wagon" is due to strict limitation... especially cutting out their favorite foods. The best thing you can do is learn how to include the foods you really like in the least processed way AND in the correct portion size.

Cheese… I used to refer to this food as "the devil". Cheese is full of fat, processed ingredients & can't possibly add nutrition to your diet, right? Actually… wrong.

Cheese can be part of a healthy lifestyle when it is unprocessed (look at the natural characteristics below), used in moderation & complementing the right foods. The most nutritious cheese is going to be more expensive, but in the end it's worth the extra cost.

Natural:

Starts as a "loaf"

You can slice, cube, shred

100% real

Wait for it to age: 60 days to 3 years

Needs refrigeration, not shelf stable

Processed:

Packaged: plastic, can, box

~51% real

Preservatives, artificial ingredients

2x salt as natural cheese

Shelf stable

The National Dairy Council has some great information about real cheese located on their "Did you know?" page:

Sixteen percent of teenagers and 26 percent of

adults are reducing or not eating meat in their

diets and both are looking for additional sources

of protein.

U.S. preteen and teenage girls 9 to 18 are at risk for

not getting enough calcium according to the Institute

of Medicine

Most cheeses are gluten-free

Natural cheese is made from four basic ingredients:

milk, salt, starter culture or “good bacteria” and an

enzyme called rennet. The nutrients found in cheese

(e.g., calcium, protein, phosphorus) are there because

milk is the main ingredient in cheese

If you are looking to lower the sodium in

your diet, one tip is to choose a cheese

based on firmness and age. In general,

softer, less-aged cheeses require less salt

than harder, aged varieties. Lower sodium

and lower-fat cheeses also are available.

(1 ounce)	Feta	Goat	Blue	Provolone	Gouda	Parmesan
Calories	75	100	100	100	100	110
Fat	6	8	8	7	8	7
Sat Fat	4	6	5	5	5	5
Protein	4	6	6	7	7	10

Pairing cheese:

Top triscuit/whole grain cracker: provolone

Salad topper: goat/feta/blue

With fruit: gouda

 With beer: cheddar