Do you love cheese?
Nutrition Tip
Many of us love our cheese and would certainly hate to give it up. The Federal Government reports the typical American eats 30 pounds of cheese a year. This is triple the amount Americans consumed in 1970.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (a Washington D.C. based consumer group sometimes known as the "Food Police") states that cheese is doing more damage to our hearts than beef or butter. They also state cheese is "a dangerous trap". The danger, they claim, comes in the form of the saturated fat found in cheese. The "bad" fat. Not news a cheese love wishes to hear!
But never mind those "food police"! There is good news for cheese lovers and yes, you can eat your cheese. First of all, cheese is an excellent source of calcium. There is no disputing that fact. More importantly, cheese makers are now offering low-fat, non-fat or light cheeses. By incorporating these into your cooking and baking, you can decrease the "bad" fat consumption from cheese by 50 percent or more.
Cheese Guidelines
Following are some guidelines to follow for cheese lovers so when we indulge, we do so with the least amount of damage.
- Limit yourself to two ounces of full-fat cheese per week if you must eat some. One serving is 1-1/2 slices of American cheese or Swiss cheese, or the cheese on one slice of a large pizza.
- At fast-food outlets, skip the cheese on sandwiches. You'll get used to it! If you can put this into practice, you will save yourself five grams of saturated fat every time you indulge in a fast-food burger.
- When you indulge in pizza, order it not with the double cheese, but with half the cheese. If a pizza place you frequent is very generous with the cheese they put atop their pizza's, you could even reduce this to one quarter the amount. If this advice has you groaning, there is another alternative. Buy low-fat or non-fat shredded cheeses and keep them on hand. It freezes well, too.
- When you know you will be ordering a pizza to your home, remove the cheese from the freezer or frig to bring to room temp and when the pizza arrives sprinkle it on and re-warm the pizza in a 400 degree oven for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the cheese is melted. This way you can have your cheese on the pizza without the guilt. You can apply this to burgers, also. Buy slices of two percent or fat-free American cheese. Bring your burgers home, remove a half of the bun and place a slice of cheese on the top, microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.