Saving Calories with Cheese

If you’re like the average American, you eat close to 32 pounds of cheese a year, and it’s not the low-fat kind. If you don’t burn it off, that’s over 12 pounds of body fat—yuck! Even worse? That’s 3,250 grams of fat—1,912 of the artery—clogging kind—holy cow!!

Cheese: Here are The Pro’s and Cons...

The Pros:

    * Cheese is packed with protein, which helps to keep you satisfied.
    * Cheese is a great source of calcium. In one ounce of cheese (about the size of 4 dice), you get 150- 250 mg of calcium (depending on the cheese you choose). This means for each ounce you get 15-20 % of your daily calcium requirements.

The Cons:

    * One ounce of full fat cheese packs 100 calories. That’s a lot! (Eat a lasagna or 2 slices of pizza and you get over 300 calories from just the cheese—that’s before you even eat the pizza crust or the lasagna noodles!)
    * Most cheeses have 8 grams of fat per ounce and over half of the fat is the artery clogging kind.

Avoid the Cons...Tactics and tricks to save calories and your arteries:

   1. Having a pizza delivered? Order it cheese-less. Add your own favorite veggies at home—mushrooms, broccoli, peppers and onions. Then, add your own favorite low-fat or non-fat cheese. You’ll save 75-150 calories per slice. This can be so healthy, that you won’t only have to save pizza for special occasions. Stick to two slices so that you don’t overeat.
   2. Love cheese on your salads? You could be getting more than you bargained for. Some salads pack on more than 500 calories of cheese. If you eat that salad every day, it equals a pound of fat gain per week. Try using a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. The flavor is strong and a little bit goes a long way.
   3. Need a daily cheese fix? Try a low-fat string cheese for a snack. For less than 100 calories, you also get a boost of calcium. Or try Bonne Bell Light cheese rounds or Laughing Cow Light Cheese wedges or Cheese Bites—all are individually portioned so you don’t go off the deep end.
   4. Using cheese in a sandwich or in a mixed dish like mac’ n cheese or lasagna? This is the perfect time to use nonfat or low-fat cheese because you will save hundreds of calories while hardly noticing a difference! You will save anywhere from 100 to 300 calories per serving.
   5. Like cream cheese? Try fromage blanc, a soft French cheese that’s super rich and creamy but fat free since it’s made with skim milk. It’s only 15 calories an ounce! If you can find Vermont Butter & Cheese Company Fromage Blanc, you’re in business. The company has figured out how to turn fat-free milk into something that has a consistency exactly like rich, full-fat sour cream. http://www.vtbutterandcheeseco.com

Final Words of Advice from The Nutrition Twins®

If you refuse to eat low-fat or nonfat cheese, limit your cheese intake to just one ounce and only have it once or twice a week. If you like the non-fat varieties, feel free to make cheese your protein choice at any meal.

Source: www.nutritiontwins.com