Smarter Options: Cheese
Let’s face it, cheese isn’t exactly a food option that comes to mind when you think of a figure friendly dish! Before my weight loss journey and life change, cheese was one of my major “downfall foods” ( i.e late night cheesy lasagna, cheese and crackers and extra cheese on my pizza!)
But I must admit, even though I’ve successfully lost 109 lbs and have been maintaining now for 5 years, I still enjoy lasagna, cheese and crackers and yes, even pizza! How you ask?
Today we’re going to be discussing my must have cheeses, there are many ways you can still enjoy cheese and lose weight or maintain the weight you’ve lost–you just have to be “methodical” in your options.
1. Reduced Fat Mozzarella Sticks
These little cheese sticks are a must have for me since they are perfect for portion control. It’s very easy to take way more when you’re cutting the cheese (ha! pun intended! *lol*) from a traditional cheese brick. I love using these in a variety of different dishes–pizza, lasagna, grilled cheese, chicken parm and the list goes on.
2. Reduced Fat Crumbled Cheese (Feta & Blue Cheese)
Yet again, another must have for me because again, it’s easy to portion out. I love topping off an entree with a tablespoon of cheese. When I go with a crumbled cheese, I like to use something stronger like feta (which is my favorite) and blue cheese. Both cheeses are stronger in flavor so you don’t need much.
3. Mini Cheese Wedges
Again, a great way to keep portion control, do you see the trend? These are so easy to work with and come in a variety of different flavors! Many of you may be familiar with the ones by The Laughing Cow. The grocery food store, Aldi actually makes a version of these cheeses as well which I really like. I use these little cheese wedges in everything! They add creaminess to a meal without adding all those unhealthy calories and fat.
4. “Ultra” Thin Sliced Cheese
These are pretty new for me, I have only been using these for the past 6 months or so. So far, Sargento is the only company I know of that is making “ultra” think sliced cheese.
Before I saw these in the grocery store, I would use the tasteless fat free cheese slices–yuck! So tasteless. What I like about this option is that you can have a decent slice of cheese on your sandwich (which made be otherwise off limits). A serving size is three slices which is about 9 grams of fat–what I like to do is take 1-1.5 slices to make grilled cheese, or whenever I want to add something extra to my tuna fish sandwich. Again, it’s all about the portion control and the numbers are easy to keep track of if you’re recording them for a food journal.
AND those are my must have cheeses! I hope this has been helpful! I’d love to know what some of your favorite cheese are. I’ve heard good things about vegan cheeses (which are on my list to try).
Have a great week and be sure to keep it Figure Friendly!
