's motd Tues Oct 12, 2010 - Cheese

[Guest guest]

THE

CHEESE FAMILY

Tuesday, 12 October 2010

"Leonard, don't they all look

delicious? Which kind shall we buy?"

"I'll tell

you what, Shirley. Let's get some

camembert, some brie, some of that sharp

cheddar and a little Swiss for our

sandwiches."

My

mom and dad just loved cheese.

(And I did, too!) When we rolled up to the

cheese counter at the French Quarter A & P,

it was as if my parents were frozen

in front of that cheese case as they made

their selections. There were just so many

different types of cheese to choose from.

My

folks loved to have fruit and cheese at the

end of a meal. My father liked brie toasted

in the oven and topped with almonds. My

mother used to cut Swiss cheese into little

squares and stick toothpicks into them before

serving. (I just loved when she did that.)

So I guess you can say that I came from a

regular cheese family.

Back then, all of the cheeses were fattening.

But today, there's a whole new family of

cheeses packed and ready for you to take

home. First off, there's nonfat cheese. Oh,

it looks okay when you buy it. But when you

get it home and try the nonfat cheeses, to me,

well, they just don't taste so much like

cheese. And another thing about nonfat cheese

is that when you warm it in the oven, it

doesn't melt like regular cheese. It just

sort of keeps the same shape and texture as it

warms.

Then

there's lowfat cheese which contains about 55

calories per ounce. I'll admit that some of

the lowfat cheeses actually taste pretty

good. You just have to keep trying different

varieties until you find the one you like

best.

Last but not least are the higher fat cheeses

which contain around 80 calories per ounce. A

lady told me recently that when she gets

depressed about something, she ends up eating

a half-pound of whole-fat

American cheese, a box of crackers and drinks

a bottle of wine with it all to help her "feel

better." Well now, that really is a party,

isn't it? If you're eating eight ounces

of regular cheese in one sitting, that's

about 800 calories! (And that's not even

counting her crackers and wine!) 800

calories, that's a lot of calories and...a

lot of cheese!

Cheese is listed in the FoodMover exchange

guide in two areas. You'll see it in the

protein section and in the dairy section, as

well. So if you eat one ounce of low-fat

cheese, you would close either a protein

window or a dairy window. (If

you're not familiar with the FoodMover, you

can learn more about it my clicking this

link.)

Now

there's another kind of cheese that I use a

lot these days. It's made by Laughing Cow and

it's a pasteurized cheese. It comes in a

little round box and each box contains

individually wrapped wedges of Laughing Cow

Cheese. (They're so cute!) One wedge will

cost you and "Extra" on your FoodMover because

each wedge contains only 35 calories.

Wanna know what I do with my little wedges of

Laughing Cow? Well, I heat a wedge in the

microwave oven for 25 seconds and after it's

warmed, I put it inside a baked yam. Or I

like mixing it with pasta to make a faux

alfredo sauce. I can't tell you how good it

tastes. (You'll just have to try it.) I'm

telling you, 35 calories never tasted so

yummy!

Do you have cheese in your fridge right now?

Is it high fat or lowfat cheese? Well, take a

look at your cheese choices today. I mean,

you may not have known what's in the cheeses

you buy but, after reading this message, you

know a little bit more about them today.

Love,