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Work
to de-cheese your diet
May 27, 04
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Great
gobs of gooey cheese.
We melt it on vegetables and pasta, pile it onto sandwiches,
and snack on it straight off the block. We even deep-fry it.
And we shunt the surplus into the national school lunch program.
We eat a lot of cheese. Take a mental tally of the amount
you eat in a typical day or week.
Trouble is, cheese is the leading source of saturated fat
in most of our diets. And according to the Institute of Medicine,
there is no safe level of intake of saturated fat. Even the
slightest amount increases the risk of coronary artery disease.
Most of us should take a hard look at how much cheese we eat
and work to substantially reduce it.
But cheese is everywhere.
There’s cheesy pizza and Italian entrees loaded with
fatty ricotta and mozzarella. Ravioli, stuffed shells, manicotti
and baked ziti smothered in cheese. We eat nachos swimming
in cheese sauce, not to mention baked potatoes and broccoli
coated with it. We put not one but several slices of cheese
on sandwiches, melt it onto burgers, and toss it into salads.
You name it – someone will put cheese on it.
Rationalizing that cheese is high in protein and calcium doesn’t
cut it. Most of us eat too much protein as it is. Cutting
back on cheese would only help where that’s concerned.
As for calcium – there are plenty of other sources that
don’t carry the liability of cheese. In fact, greens,
beans, fortified fruit juices and other fruits and veggies
not only provide calcium but other health-supporting nutrients
often in short supply in our diets.
Summer’s lighter meals make this a good time to get
started reducing your dependence on cheese.
Here are some ideas to help you start cutting back:
* Appetizers. In lieu of cheese balls, serve antipasto platters
with colorful arrangements of roasted peppers, fresh sliced
vegetables and olives; sliced baguette rounds with pesto,
sun-dried tomato, or black olive spread, and black bean, hummus,
and blended spinach and artichoke dips.
* Salads. Toss with sunflower seeds, walnuts, and avocado
slices instead of adding cheese. Dried cherries, garbanzo
beans, grated carrots, beets, and sliced green onions add
texture, color and flavor.
* Sandwiches. Accent with chutney, red onion slices, and roasted
red peppers. Limit cheese to one slice, and make it nonfat.
* Entrees. Serve pesto pasta and pasta primavera – tossed
with olive oil and garlic – and rely less on cheese-filled
pasta dishes. Save cheesy casseroles for special occasions
or, better yet, establish new traditions based on healthier
recipes.
* Sides. Skip the cheese sauce. At home, our kids eat steamed
broccoli plain. Use nonfat yogurt or salsa on baked potatoes.
Be especially careful in restaurants where cheese is used
liberally on just about everything.
Nonfat cheeses exist, but my experience is that most people
aren’t satisfied with them. They don’t melt and
they have the consistency of rubber. I’d be interested
in hearing from readers who have found some they like. Cheeses
made from soy or rice milk are sold in natural foods stores,
but my experience with those is likewise underwhelming.
For all of us cheese-lovers – and I include myself in
that company – here’s my advice: Cast cheese in
the role of a minor ingredient when you eat it, and work to
omit it more often. I use it sparingly. Pizza only now and
then; a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on my pasta.
Begin thinking of cheese as a condiment and you’ll be
on the right track.
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