Low Fat Cheese

[eartha]

I love cheese but am trying to reduce fat content in my diet. Have tried several at TJ's (lowfat Feta is tasteless, don't bother) but have found a cheddar at Ralph's that's ok, not the sharp which I like but better than nothing. Please share your suggestions

[DonShirer]

My wife asked the local cheese shop to recommend a lo-fat cheese and they suggested a Swiss-type called Leerdammer. I'm not a big fan of Swiss cheese, but I snuck a slice for a ham sandwich and it tasted about the same as any other Swiss.

[danna]

GOAT! Goat cheese is naturally low fat...so you can eat regular, full-fat goat cheese, and it's 6 fat grams per ounce. That's exactly the same as Kraft 2% Sharp Cheddar.

I agree w/ the poster who said reduced-fat grocery store cheese is fine for use when the cheese cooked in some dish. I use either the Krafts mentioned above, or Cabots Cheddar if I am making something like quiche, mac and cheese, etc.

Also farmer's cheese is low fat and makes a decent sub for ricotta.

[MaggieB]

You ought to give Laughing Cow cheese a whirl as well. You can find it in the specialty cheese case in your regular grocery store. It come sin a soft, spreadable variety or in little semi-soft wheels. I love the stuff!

[Jacey]

Laughing Cow is great. I love the herb and french onion flavors. They also make LC Bites (not the babybells--that's another option), which taste like normal cheese but lower in fat.

TJ also carries a Reduced Fat FRENCH feta. It's quite good and i think it only has around 50/cals per serving.

I really don't mind fat free kraft singles, even though a lot of people hate them. The Smart Beat brand melts pretty well in omelettes.

I don't know where you live, but Zabar's in NYC carries a very good low fat fotina and reduced fat brie.

[TexasToast]

Laughing Cow is great. It's very similar to a great European cheese called Dairylea (frequently marketed to kids), but I've never been able to find it in NY (which you think would have everything).

http://www.kraftafh.co.uk/Cultures/en...

TT

[eartha]

Thank you all for your ideas. Will tell you I always buy TJ's fat free cottage cheese (tastes like every other brand's 2%) and their fat free milk. Can't figure out how they make their fat free cottage cheese and milk so good while the regular stuff in grocery stores is dry and just dreadful; my son describes the skim milk from other stores as "blue water".

bibirose, I'm a label reader so little escapes me on a nutrition note (wish I could say that on other topics~~~). Once in a while I find a terrific tasting cheese that fits my guidelines; I make happy sounding noises while I savor the flavor. When I find such yumminess, I'll post it.

I'm always on the lookout for reduced fat and sodium hard cheeses, especially cheddar. Marge, I agree about Cabot's reduced fat cheddar - my TJs carries it irregularly but overall Cabot's is good IMO.

picolla, where do you find "tuma"?

Thanks to all for the ideas, please keep them coming.

[piccola]

i've only ever bought it in canada (where i'm from), but it was in italian delis/groceries
it looks like a chunk of fresh ricotta, only it's firm enough to slice, cube, and crumble. i love it just plain in a sandwich.

[Leslie]

I like a reduced fat gouda- packaged as Gooda brand, imported from Holland. I used to get it as TJ's, but they haven't carried it for a while. I have found it at the local supermarket. TJ's does have a reduced fat smoked gouda, which is pretty good. Also, Finlandia reduced fat Swiss, which comes sliced, is also pretty good.

[piccola]

I don't mind lowfat feta, goat, cream or cottages cheeses.

There's also a soft, unripened cheese called "tuma" that's naturally lowfat and oh-so-delicious.

[TexasToast]

Weightwatchers do a low fat cheese and depending on where you live and what kind of distribution you have, there's a wonderful half-fat Cheddar type cheese made by a company called Leskol. www.leskol.com

It tastes like a mild Cheddar, and cooks and melts just as well.

TT

[bibi rose]

Agreed, as a snack by itself lowfat cheese is generally not appealing. However if you want cheese to make eg a melted sandwich, Jarlsberg Lite is not half bad. (Check labels; some "lowfat" cheeses are still high in fat, proportionately to protein.)

[Val]

I think eating smaller portions is the best way to go here like another poster suggests; I love to come home and cook dinner (yes, this relaxes me) and have a glass of wine while doing so, invariably reaching for a little cheese to go with it...I was recently surprised by this information about goat cheese, my current favorite cheese.
Link below:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/ar...

[Gary Soup]

In my opinion, low-fat cheese is only suitable for making huaraches (and no, I don't have a recipe for that).

[cheryl_h]

I'd eat the same good cheeses I've always enjoyed, but in smaller quantities.

[Marge]

Cabot's 50% light sharp cheddar is pretty good.

[faijay]

Don't expect low fat cheese to taste anywhere near the real cheese. Most of it tastes like chalk, especially if it is under about 18 percent butter fat. I do make yoghurt cheese which is an okay substitute for cream cheese kind of stuff. But my suggestion is eat smaller portions of good fat in cheese. Under no circumstance eat no fat or very low fat cheese.

[dfrostnh]

We use Veggie Shreds, usually the mozzarella for pizza.