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Food Showdown: Pass the Cheese, Please!

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Cheese is one of the fattiest foods you can eat, and it's also high in unhealthy saturated fats.  However, it also adds calcium, flavor, and satiety to your meals.  Both of these cheeses are rich in flavor.  Feta, a soft cheese, usually tops Greek salads and pastas.  Cheddar also goes great on salad, sandwiches, and by itself. 

Which cheesy delight will set you back the fewest calories and fat?

The Winner: Feta!



 
A 1-ounce serving of feta cheese provides 80 calories and 6 grams of fat.  This makes it a better choice than cheddar, which contains 120 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving.  Next time you're about to top a salad with cheddar, think again!  Try to choose low-fat or fat-free cheeses whenever possible.  A fat-free serving of cheddar is much healthier than its full-fat counterpart, with only 45 calories and less than half a gram of fat.

 


How often do you eat cheese?


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Comments

EO4WELLNESS 3/23/2018
eat it when it makes sense to do so Report
PAULA3420 2/25/2018
I could have been a mouse in a past life :)) I love all cheeses. And, having Greek blood running through my veins has me shouting O'pa!! as I read that Feta Cheese is the winner in this article and I will be buying more Feta at the grocery tomorrow. Report
INSIGHT62 2/22/2018
My biggest weakness is cheese......any kind of cheese :( Report
SADIEMYERS 2/18/2018
I LOVE cheese :) Report
CKOUDSI617 2/11/2018
*LOVE* feta! But especially goat milk or sheep milk feta, rather than made from cow's milk. Cheese of almost any type is probably my favorite type of food. I could NEVER give it up, and gladly, I don't have to! Report
4CONNIESHEALTH 7/13/2017
We have giant rats in our house! We love cheese. Report
RAPUNZEL53
Love cheese. Report
AERO_NERDETTE
I would rather eat a smaller portion of a full-fat cheese than a larger portion of a fat-free cheese. Why? Because the full-fat version tastes so much better! I'd rather limit my intake of more decadent, fattier things than be able to have something that just isn't as good. Report
FOXGLOVE999
I love cheese, and will keep eating it, and sugar, salt in moderation. I do not believe in excluding whole food groups because of extremist views. One thing did not cause obesity, therefore excluding one thing isn't going to cure it. Report
IDJ1973
I love cheese.. My mother is over 90 yrs old, and she has eaten cheese all her life and she has the bones of a 30 yrs old. I got my love of cheese from my mother, and I took have good strong bones. My mom doesn't drink milk, so I am pretty sure she gets her calcium from the cheese. Enough said. Report
PURPOSEPOWER95
I love cheese but the salt is another story. Report
GIVENTHANKS
I love cheese and eat a little of it about every day. I am soon going to go on a Vegan diet and cheese will be what I miss the most! Report
S3XYDIVASMOM
I've cut way back on cheese because of the sodium. I've found swiss cheese and feta to be good choices in that aspect. Are there any low-sodium cottage cheeses out there? If so, I've yet to find them. Report
CORTNEY-LEE
I have a string cheese and a piece of fruit every day for a snack Report
HOTYOYOMAMA
I've learned to use only a tbl. Or two to add flavor and I think I've broke my need to use cheese as the main ingredient. Report
DWILLIAMB
I"m a cheese eater , really like smoked and horseradish cheese!! Report
PENELOPE1025
I love cheese I put it on almost everything Report
NIQUE85
i love cheese....its hard to skip it Report
JEANNEBOYD1
I put a little feta in my salad, put not huge cubes like the picture. Report
MUMSEY5
I use Edam cheese as it has less fat than other cheddar's so I get mt fix but not too much fat Report
LNELSON56
I'm a cheese lover, but have cut way back on it and have gone low fat or fat free. Thank you for the article. Report
OLDCRUSTYONE
Yup the TJ's Goat Medallians are great, also the Mini Brie's. I devour one of each daily with snack 1 & 2. Also, the Trader Joe's light string cheese is delicious, but a bit salty. The Brie is only 70 calories, 6g Fat, very decadent and satisfying with sliced apple or pear. Report
SPARKTARA
I just have to say....I think mine is the only really negative sounding comment on here.
That really wasn't my point, to just bash this cheese info.
My point is that it's not all about JUST fat and calroies.
Your body can handle a little natural fat. In fact, it needs some.
Your body does not need, and cannot handle sugar.
Sugar is what makes people fat. Report
SPARKTARA
I'm with quorndawg. I don't think it does people any favors to say (and it's not just the writer of THIS article) that something is healthier because it has less calories and less fat, and leave out other pertinent information.
For example, a Snickers bar has only 45% of its calories from fat, while an avocado has 70% calories from fat.
But would we argue that that makes the Snickers bar healthier?
Furthermore, flavored "low fat" yogurt is generally worse for you than regular yogurt because all the added sugar that they put in low fat yogurt is MUCH worse for you than having a little natural milkfat in the regular yogurt. (Note: this goes for FLAVORED yogurt...not plain.)

OK - Sorry to sound SO critical. I'm not saying this info on cheese is 100% useless. I just think that people are SO misled by constantly hearing that it's all about fat and calories. It's not. People being unaware of how bad sugar is for them (and it's in SO many "diet," "light," and "low fat" products) is in great part responsible for the obesity and diabetes epidemics we are now experiencing. Report
AUNTB63
After reading most of the comments here I am a happier person this morning....I knew I couldn't be the only person who loves cheese. Now I know that is a fact. Just came across a cream cheese with dark chocolate that is fantastic. Report
IRISHGIRL3
I love cheese - it is such my weakness Report
ARCHIMEDESII
YUM.... cheese (where's a Homer drool emoticon when you need it ?)

When I decided I needed to lose weight, I knew I could never ever give up cheese. Instead, I opted to reduce my portion sizes. Take your pick, feta, goat, cheddar, gouda, stilton, gorganzola, etc... there is nothing like a nice aged cheese. Report
ANDRAYAYA
Love cheese. Report
MARGEMF
Thank-you for he post. Milk & cheese are two of my favorite things. With, cheese however, I need to pass on the older aged cheeses as well as the strong aromatic cheeses due to their containing tyramine, a substance that is well connected with the causes of migraine headaches. Report
ETCBEAR
I love cheese I can do the feta on salads thanks for the tip Report
HANOVERLADY
Cheese - my biggest weakness! I love most of it (you blue cheese lovers can keep that nasty stuff - grin!). I enjoy Feta also but it tastes saltier than some of the other cheeses I like. I wonder if the sodium count is high? Report
FOREVERFITCHICK
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE me some cheese! Low-fat yum.......fat free, not so much!
Report
PUMPKINPHD
I used to eat cheese several times a week, but I've cut back on dairy the last month or so. I do enjoy some Feta crumbles on a Greek salad on occasion, though. Yum. Report
CHERRY666
I'd rather eat no cheese than fat free (unless it's cottage cheese). Fat free cheese tends to taste like plastic and are kind of gross (at least what I've had). Report
PATTIM67
I like to call cheese a food group, that's how often I like to eat it! Report
ROGERSBABE1
Sharp, sharp cheddar cheese. Being lactose intolerant helps me to limit my intake. I have about 1 oz every other day. But, I can't stand the reduced fat ones....cheese is my little splurge. Report
GMAGEE
I love most cheese, but can't include feta in that group. Never use it, never eat it. Report
KTHOMAS37
I love blue cheese dressing and crumbled blue on salads. Is this rediculously high in calories and fat????? Report
PEGGIE57
Cheese is about the only dairy product that wont give me the runs. I use a combination of lowfat & regular cheeses. I have decided recently to cut back on the cheese becaus of the calories. Report
JUSTJULLIE
fat is needed in the diet for proper hormones and brain function. I hate that we have rampant disorders in children related to parents starving their brains of fat and yet the disinformation continues. Salt is a totally unnecessary additive to foods - I love my fresh mozzarella and ricotta - low sodium, low calorie and plenty of good nutrition. doesn't hurt to make your own food - much better than the commercial made for profit not for quality stuff. Report
LYNNANN43
As my sister says, "Everything is better with Feta!" :D Report
CHRISBIGCHEESE
"Hail Cheese" said Egalitaire! I love it!
Report
JDBOYAR
I use 1/2 oz of mozzarella grated cheese on my egg beaters in the morning, just this little really helps me thru the day. Report
GIACCOI
President makes a fat free feta that provides all the taste of real feta without any guilt. Report
FINOLARAVENFURY
Cheese is definantly my weakness! Report
JOY73YL
I like cheese. It one of the few foods that I'll just have to do something else to off set it. I'm not giving it up. I am willing to pay the price - exercise or what ever. Report
SALTYCHOCOLATE
I'm not a big cheese eater. However, I do like feta, especially Greek feta, which is made with sheep's milk or sheep's and goat's milk. Report
SHADOZA
I love cheese and I do not care about the calories. I haven't used feta cheese yet; that it lacks color makes is appear less tempting. I love mozzarella (no color there either) mixed with mild cheddar. Cheese and whole milk is were the most of my fat intake comes from. Report
MARIJO150
I love cheese and eat it every day. I am currently trying to lose weight so I have been willing to let other things go that I normally would have eaten daily, ex. ice cream and potato chips, but I still have cheese even if i just shred a little onto my green salad at dinner. Thanks for the info. Report
RBALF1
I hate to see cheese labeled as a bad food. It is a natural food, eaten by humans since the dawn of time for many good reasons. It has protein, fat, minerals, etc. etc. It's kept many a people from starving. It's very portable for long journeys, satisfying and very, very tasty. It doesn't spoil easily. Truly one of the foods of the gods. Report
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