There are six cheeses you can easily incorporate into a healthy diet today let's look at
all 6 Cheese’s today.

Gouda
Gouda Cheese is a creamy cheese it has a rich, buttery flavor, so you may not have thought about Gouda being a healthy cheese. An excellent source of calcium, it's slightly lower in fat and calories than Cheddar, but higher in sodium

Goat Cheese
Also called chèvre, goat cheese can be creamy, crumbly, or semi-firm. It has a mild aroma and a strong, tangy taste. Lower in fat and calories than cheese made from cow's milk, goat cheese is high in protein. It's easily digestible, too, making it a good choice if you have lactose intolerance or dairy allergies. Avoid goat cheese if you're pregnant, as it may have bacteria that can be harmful to the baby.

Cottage Cheese
Cottage Cheese is one percent, two percent, non-fat, creamy or dry-cottage cheese comes in lots of varieties, yet they all share that bright white color, bumpy texture, and classic flavor. A dieter's standby, cottage cheese is low in fat and carbs but soaring in protein and calcium. The downside: it's high in sodium.

Ricotta
Ricotta is smooth, creamy, and slightly sweet, ricotta is one of the most versatile cheeses around, going from lasagnas and dips to desserts. The second highest dairy source of calcium, ricotta is low in sodium and a good source of protein and selenium, an antioxidant. Cut fat and calories by using part-skim ricotta.

Feta
In Greece it was first made from sheep's or goat's milk; in the U.S. it's usually made with cow's milk. Either way, it has a salty, tangy flavor that comes from curing the cheese in brine, which makes it high in sodium. But it's still a good source of protein, riboflavin, calcium, and phosphorous-and at 74 calories per 1-ounce serving, it's diet friendly, too. Avoid feta if you're pregnant. Soft cheeses such as feta can become contaminated with listeria, a bacteria that can be transferred to the baby.

Parmesan
Parmesan has a grainy texture and a nutty, buttery flavor that intensifies with age. It's higher in calcium and lower in sodium than many other cheeses, and one tablespoon of shredded has just 23 calories. Because of its sharp flavor, you can use less and still get a big payoff in taste. The aging process also lowers the lactose content, making Parmesan easier to digest if you have lactose intolerance.


Smoked Gouda Chicken

1 teaspoon olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup *flour
1/2 cup *sour cream
1 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1 wheel smoked Gouda cheese, sliced in 1/8-inch
thick slices, divided

Heat olive oil in large nonstick skillet. Sear chicken in skillet to brown on each side. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

In same skillet melt butter. Add garlic and brown. Add flour and brown. Add sour cream and yogurt. Mix to make sauce. Add scallions and all except 4 slices of the gouda cheese. Simmer until cheese melts. Return chicken to skillet and simmer about 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

To serve, place over cooked *pasta. Add pasta to plate, Spoon sauce over pasta, then place a chicken breast on top. Just before serving place the last 4 slices of gouda on the 4 breasts and allow to melt slightly.

CHEESE AND HEALTH

Grate your cheese rather than slicing it - you will use
a lot less cheese and fat grams.


Cheese can be part of a healthy diet if you know which ones are the best choices and know how to use them. Cheese can be high in sodium and fat, but it also delivers powerful nutrients. A 1-ounce serving can pack up to a third of your daily calcium, plus protein and vitamin D, a critical nutrient many Americans don't get enough of. The trick is to know which kinds of cheeses are best and how to use them. We will cover six of healthy cheese and a few healthy cheese recipes over the next two weeks, using the big six, Gouda, Parmesan, Feta, Ricotta, Cottage Cheese, and Goat Cheese.