Just in Queso, or not all cheese is created equal

Ah, cheese. So many varieties, so many flavors and from so many countries. While Gorgonzola can be wonderfully piquant, a nice creamy brie can be paired with some ripe pear slices. And a sharp Canadian cheddar is always welcome as a topping on your burger or with a glass of red wine. Whatever your choice, cheese is a delicious addition to any meal or hors d'oeuvres selection.

But cheese has fat, salt, lots of calories and that dreaded cholesterol. So what would be a good choice for us folks who are trying to lose weight? And how much can we eat before it does too much damage?

An ounce of cheese is considered one serving and provides 200 - 300 mg. of calcium. Most adults need 1,000 mg of calcium per day and people 50 and older need 1,200 mg of calcium per day. Since milk is the main ingredient, cheese provides a good source of protein and vitamin B₂. (Information from American Dietetic Association).

There is no reason to avoid eating cheese but it is important to pay attention to the type and amount you eat.

• If you like to eat hard cheeses, like cheddar, look for "fat free, "reduced fat" or "low fat" on the label.
• If you're looking for a soft cheese, "low fat" (1%), part-skim or light might be a good choice.

• You will even find low fat, low cholesterol cheese selections in your grocery store. They generally have 50 - 75 percent of the fat in whole milk cheeses. Experiment with some of these to find a brand you like.

  Cheese (1oz. Serving) Mozzarella** Cheddar Monterey Jack American Swiss Colby-Jack Calcium content (% DV*) 20% 20% 20% 15% 25% 20% Calories (kcal) 80 110 100 110 100 110 Cholesterol 15 mg 30 mg 30 mg 25 mg 25 mg 25 mg Fat 5 g 9 g 8 g 9 g 8 g 9 g Saturated Fat 3 g 5 g 5 g 6 g 8 g 7 g Protein 8 g 7 g 7 g 6 g 8 g 7 g Sodium 170 mg 180 mg 170 mg 400 mg 60 mg 190 mg

  * Percent Daily Value (DV) is based on a 2,000-calorie diet ** Mozzarella is part-skim.

Feta contains 20g of fat per 100g, 20%, as does mozzarella, Camembert 24%t, Brie has 29% , Parmesan 30%, Stilton 31%, Gruyère 33& and cheddar 35%.

Edam contains 26% fat, cottage cheese, has about 4g of fat per 100g, although you can get even lower-fat versions.


Moderation is the key.  Use more flavorful cheese, like feta, and a little goes a long way.

Weight Watchers Follows You Everywhere!

Sorry, friends, for having taken some time off. I bought a new condo and have been so busy moving, cleaning, organizing, etc., that I haven't had a spare moment to write. Today, however, I have just returned from a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas, rested and ready to get back to business at hand.

I have to catch you up on what's been going on. Many of you have written asking how my hula hooping was going. I do have to tell you that my first day, being in hooper's heaven, I overdid it and happily hooped for over an hour and a half. I wound up with enormous bruises around my midsection! So my advice to those of you who want to have some fun while exercising -start slow. Maybe 15 minutes at a time. Don't whirl like a dervish the way I did!

Let me tell you about the cruise... an opportunity to sit back, relax and eat to my heart's content. I was tempted to blow the diet and just enjoy but as fate would have it, after sitting down for my first meal and happily nibbling on a Caesar's piled high with tons Parmesan cheese and way too much dressing, introductions were made at our table. Mike and George, two married men curiously escaping together from their wives for a long weekend were charming. And Ruth and her sister (who prefers to remain nameless) lived far from one another were having a sister's weekend. My mother and I were traveling by ourselves, enjoying some mother-daughter quality time.

So this is how it went, I ordered my meal and except for the salad, I did pretty well. The grilled salmon and veggies were off the Vitality Menu and well within my points range. The salad, however, raised by point consumption through the roof. Of course I drooled over everyone else's food at the table, lots of carbs, fat and oodles of calories, except for the second sister who ate like a model of healthy dining.

We learned a lot about each other over the course of dinner and I found out - and you are not going to believe this - that the second sis was none other than a Weight Watcher group leader on vacation! Oh no, I thought, now I have no choice but to be good! Weight Watcher's had followed me on vacation.

I was actually glad to have her there. If not I might not have been content with the two spoonfuls of tiramisu or several bites of the warm chocolate souffle. But as fate would have it, I admitted to having lost 40 pounds and to being just 3 pounds away from my goal. I felt obliged to be on my best behavior.

Sis was great, passing along her knowledgeable dining tips and being a perfect WW role model. She was careful with what was on her plate, usually left something over and was not afraid to order special foods, which the crew was more than happy to prepare. No sauce, steamed vegetables, plenty of cocktail sauce for her shrimp, etc. But I was happy to see she left room for something she enjoyed - wine. There was a seemingly unending supply of wine for the sisters and she wasn't afraid to imbibe. I figured she was using her extra 35 points in wine, while I sneaked an extra spoonful or two of dessert.

So like an alter-ego, Weight Watchers was right there with me on Her Majesty of the Seas. We all had a really good time but I am not in a hurry to step on the scale.

How do you handle your vacations? Have you ever had someone you didn't want to cheat in front of?

Our Eating Habits Started With Mom

I have a truly wonderful mother. She is up there in years but proudly boasts she can do anything her niece, who is 30 years younger, can do. And better, she likes to add. And she can.

One thing my mother did, was get me started in the wonderful world of food, both in the eating and the cooking department. My first food was chocolate. Mom couldn't resist my big brown eyes pleading with her for a taste of the 5¢ Hershey bar she was eating. She caved, and I still have a difficult time resisting sweets.

When is a Tomato Not a Tomato?

I get nostalgic remembering the days when a tomato tasted like a tomato, not the anemic looking fruit of the vine I buy in my neighborhood supermarket, not the mealy slices that gets lost in my sandwich or salad, but a juicy rich, red, sweet but tangy globe bursting with flavor. Where have they disappeared to, those beefsteak tomatoes of my youth?

Is a Personal Trainer Worth the Expense?

Personal trainers aren't cheap and in these economically challenged times most of us think carefully before we spend our hard earned cash. I've been indulgent and have been going to a trainer for the past 8 months. Do I think it's worth it?

If you are seriously committed to achieving your goal of having a healthy, well-toned body, the right trainer it is worth every penny. Mine happens to be the best - a cross between a mother hen and a drill sergeant. Stephanie hovers over me, making sure I am doing each exercise correctly and with the proper form. She rarely takes her eyes off me, as though I'm her baby chick. The next moment she is all demands, the stereotypical drill sergeant, pushing me to work harder than I thought possible, and then unrelentingly ordering me do it all over again... and again! Just when I am able to do a task well, she makes it even more difficult! She knows exactly what I need.

Stephanie isn't my first trainer but she's by far the best. Perhaps a woman understands what my body needs more than a man and she doesn't push me further than I am able to go, stopping just at my limit yet constantly challenging me.

South of the Border Goes Healthy

Since we are all looking for good things to eat on our diets, I thought I'd try something different this week. Here's a recipe which has been requested by almost everyone who has eaten my enchiladas. They were my contribution to a family dinner and even the non-vegetarians loved them. Low in fat, low in calories, high in flavor, the fiber rich whole wheat tortillas are wrapped around oven roasted vegetables, enhanced with corn sauce and cheese and topped with green salsa . This post is dedicated to Nicole, who's been waiting a long time for this recipe.

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Burn Those Britches Behind You

You are losing weight! In fact you are getting smaller every day. And if you are anything like me your closet is an veritable shopping center with an array of sizes to choose from. I saved my "skinny" clothes and everything in between. Slowly, very slowly, I have gotten back into a descending number of sizes and have reached the smallest number, a number I never thought I would wear again. And now, wonder of wonders, that teeny, weeny size is getting loose!

So I have a ton of clothing that doesn't fit. I'm glad I saved my clothes when they were too small to squeeze into - a motivation to lose weight. But now, my friends, we are faced with a new challenge -what to do with our large sized clothing. Do we keep them, just in case? Or do we say "out with the old and in with the new"?

Eat Big or Go Home!

Are you ready for this one? You aren't going to believe it. In this day and age, when most of us are striving for good health and attempting to take off our excess weight, in a time when we are extremely conscious of being politically correct with every group of people whatever their race, gender, disability, age or size, a restaurant exists called Heart Stoppers. The waitresses, wearing scanty nurse's uniforms, serve up a menu filled with staggering amounts of fat, cholesterol and sugar.

Your "prescription" is written for such artery clogging fare as Chest Pain Fries (cooked in lard) and served in a bedpan (yuck), Death by Burger - a 3 pound killer which is wheeled out on a cart with an IV bag attached, Second Opinion Sausage Sandwich, Deep Fried Twinkies and a Purple Hematoma ice cream soda, all administered by your nurse. The decor includes a defibrillator, blood pressure machines, wheelchairs and other medical equipment.

To make matters worse anyone weighing over 350 pounds eats free. And if you want to shorten your life you can make a spectacle of yourself and sit in a wheelchair under operating room lights and polish off one of their three pound burger and fries. If you do it in record time, you get to have your photo on their Wall of Shame, oops - I mean Wall of Fame, either that or in their City Morgue gallery.

Not only does this restaurant exist just a couple miles from my south Florida home but there's a similar one in Arizona and they are engaged in a battle of trademark infringement or rather a fight to see which one has the legal right to be politically incorrect and morally deficient.

I haven't linked to their website and apologize to anyone who is offended by the very idea of this restaurant (myself included). Some people will do anything for $$$. Making light of health problems and obesity is in extremely bad taste, no matter how good the food might be.

Heart Stoppers - SHAME ON YOU! It's time there was a change in attitude toward obesity, the last thing we need is someone making fun of a serious problem.