….or at least for 40 days. Completely opposite of my post yesterday, all the cheese, today I want to share with you how I got by for 40 days without cheese (gave it up for lent). Gasp, I know!
See that is how far my love for cheese goes….I had to add a heart in the title image.
For some this might not seem that hard, but for someone who includes cheese in most of their meals (lunch, dinner, snack) it was quite difficult. One of my favorite combos (my dad’s too – runs in our blood!) are pretzels with a slice of cheese.
This post is by no means to tell people to cut cheese out of their diet. I just thought it might help to inform other cheese lovers out there of ways to cut back or replace it with other great flavors. Just to mix it up a little. I know some are intolerant to diary and can’t even think to include cheese in their daily eats.
Cheese is not a bad thing to be obsessed with. Trust me there could be worse. It is a great source of protein and calcium, especially for those who do not eat meat. But at certain levels of consumptions, at least for me, it can cause an upset stomach and bloat.
Again, I am not a nutritionist but these were my thoughts on cheese and how it impacted me. Everyone is different so I am sure there are differing opinions.
Here is how I got by for 40 days without cheese:
- Avocado – Add it to anything and everything. The texture and flavor added to salads might be miss cheese a little less.
- Nuts – Great for a snack or added to a salad for an extra crunch.
- Spices….Spices….Spices – Remember the single serving chicken stuffed pepper recipe sans cheese? I didn’t miss the cheese because I made sure the chicken had a ton of flavor and with the added heat from the jalepeno, cheese was not missed.
- Greek Yogurt – Great snack! But also can be used as a topping to soups, salads, potatoes, etc.
- Sunny side up Egg – Remember all my food pics from the 21 Day Fix? The runny yolk replaced the need for cheese in all of my meals. I never made scramble eggs during the 40 days because I knew I would want cheese in them.
- Hummus – Perfect as a snack when I normally crave cheese, and also worked as a great salad topping when I usually would add cheese.
- Balsamic – Doesn’t just have to be used as a dressing!
Now onto the question I am sure all of you are wondering – how full force did I go back to adding cheese into my diet after Easter?
Oh you better believe I had cheese the second I could. I mean do you remember my Easter Brunch?! And then Maggiano’s for dinner. But I have noticed when I do have cheese how it affects my stomach. I definitely don’t crave it as much as I used to. And when I went to Trader Joe’s last weekend I only bought one type of cheese, rather than normally picking up at least 3 things. I will definitely be taking the tips and tricks I learned from my 40 days sans cheese and implementing them into my normal routine.
Thanks Amanda for letting me ramble today about cheese (I am sure that is a first!). Check out what everyone else is thinking about today here.
QUESTIONS
- Cheese: Yay or Nay?
Obviously yay. - Favorite Cheese.
That is like asking who is your favorite parent. Which I would never answer because they are both my favorite (somedays more than others ha)! So I just can’t answer this ha.
