Tasty low-fat, low-sodium cheese: does it exist?

[Darienne]

Our dear son has just had two stents put into his aorta.  He's only 53 and although he says he's OK, I don't believe him.  Nor do I say that.

 

OK.  He's asked me if I know of a tasty low-fat, low-sodium cheese and I said I would ask on my cooking forum.   (Please don't bother with any information about the low-fat situation.  I already have not talked to him about it to any extent, nor am I going to.  His wife is a nurse.  His cardiologist insists upon this diet.  I don't agree with it at all.  End of discussion please.)

 

If you know of such a cheese, please let me know. 

[Okanagancook]

I know of no good tasting low fat cheese.

it’s like gluten sensitivity....just pass on trying to find good bread.

[pastrygirl]

I think anything aged and drier will have more concentrated salt. How about fresh mozzarella marinated in herbs, pepper, and vinegar?  Or ricotta, he can make his own to control the salt and add herbs or a bit of much stronger cheese (blue, Parmesan) for flavor. 

[chromedome]

Fresh yogurt cheese should be low in fat (and definitely sodium) compared to conventional cheeses, and can be made as flavorful as one wishes by varying the seasonings. Pastrygirl's suggestion of using a stronger cheese more or less as a concentrated "cheese flavoring" is a good one.

[Darienne]

Thanks Okanagancook, pastrygirl and CD.   

 

I should have mentioned that he knows about cottage cheese but probably isn't ready to season it yet.  He does most of the cooking in his house.  Yoghurt cheese I don't know about.   And he knows about making cottage cheese also.  I said I would ask and I'll pass on the answers but I think we all knew the answers ahead of time.  

 

He's amassed a collection of "Heart Smart" cookbooks in second hand stores, but well...time will tell.  It's an incredible shock to go from OK to 90% blockage in your aorta in one quick step.  I'll quit there.  Thanks again.

[Shelby]

I don't know if it's available up there but down here there is a brand called Laughing Cow Cheese.  It comes in a round box and inside are pie shaped wedges of soft, spreadable type cheese and it comes in a low fat Swiss that I like.

[Darienne]

4 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I don't know if it's available up there but down here there is a brand called Laughing Cow Cheese.  It comes in a round box and inside are pie shaped wedges of soft, spreadable type cheese and it comes in a low fat Swiss that I like.

I don't know either...but I'll pass it on.  Thanks, Shelby.

[pastrygirl]

Also fresh soft chevre, goat cheese has stronger flavor to begin with so might be more satisfying in terms of cheese-iness.  Not sure about salt content there.

[chromedome]

22 minutes ago, Darienne said:

I don't know either...but I'll pass it on.  Thanks, Shelby.

It's readily available at Superstore, Sobey's, Costco, etc.

 

It's processed cheese, so probably higher in sodium than one would ideally like, but of course if one uses it in lieu of some of the salt in a dish it can be balanced out.

[Darienne]

25 minutes ago, chromedome said:

It's readily available at Superstore, Sobey's, Costco, etc.

 

It's processed cheese, so probably higher in sodium than one would ideally like, but of course if one uses it in lieu of some of the salt in a dish it can be balanced out.

Thanks CD.  I passed that on to Ken.  As I have told you, he lives in Halifax.

[chromedome]

2 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Thanks CD.  I passed that on to Ken.  As I have told you, he lives in Halifax.

For some reason I had in my head that he lived in the Yarmouth area. Go figure.

 

In Halifax he should be able to find balls of marinated yogurt cheese (labneh) easily enough at Middle Eastern stores/restaurants. There are any number of them to choose from.

[ElsieD]

I  bought the lower fat Lauhhing Cow cheese when I was working on losing a few pounds.  It's actually not bad.

[AlaMoi]

sigh.  been there doing that . . .

there are a couple decent tasting low/no fat cheese - but anything involving 'melting' is a challenge.

here's my list:

it's a bit ad hoc so there's gaps.  cholesterol & sodium is mg; all else g

 

Edited July 4, 2019 by AlaMoi (log)

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, Shelby said:

I don't know if it's available up there but down here there is a brand called Laughing Cow Cheese.  It comes in a round box and inside are pie shaped wedges of soft, spreadable type cheese and it comes in a low fat Swiss that I like.

 

 

I can get it in China, so I'd be suprised if you can't.

Not that I want it.

[teonzo]

I would suggest switching to MSG instead of salt as flavour enhancer. It still contains sodium but much less than salt. If you can find unsalted ricotta, then adding MSG gives good results.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[BeeZee]

Alpine Lace swiss cheese (made by Land O Lakes) is a reduced fat swiss cheese which is a bit over 100 mg sodium per oz., 6 grams of fat. It is much milder than “real” swiss cheese but it has some flavor and will melt. I have made yogurt cheese at home by draining greek yogurt in a coffee filter in the refrig overnight, it is a good canvas for flavors.

[Duvel]

 

Harzer Käse is worthwhile seeking out ... marinated with vinegar and onions it is very tasty.

[suzilightning]

I like Finlandia lacey swiss....

[dtremit]

On 7/4/2019 at 8:00 PM, BeeZee said:

Alpine Lace swiss cheese (made by Land O Lakes) is a reduced fat swiss cheese which is a bit over 100 mg sodium per oz., 6 grams of fat. It is much milder than “real” swiss cheese but it has some flavor and will melt. 

 

My father has had to be on a low salt diet for the past year, and in helping him navigate that, I've found that Swiss is almost always the lowest-salt cheese option -- lower in many cases than "reduced sodium" cheeses of other types. That may be a useful guide.

[&roid]

I have to wonder just how much cheese one would need to eat for the sodium content to be an issue...

 

sure cheese tastes quite salty but you're looking at around a pound of parmesan to get your daily allowance of salt.  We go through it like there's no tomorrow but a pound still lasts our whole family a good month or so.

[AlaMoi]

UK NHS has salt/sodium intake guidelines.  something like 5,000 mg / day salt.

US / FDA has not published guidelines - but health oriented organization (like Heart Association) talk numbers like less than 1,000 mg

 

essentially, there are no good data / science based recommendations because apparently the human condition varies too much.

[pastrygirl]

5 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

UK NHS has salt/sodium intake guidelines.  something like 5,000 mg / day salt.

US / FDA has not published guidelines - but health oriented organization (like Heart Association) talk numbers like less than 1,000 mg

 

essentially, there are no good data / science based recommendations because apparently the human condition varies too much.

 

Interesting, I thought there must be a 'recommended daily allowance' so that nutrition labels can be calculated, but I have a sharp cheddar that says 180 mg sodium is 8% and a spready cheese that says 130 mg sodium is 5%.  Both nutrition labels are based in a 2000 calorie diet, but one suggests 2250 total mg sodium per day, the other 2600 so there is clearly a range.  No doubt rounding comes into play too.

 

@Darienne, did the cardiologist/dr/nurse/etc give your son specific numbers to follow, or just a vague 'eat less of these things'?  If so, he should read the labels and get a scale for accurate portioning.  He might be happier having a little bit of really flavorful cheese than a lot of unsalted ricotta.

[Darienne]

Thanks to all the responders above.  I've simply sent our son all the information received.  No names attached for those with concerns.  Thanks again.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Darienne (log)