Don’t you just love cheese?
I mean, you can melt it into a delicious filler for a sandwich or burger. You can also throw it onto crackers or with veggies to add some sharpness to a snack. With a wide range of cheeses to choose from, the flavors you can come up with are nearly endless.
The only drawback to cheese is that it piles on excessive fat and calories. Anyone that’s dieted before knows that those those are two absolute diet killers.
I’ve got great news for you: there are plenty of meals that are cheesy and healthy! It’s not a culinary sin to indulge in cheese; you just have to do it the right way.
Today, we’re going to dive into a few cheese recipes that might just flip your world upside down. Hope we make your life a little “cheddar” (that was about as cheesy as these meals)!
Fig, Goat Cheese, and Bacon Appetizer
Not only is this recipe gluten-free, but it’s delicious as well! The figs, goat cheese, and nitrate-free bacon combine to give you a punch of flavor (with little dent done to your diet).
Ingredients
- 6 figs, halved
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic glaze
- 6 tablespoons of goat cheese
- 1 slice of nitrate-free bacon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Allow it to cool, then crumble.
- Lightly grease a baking pan with olive oil.
- Halve the figs. Line and cut side up on the prepared pan.
- Drizzle balsamic glaze on the cut side of each fig. Sprinkle them with goat cheese and bacon crumbles.
- Place in the oven for 5-8 minutes. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Facts
Servings: 1
Calories: 98
Fat: 3g
Sodium: 68mg
Carbohydrates: 14g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 4g
Poached Pears and Cottage Cheese
Who knew cottage cheese and pears paired so well together? Reduce the sugar in the pears by poaching them, and add cottage cheese that’s low in fat.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of freshly squeezed orange juice
- 4 cups of water
- 1 (2 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Zest from an orange
- 6 pears
- 3 cups of low fat cottage cheese
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients, except the pears, in a large saucepan over low heat.
- Wash, peel, and core the pears. Use a small melon baller to scoop out the core from the bottom of the pear.
- Place all the pears in a saucepan, making sure that all the pears are fully covered with liquid.
- Bring the pot to a simmer for 30 minutes. When the pears are soft, but not mushy, remove from the liquid.
- Serve each pear over 1/2 of a cup of cottage cheese.
Nutritional Facts
Servings: 1
Calories: 177
Fat: 1g
Sodium: 452mg
Carbohydrates: 28g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 15g
Low Carb Mac and Cheese
Time to get creative. Squash is the perfect replacement for high carb noodles. Add some parmesan for an even more authentic Italian flare.
Ingredients
- 1 large spaghetti squash
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- 2 cups of broccoli florets, steamed
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon of coconut flour
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1 cup of reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 of a cup of grated parmesan, plus 1 teaspoon of grated parmesan as an optional garnish
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (garnish optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Spray the center of both halves of the squash with cooking spray, and place the cut side up on a cooking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with a knife (about 50 minutes).
- Remove the squash from the oven, and let cool. Once it’s safe to handle, scrape the flesh into a large bowl. Add the steamed broccoli florets to the bowl, and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt the coconut oil on medium heat, and whisk in the coconut flour. Add the coconut milk and whisk quickly. Turn the heat down to low, add the cheddar and 1/2 of a cup of grated parmesan to the saucepan, and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the spaghetti squash and broccoli mixture, and toss until all the squash is covered.
- Dish into 4 portions, and top it off with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some red pepper flakes and extra parmesan if you wish!
Nutritional Facts
Servings: 1
Calories: 290
Fat: 23g
Sodium: 360mg
Carbohydrates: 10g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 14g
