Are Cheese Boards Healthy?
Pairing flavorful and low-calorie cheese varieties with fresh veggies is key
Cheese has a bad reputation as a diet buster, but it’s actually a nutritious food packed with protein and calcium. It’s high in fat, though—the heart-unfriendly saturated type—so you’ll want to eat it in a healthy way by choosing cheeses on the lower end of the fats spectrum.
The next time you’re preparing a cheese board, consider these four tips for a snack that’s as healthy as it is tasty:
- Opt for flavor-packed varieties that satisfy with smaller servings. Blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, and feta cheese are examples of cheeses that should fill you up in smaller portions.
- Choose cheeses lower in saturated fat. Cheeses lower in fat have fewer calories, like goat cheese, ricotta cheese, or mozzarella cheese.
- Serve the cheeses of your choice by spreading them on fresh, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables instead of crackers. Because crackers are typically made with refined grains and added sugars, this is a good opportunity to switch to fruits and veggies, which most Americans don’t eat enough of. The nutrients in fruits and veggies will fill you up more, too, thanks to their high fiber and water content. If you really want to eat crackers with your cheese, look for those that are 100 percent whole grain and contain 150 mg of sodium or less per serving.
- Moderate how much cheese you eat—1 to 2 ounces is a healthy portion size. If you use a cheese knife, you can yield a thinner slice.
