Hi, everyone! As a vegetarian sleever, currently in India, I currently find myself strapped for Protein options. I mainly do Protein shakes, Protein Bars, lentils, yogurt, Peanut Butter, and cheeses (including paneer, which is sort of like cottage cheese).

On some days, I might have a maximum of one ounce of cheese. On other days, however, I catch myself eating maybe 3 ounces of paneer, 1 to 2 ounces of cheese, and 2 tbsp of peanut butter all on one day. This is partially my fault, because I see it happen on days where I don't drink my Protein shake, or on days where my fridge is not well stocked with protein options.

Today was one of those days! In my head, this all sounds like way too much fat. So, the question is, how much cheese is too much? While the paneer may be a smidgen lower in fat than cheddar or peanut butter, it's still fatty, I assume.

Crosswind, I do enjoy almond butter in the US, but haven't been able to find it here! I know that eating Peanut Butter with a few crackers is an extremely satisfying meal for me, so I suppose I'll enjoy it. It's good to know that the peanut butter is not as unhealthy as I thought.

Runner, I agree with Siren and Indymom. Is there a medical reason that cheese is not allowed for your diet?

Cheese has really been a saving grace for me, and can't imagine not being able to eat it!

He said cheese is packed with sodium and cholesterol. Boo.

What about tofu, seitan (protein you can make yourself look it up)?? Tofu is great because it takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in. (I was a vegetarian for 8 years) My nutritionist said to add dried fat free milk powder to things. Good luck!

I pretty much do the same things that MeginNOLA does. I try to pick lower fat cheese options when I can, but don't drive myself crazy with it. In my opinion, the body needs a little bit of fat to function correctly. I eat a baby bell lite cheese for a Protein snack mid morning or mid afternoon (56 calories, 6 g protein, 3 g fat). I might have cheese with some meat at lunch on a flatbread crisp (sort of an open faced sandwich) or have some cheese in a one-egg omelet. Cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt are the only dairy products I can tolerate.

I think it is more important to get your protein in and then worry about the fat than avoid fat to the point that you are not getting in your recommended amount of protein.

I like cheese, Beans, lentils, soy milk, and greek yogurt for non-meat Protein.

I do stick with low-fat cheeses. I am shooting for a lower BMI and try to keep calories under 1,000 per day at 8 months out.

Lynda

So non-meat day for me might look like:

Wakeup: Soy Latte: 80 calories, 8 grams protein

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt smoothie and slice of whole wheat toast: 250 calories, 28 grams of protein

Lunch: 2 low fat string cheese, 1/4 orange, 1/3 c sugar snap peas, 8 whole grain crackers. : 220 calories 16 grams protein

Dinner: 1 C. split pea Soup, 1/2 slice whole wheat toast with 1 oz. soft goat cheese: 250 calories, 16 grams protein

Late NIght: Soymilk with sugar free caramel syrup: 80 calories, 8 grams protein

76 grams protein, 880 calories

Greek yogurt with some blueberries or other fruit. It has lots of protein. I love cheese and eat it every day too. You can add protein to pancakes too. My nephew is a health buff and he made them and let me try them. They were pretty good.

Isereno, I don't know why I didn't see your post earlier. Your non-mean days sound delicious!! I don't get Greek yogurt or string cheese in India, but I love them both.

I'm so surprised that with your diet you are hitting 76 grams of Protein, with less than 900 calories, without having to supplement protein powders or bars! AMAZING!

I can't wait to get back to the States...

I absolutely love cheese......now more than ever! I'm beginning to discover different types and enjoying the adventure.

String cheese (mozarella and cheddar swirl) is my fav go to snack. I also eat the BabyBel brand.

I do my best to get Protein from food rather than the drinks.

I love cheese...mmm. Cheddar, mozzerella, string. Only cheese I hate is cottage cheese, pre and post op. I eat probably 3 ounces of cheese a day. I'm indian and on days we don't eat meat at our house I replace it with cheese and protein shakes I LOVE dairy!

I've been having a Baybel Light round everyday, usually before bed. They are delicious! And I'll sprinkle about 1 oz. or so of 2% Cheddar on my egg or ground beef/turkey. I love cheese!

Being a vegetarian also I eat 4-5 oz a cheese a day, preferably with every meal. My favorite meal which I eat often is black beans with Colby cheese. There are also excellent crumbling Mexican cheeses that I prefer often. I also like paneer with spinach and low fat cottage cheese with mash potatoes. Since my surgery I cant stand Greek yogurt or my protein drinks, makes me gag. I am not allowed peanut butter until six months out. I also eat a lot of hummus and tofu.

I buy a cheese log with cheddar & swiss w/ slivered almonds on the outside. I eat it with multi-grain club crackers...Delicious!!!

I wouldn't worry too much about the fat. Someone posted about fat grams per day recently and I shared my thoughts then, too, that it's less important to track fat than it is to track Protein and calories. We don't want to go all out and give ourselves heart disease but let's be realistic here: even on a day when we feel like we've had a lot of fat post op, it's likely nowhere near what we were eating pre op. We need the fat now more than ever because we're not getting it from other sources. It's very tough to go low-fat on a protein based diet!

I relied heavily on cheeses when I first got here to Bishkek. We had no good source of meat so we were living the vegetarian lifestyle. I have no easy access to prepared or convenience vegetarian foods in this country. The best I could do was make my own soy milk and tofu, or order vital wheat gluten online and make seitan! And yes, tofu and seitan are good ways to get protein but let's not lie to ourselves and say they're as dense in protein as meat is - you have to make up that slack somewhere. There are only so many bean dishes or hummus spreads I can make and only so many ways I can prepare eggs before I'm tired of them!

cheese was critical in reaching those protein goals. I even ate a lot of Peanut Butter, something I don't really care for normally. I still get one Protein shake in each day (two scoops of protein, about 50 grams) because I could not possibly hit my protein goals (90+ grams/day) otherwise.

I eat as much cheese as I can. I'm still mad that my lactose intolerance makes cottage cheese impossible for me. I'd eat that day in and day out if I could! As it is I eat a few ounces of hard cheese each day.

If you're really concerned about your fat intake, record your food on a site like myfitnesspal and be sure your fat intake isn't too high. So long as I'm not "in the red" on my fat totals when I track, I don't let it bother me much. The people that super-restrict their diets DO get results, but then they get to goal and have to figure out how to eat like normal people. Just eat a balanced diet now and save yourself the trouble.

~Cheri

I do not count fat or calories at all- never have since surgery. I am strict about my carb intake and I have found some no carb cheeses and eat cheese with just about everything I can- LOVE my cheese. Although I have become lactose intolerant so I do have to watch that some. Like a few weeks ago I was at a restaurant and had some cheese broccoli soup and I was in the bathrm in 10 minutes with diarrhea because the cheese was too rich. Other than that, cheese is just fine for me.

cheese is on my Drs list of things I can never eat again I love cheese and miss it.

Jeese, have a little cheese. Wonder what your doctor would say to that slice of bacon I ate the other day?