You Ask, I Answer: Soy Cheese

This weekend I had brunch at a vegetarian restaurant.

Since I am lactose intolerant, I asked the waitress if they had any vegan cheese.

She told me they had soy cheese, but it wasn't vegan.

It was very busy and I didn't want to keep her, but that didn't make sense to me.

In the end, I decided not to get it. I am not vegan, but I was afraid the cheese they had was some sort of soy and lactose mix.

Does that make sense to you?

How can soy cheese not be vegan?

-- Jaime (last name withheld)
(city withheld), MI

A good number of soy cheeses contain casein, a milk protein.

This is usually done to better emulate the dairy-based product's texture and taste.

Although perfectly acceptable and appropriate for someone with a lactose intolerance like yourself (all soy cheeses are lactose free), the same can not be said for vegans, who omit all animal byproducts -- including casein -- from their diets.

In the event that your request was related to veganism, she had your interests in mind. Good for her.

You Ask, I Answer: Velveeta

What in the world IS Velveeta exactly? Cheese?

If so, why is it less expensive and "more melty" than cheddar, like all their commercials say?

-- Corey Clark
(location withheld)

Velveeta, which has been "pleasing families since 1928" (at least that's what Kraft says), is processed cheese.

This is different than pure cheese, as it contains added milkfat, water, and some emulsifying agent (in order to mix the fat and water evenly.)

A look at the ingredient list reveals:

Milk, water, milkfat, whey, whey protein concentrate, sodium phosphate, milk protein concentrate, alginate, sodium citrate, apocarotenal (color), enzymes, cheese culture.

In case you're wondering, alginate is a thickener and emulsifier derived from a brown algae (similar to carrageenan.)

Velveeta is very far from achieving "100% cheese" status. It's not even 51% cheese (if that were the case, it could be sold as a "pasteurized prepared cheese food").

Since it is approximately 40% cheese, though, it has to be legally advertised as a "pasteurized prepared cheese product."

Its low cost comes down to the fact that Velveeta is, in essence, "washed down" cheese.

This is also the reason for its unique melting properties. Its chemical makeup is different from traditional cheese, which is why it does not react to heat in quite the same way as, say, a slice of Swiss cheese.

While we're comparing the two, let's take a look at their respective nutrition facts.

One ounce of Swiss cheese contains:

106 calories
8 grams of fat
5 grams of saturated fat (25% of a day's worth)
54 milligrams of sodium (a mere 2% of a day's worth)
8 grams protein
22% of the Daily Value of calcium

One ounce of original Velveeta, meanwhile, adds up to:

80 calories
6 grams of fat
4 grams of saturated fat (20% of a day's worth)
410 milligrams of sodium (17% of a day's worth)
5 grams of protein
15% of the Daily Value of calcium

Velveeta's sodium value is even higher than that of higher-in-sodium cheeses like cheddar (174 mg per ounce) and provolone (245 mg per ounce.)

For what it's worth, Velveeta sales experienced quite a spike in 2008.

Kraft executives also explain that Velveeta sales increase approximately 50 percent on Super Bowl Sunday!

Numbers Game: Skip and Save

Next time you're at Chipotle, keep in mind that you can save ______ calories and ______________ of a day's worth of saturated fat by passing on the cheese and sour cream.

a) 92/19 percent
b) 137/34 percent
c) 194/51 percent
d) 230/65 percent

Leave your guess in the "comments" section and come back on Wednesday for the answer.

Mac and Cheese Grows (And Shapes!) Up

After years of being labeled an unhealthy kids' food, mac and cheese is receiving a glamorous, adult-friendly makeover from two fairly new companies -- Road's End Organics and Fiber Gourmet.

Road's End Organics offers a delectable vegan and organic whole wheat elbow macaroni "Mac and Chreese" (yes, that is 'cheese' with an extra 'r') that is also free of soy and nuts.

The sauce gets most of its flavor from nutritional yeast, a popular vegan alternative to cheese.

The best part? Each serving (half the box) adds up to:

340 calories
0 grams of saturated fat
400 milligrams of sodium
8 grams of fiber
14 grams of protein
25% of the Vitamin B12 Daily Value (I mention this since we are referring to a vegan product)

This passed not only my taste test with flying colors, but also those of traditional Mac 'n Cheese eaters (some of which asked me, "Are you SURE this isn't real cheese?")

That is quite a feat, considering I used unsweetened soymilk as a base for the "cheese" sauce. If you are not of the vegan persuasion, you can certainly use cow's milk if you so choose -- preferably skim or 2%.

Fiber Gourmet meanwhile, is keeping the dairy in mac and cheese but adding fiber in plentiful amounts.

One serving (1 cup) of their new kosher-friendly, free-of-artificial-colors Mac and Cheese product contains a whooping 18 grams of fiber!

A few things worth noting:

First of all, the fiber comes from -- yay! -- actual food (modified wheat starch and wheat gluten, to be exact) rather than synthetic dust.

Secondly, the folks at Fiber Gourmet have done an amazing job of creating a high-fiber pasta with top-notch taste and texture.

There isn't the slightest hint of graininess, nor does the pasta quickly congeal into a great big ball of mush like those awful low-carb soy pastas that were the rage for all of eight seconds in 2003. Are we SURE that wasn't really fussilli shaped cardboard?

Because the fiber content is so high, I would recommend having half a cup in one sitting (as a tasty side dish that delivers a reasonable 330 milligrams of sodium, more than respectable 9 grams of fiber, and only 90 calories!), especially if your current diet is not very high in fiber (in which case, too much too soon causes an intestinal revolt).

Also, keep in mind that children's fiber needs are different from adults. For children ages 3 to 16, fiber needs are determined by taking the child's age and adding 5 to it.

Hence, the 18 grams of fiber in each serving is too much for a 9 year old.

With pre-teens, for instance, I would suggest mixing half a cup of Fiber Gourmet's mac and cheese with another half cup of a "regular" variety.

In any case, this is a wonderful way to boost fiber intake in a tasty, low-calorie way.

Mac and cheese. It's not just for kids anymore.

Say What?: Script Check, Please

Yesterday night I finally got around to watching The Bourne Ultimatum.

While the fast-paced, loud action scenes were definite attention-grabbers, one thing that stuck with me as I walked out of the theater was a scene where a character orders a "heart-healthy omelette with goat cheese and peppers."

At the end of that scene, another character at the table leaves in a huff and states, "enjoy your egg whites," confirming my belief that "heart-healthy omelette" was another word for "egg-white omelette."

I find this so captivating because it is a nutrition mistake I see people making all the time -- ordering "heart-healthy" items and then sabotaging them.

Adding goat cheese -- or any cheese, for that matter -- to an otherwise fat-free omelette is ridiculous. A mere ounce of goat cheese contains thirty percent of a day's worth of saturated fat (the heart-unhealthy fat).

Meanwhile, an omelette made with two whole eggs and no cheese contains 15 % saturated fat!! In other words, a regular omelette with two vegetables is, hands down, heart-healthier than an egg white and cheese one.

A better solution for those of you seeking heart-healthy omelettes? Add healthy fats like avocado or seafood to your omelette, or ask the waiter to have your heart-healthy omelette cooked in vegetable oil, rather than butter.

Besides, as I mentioned several months ago, including yolks in your omelette isn't as bad as you might think.