Can we have a Sonoma friendly cheese discussion?
I read the book, but I would love to talk about each foods in depth.
Which cheeses are OK? Why and why not? Which cheeses are your favorite? Which have the most flavor? Which make great substitutes for others? Can we talk about the textures and flavors?
I have relied on the cheapo "meal in a box" type dinners my whole life. I love cooking, and this diet is going to teach me a lot...I feel/fear!

Main thing to keep in mind is that dairy is not a big part of the Sonoma diet. It should be used as a "seasoning" item rather than a main componant. if you do decide to use cheese, please try and keep to the lower fat varieties. For example, when I make a Sonoma pizza, I sprinkle one ounce of cheese on my portion.. and that's it.

A non dairy alternative that I use is tofu cheese... lower in fat and more importatly lower in saturated fat, even than most low fat dairy cheeses. There also are almond cheeses too, but those are difficult to find.

I like dairy and probably consume more than I should, but have greatly reduced the amount of dairy I eat and also try to make better choices.

I tend to use feta cheese as a seasoning for many meals. The reason is that it is very high in flavor so a little goes a long way. I think you can find reduced-fat versions, but I use the regular because I think the flavor is better. I sprinkle it on cooked veggies just before serving them, on salads, and I use it for pizza (yum!).

I also enjoy the Laughing Cow light cheeses. I eat them for snacks and really like the mini babybels with Wasa whole grain crackers. I also like the garlic and herb spreadable cheese wedges and dip veggies into that.

Finally, I eat low-fat cottage cheese on occasion (I can't stand non-fat but don't taste much difference from full-fat).

I haven't really thought of any of these cheeses as substitutes for any others because cheese is just not a big part of this way of eating. For example, I don't think you could make a Sonoma-friendly macaroni and cheese or quesadilla.

I also like the Laughing Cow Light cheeses. Especially the spreadable wedges! Yum! I usually eat one with wasa crackers as a snack. It's also Sonoma friendly to have low-moisture part-skim mozzarella. I also enjoy feta cheese.....at least we're able to have some cheese! To me, these cheeses are flavorfull enough to make a lifelong change, I don't feel deprived at all.

Agree here on feta - it's a wonderful discovery. Just adding a T or so to a sauce makes a huge difference in flavor and sortof mouth texture. Yum.

So it's feta for me or a T or so of parmesan - I also use parmesan with egg to crust things occasionally like fish. Yum again.

From what I gathered from the book, cheeses like mozzarella, parmesan and feta are naturally lower in fat that other varieties, even if you don't buy the low-fat versions.

I don't eat cheese often anyway but I do love feta on a Greek salad or like I had it yesterday, sprinkled over bottled roasted red peppers. Mmmmm, I warmed the peppers in the microwave and the feta combined a bit with the vinegar and made this yummy, creamy sauce. Delicious!