cheese substitutes

[justme2]

I'm trying Atkins but I am very lactose intolerant. I can handle small amounts of hard cheeses (with lactaid of course), but not cream, yogurt, cream cheese, etc. I'm iffy about butter but I see that margarine is on program so long as it has no trans fats.

Does anyone know if tofu based cream cheese, cheese, etc is acceptable in induction?

I'm going to try to find a smooth and creamy goat cheese to use in sub for cream cheese, but I don't know how well I'll be able to tolerate that or if I'll even be able to find one. But I figured I should ask now so I will have the answer later when I may need it.

thanks!

[ValidRouge]

I'm not highly lactose intolerant, but it makes me bloat and get cravings....Therefore I don't eat most dairy in my Atkins plan. Butter is about the only dairy I eat and I'm working on reducing that.

You don't HAVE to eat any dairy at all.

[not2late]

I agree with Valid. IF you cannot eat dairy, there is no need to eat it.

As for fats/oils, olive oil, animal fats (chicken fat, lard), and other vegetable oils are acceptable for Atkins.

By the way, the FDA's regulation on trans fat labeling allows products with 0.0 to 0.5 grams of trans fats to be labeled "trans fat free". That doesn't seem like a big deal--unless you use more than the listed serving size. So if you eat 8 servings of a "trans fat free" margarine, you're potentially eating 4 grams of trans fats. So be aware of this labeling hoodoo.

[justme2]

I know . But most of the Atkins recipies I have seen require dairy, either cheese or cream or cream cheese. And since I want to be certain I don't inadvertantly cheat, making them seems a good idea. Besides, I like the fake cream cheese.

[not2late]

Unless it's a fondue or a cheese sauce, cheese is typically added to recipes as a flavor enhancer.

Think outside of the box when it comes to the recipes.

[justme2]

Thanks everyone! Especially for the transfat info.

[losetocruise]

You may be lucky! (in a way) Cheeses and cream can be addictive and an ounce of cheese is very little so it is easy to overeat it. It also has a tendency to stall some people (me lol) so if you can't eat it, you will have no problem avoiding that.