spread cheese

[kikoz]

Hi,

My LOVES spread cheese... she would eat anything if it has on it spread cheese...but I know that I just cant keep offering her processed spread cheese... so I stopped it for a while to find a replacement...
any ideas of some kind of healthy spread cheese?...

thank you for your ideas

[mberry]

You could substitute cream cheese... or try straining yogurt to make a nice thick tangy cheese.

[kikoz]

hi mberry and thanks for your reply. I have tried that many times but lo doesnt seem to like it... i even mixed with mshed bananas ! but she still didnt like it , although she loves bananas
maybe I should just buy fresh spread cheese that is pasteurised?...i m not sure what to do here...she just loves licking it out of her fingers and sucking it from her sandwich! its very cute...but I really need a sub... i ll google it to check X

thanks again

[First Time Mom]

Cream cheese is the only one I can think of that's not high in sodium.

Does she like melted cheese on foods- bread, veggies, in egg?

[Mashi]

you say "fresh spread cheese that is pasteurized" but where I am, that's cream cheese or spreadable cheese, really it's all the same thing - so I think some of the answer to your question is quite regionally specific to where you are, iykwim?  so when looking at different options iw ould just look at the nutrition labels and see which one you feel is best - ie/ a good amount of calcium, a whole fat (rather than a reduced fat) version, etc.
 
1 cup of semi skimmed milk has 122 mg of sodium (skimmed milk has more).  1 cup of milk is equal to roughly 1 to 1.5 ounces of cheese (depends on the cheese) in regards to calcium content. cheeses that are comparable for sodium content are cheddar, mozarella, cottage cheese, swiss, parmasean, and meunster.  lower fat versions tend to be higher in sodium - although for LOs you do want the full fat versions anyway.

however my understanding with sodium at this age is that you just are not supposed to add salt to food, because LO is getting the needed amount that occurs in foods - there is sodium in formula and if LO is not drinking any formula then the amount in cheese is not going to be a health danger, iyswim? 

i cant find your other post but you said one of the reasons you are looking for dairy finger foods is because she is only taking 3 ounces of formula per day, but is only being offered 1 bottle a day - do you think if you offered 2 bottles 9ie one on waking, one in evening) she would take more?

[First Time Mom]

True, there is salt that is natural occuring in many foods and even in breast milk, and probably in formula, and this salt is fine for a lo but they don't need any additional salt added to making foods. Whenever I give ds foods that I am not making myself I always read the salt content on the label (in Canada it's law to have a label that gives the breakdown of ingredients and nutrition) and it's surprising how much salt is in some foods. Some cheddars and parm are high in salt. The average American and Canadian diet is far too high in sodium and this leads to health issues later in life.

If we get our los used to foods without getting them hooked on the taste of salt (or sugar for that matter) there is a higher chance they will not crave it when they are older. My dd is 4.5 and she now does not like the taste of salty food (so she hates chips).

[Mashi]

Yes, that is what I am saying - but the sodium content of cheese is not the same as cooking and adding salt to your food.  Sodium that occurs naturally in foods (to an extent) is much different than cooking with added salt.

[mini me]

Have you tried thinly spreading the 'spread cheese' on one side of the sandwich and adding philadelphia style to the other, so you mix the flavours together a bit to get her used to a different taste? My DD also loved a cheddar cheese sandwich melted in the microwave, so the bread stays soft rather than the toasted type of sandwich.

[kikoz]

hi and thank you ladies.
To be honest I havent looked at the sodium level in the cheeses... didnt think it could be an issue.
I do melt all sort of cheeses on the french toast and spread unsalted butter so it stays soft and heat in microwave... lo loves it...
with all this sodium talk... do you recommend any brand of spread cheese thats low in sodium?
I can find almost everything here... i just want somthing that is not so "processed" that is all, iykwim.

thank you

[Mashi]

hi and thank you ladies.
To be honest I havent looked at the sodium level in the cheeses... didnt think it could be an issue.

I agree with this, though I have not looked extensively into it. However, I know you are not supposed to give things like bacon but the sodium content in bacon is 10x that in most cheeses.  i would say the small amounts of sodium in dairy products are fine, especially if your LO is not takining formula and you are using this dairy to try to increase calcium intake, iykwim. That's just my own thought though.

I can find almost everything here... i just want somthing that is not so "processed" that is all, iykwim.

thank you

Still not sure what it is you are looking for though....again might be regional/cultural but "spread cheese" to me is one of two things - either a processed cheese spread like Cheese Whiz or a cream cheese like Philadelphia.  But you say you have tried cream cheese and are still looking for a different option...but no such option exists that I know of? There are other brands of cream cheese, for instance we van get one called BUKO which is nice. But it's still cream cheese, like Philadelphia.  They do nice flavours including pineapple or mandarin, and I think Philadelphia did a strawberry flavour at least at some point in time but that may have been decades ago when I was a kid!  I used to add a touch of strawberry jam to DS's philadelphia at times to flavour it a bit, not much but a wee touch to make it pink.

Other brands of cheese spread that I can think of are all just local brands or else they are also the same as philadelphia.  There is one by the French brand President, but I think it is quite strong and stinky, and also St Albrays but it is a smoked cheese which also has a strong and odd taste. Maybe brie - it spreads, but I would look into if she can have it before age 12 months (can't have it when pregnant so might not be suitable for the under 1s).

Other than that I am at a loss for you! Sorry!

[kikoz]

ok thank you for your help... I guess my concern is that I heard that "spread cheese" is not a very "healthy" option to give to los... its too "processed" iywim.... by that, i mean artificial ...i am not even sure if that is really true...
I think Philadelphia is quite "natural"... so i may switch to it and see how she likes it.
in any case for now, I know that too much of anything is not good so I ll just diversify the cheese and we should be fine.
thank you all a zillion  X

[First Time Mom]

You're quite right, cheese spread (aside from cream cheese) is not a healthy option for los because it is both very processed and high in sodium. If it's the cheese spread that is available here that I'm familiar with (the orange stuff in a jar) I would not offer it to a lo.

Just to address the salt content issue, there is salt that is naturally occuring in foods; there is salt in breast milk, there is salt in fruits and veggies (ie. an avocado has 4mgs of salt per 100g). This salt is fine but you don't want to add additional salt in preparing foods for a very young baby as their kidney's cannot handle it. Salt in cheese is not "naturally occuring", it's added in the process of making cheese. It's a good habit to get into reading the labels, if the information is available (of all foods for that matter, as too much salt can add to so many health issues). Some examples (for 100g)- parmesan has 1862 mgs of salt (keep in mind you would not eat 100g in one sitting), processed cheese has 1189mgs of sodium (again, for 100g), cream cheese has 296mgs, swiss 260mgs. I would stick with cream cheese, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and swiss just to name a few. If the cheese tastes salty (ie. parm, cheddar) chances are it's higher in sodium.

[Mashi]

Salt and sodium are two different things. Sodium is essential to the body and it is when it is combined with chloride to become salt (salt is sodium chloride) that the biggest problem is created.  When sodium is combined iwth other elements, calcium being one of them, it is much more beneficial to the body than alone.

At the end of the day, calcium is extremely important to a baby or toddler and sodium is NOT the same as salt nor is it the same as added salt.  I would not advocate cutting back a child's dairy to minimize sodium - up to the age of about 3, a child needs about 800 mg of sodium per day. One ounce of cheddar cheese has about 175 mg of sodium - and about 3 ounces is the equivalent calcium wise to 16 ounces of milk. And that's only 350mg of sodium, half of the  daily sodium guideline.  So 2 ounces of cheddar cheese to replace missing calcium is not an issue in terms of sodium, really. 

[First Time Mom]

Mashi, I think you missed my point, perhaps I need to explain myself better. I am not in any way suggesting that calcium is not important in a baby's diet, or should be cut back in any way! I am simply stating that some cheeses are better than others for los and pointing out that too much sodium is not good for anyone. There are many dairy options that a lo can be given, as mentioned in posts above, that are healthier options than say, cheese spread in a jar.

[kikoz]

I use mainly Puck, a product from Danemark, or Lo likes this one, I think it will be good to start checking the labels and find a balance. Parmesan is quite high in sodium indeed and I am aware of that. I use maily Anabels recipes for lunch and she has wonderful cheese sauces with pasta that lo loves. I m sure it cannot be bad.
but also in the afternoons, i give lo a sandwich spread with unsalted butter and meleted cheese - like cheddar. so maybe he i can mix it with mozzarella and cottage. or pieces of chicken or white fish easier to swallow when mixed with that spread.
SOmtimes i make french toast in the morning or just soft bread with this Puck...
I ll make sure not to give her more than once of it per day and maybe try philadelphia instead...
I ll let you what s on its label anyway

many thanks for all