Alright, time to get real about some food again!

This time my best friend asked me to talk about cheese. How many of y’all go to the grocery and grab that shredded cheese? Did you know there are chemicals in your shredded cheese to keep it from sticking together or clumping in a ball? Most of you have seen the powder and assume it is flour…well, sorry to burst everyone’s bubble but it is actually not flour, it is something called Cellulose powder. Some of you may look at that term and think it is a type of plant additive, wrong again. Cellulose powder is a chemical that is used as an anti-caking treatment. It is chemically treated until it becomes a microcrystalline powder then added to your pre packaged shredded or sliced cheese.

It all comes back down to ease, right? How simple is it to grab that shredded cheese instead of shredding it yourself? So simple, right? We come back full circle, does that ease outweigh the health benefits of just getting a block of cheese and shredding or slicing it yourself?

Do not even get me started on those kraft cheese slices or the so-called cheese in your mac n cheese boxes. There are so many great recipes out there for mac n cheese but unfortunately, as a society we chose ease over health. Which is why we are the worst in the world for obesity in children and adults.

You will not find shredded prepackaged cheese in my house, only blocks that I purchase from a local bulk food store. When I was growing up on a dairy farm, I took for granted having cheese directly delivered to us by our milk man as he came to pick up the milk, as our milk went to a cheese factory near by. Luckily, the bulk food store i shop at sources their blocks of cheese from the same cheese factory, so I feel good about the purchases I make. You can also purchase blocks of cheese from the grocery store; anything is better than the shredded or sliced cheese prepackaged. You can also get your cheese sliced at the deli counter, which is still better.

You can get simple cheese slicers or shredders anywhere or you can also use a food processor with the correct attachment. Here, i use a good old fashioned square shredder and a metal hand slicer.

Something to think about the next time you reach for a bag of shredded cheese.