This post is all about Cheese! It is the second in a series of blogs on pacing yourself through the Christmas and New Year party season. Read on for tips on the Farm Shops healthy alternatives that don’t compromise on taste. If you missed part one on crackers and going gluten-free you can view it here.

On my first day at the Mart, I think I might have oversold myself as a cheese lover, especially when I realised Mackie is dairy-free. I feel deeply for him and others that have to either avoid cow completely or “gulp!”, any dairy at all. Luckily for me, I’m only in the ‘sensitive’ category which means the yucky feeling is a result of build-up. This is why pacing myself through the coming weeks is so important.

For me, Christmas is not Christmas without a total cheese-fest. So much so that by the time I was fifteen my parents replaced any blocks of chocolate in my stocking for blocks of cheese. Usually a Classic Cambozola and a mature cheddar like the Black Bomber… sighs wistfully….and now back to the alternatives… 

Go Vegan!

Starting with the complete dairy-free cheese brands, Violife, Applewood Smoky Vegan and Sheese. These cheeses all work best when melted, with Sheese having the superior melting qualities and 3 varieties….Mild, Mature and Mozzarella. This means they are not ideal for a cheese platter but they are an excellent substitute to any cheesy meal in the Chrimbo lead-up.

Dipping your toe into being dairy-free, plant-based or vegan is also a great way to limit your impact on the environment. But I don’t want to sweep past the issue of cheese platters for vegans or people who are fully dairy intolerant. By pairing the Applewood Smoky Vegan Cheese with a few tasty accompaniments you could easily sail through a wine and cheese night feeling happily indulged. For something slightly different try Hawkshead Bloody Mary Chutney or the unusually named (for vegans) Trotters Hot Pepper Jelly.

Choose Goat Cheese!

One of my ‘healthier cheese strategies’ (individually and environmentally) that reaps no pain is easily summed up by two words, ‘choose goat’. After one year living in Malta, a rocky haven for said beasts, I became a convert. Lucky for me the Farm Shop’s deli has four freshly cut varieties of goat cheese all year round in store. My three top choices are Ribblesdales White and Ribblesdales Blue both from Yorkshire and Inverloch from the Isle of Mull. The first is a waxy hard cheese with a beautiful, delicate flavour of chicory and almonds. The second is similar until you hit a vein of blue which adds a fruity tang of sharp sweetness to the palette. And lastly to Inverloch cheese. This one is typically goaty, as in it swings from being subtle to confronting and back again, all in one bite.

All of these cheeses are suitable for vegetarians. And goat cheese in general is easier to digest than cow cheese. It also has the extra health benefits of having built-in antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Goat Cheese can be trickier than Cow cheese to pair with a chutney. You don’t want to lose that subtle flavour. I find chutney can sometimes overwhelm things. However, after much experimentation, I have found a scraping of fruit paste takes this tasting from the divine to absolutely sublime. The Global Harvest range provides 5 options: quince, pear, plum, apple and fig. For me, at Chrimbo it’s got to be the latter but ….jammy sweetness.

Final Words

So I hope that something in the first two Mindful Indulgence blogs has inspired, literal ‘food-for-thought’. And that you already feel better equipped on pacing yourself through the Xmas parties. Next up will be no surprise. Wine, in all its variations. Traditional (red, white, fizz or not) and newer alternatives like organic wines and low and non-alcoholic options. So if you want tips on pacing your plonk lookout for the links in the Twitter, Facebook and Insta feed.

Also please check out our healthy (ish) food gift baskets in the store. You can choose from one of our pre-selected baskets or we can tailor one to suit any range of dietary needs. Believe me, this is an extremely thoughtful gift for any sensitive foodie. For more information phone Sheena in store on 01620860010 or visit us in East Linton.