Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Healthy Snack Wednesdays: Goat Cheese (Yes You Can Make it At Home)

This is the last official week of the office weight loss challenge! Our final weigh-in will be on Friday and the top three 'losers' will be awarded their prize. I'm still down 4 pounds, a respectable amount for eight weeks of incorporating healthier eating and more activity into my daily routine. I started wearing a pedometer and its just a small tool to motivate me to be more active. If I see that I don’t have enough steps in, I’ll take the stairs during my afternoon break or walk the long way to the train. It’s a great way to burn a few extra calories. I've hit 12,000 steps on a few days (almost 5 miles). As a comparison, most people with desk jobs have somewhere between 3,000-5,000 steps a day.

Also, don’t forget to read through the post to find out last week’s winner of the MultiGrain Cheerios prize pack!

One of the other things I've been doing lately is trying to be more thoughtful about my food purchases. And making an effort to use all of the food we buy. I've been cooking a lot from the pantry and trying to use up everything in the freezer and refrigerator. For this week's healthy snack post, I have two easy and delicious recipes to share.

Last week I came across a recipe (more of a technique) for making goat cheese at home. I was instantly intrigued - fresh goat cheese is one of my favorite cheeses - and I picked up a half gallon of goats' milk from Whole Foods and a few lemons for juicing.  I followed the recipe exactly and was impressed with results. It was very similar to making ricotta (part of my dinner party). The recipe is pretty simple, goats' milk and an acid, and any mix-ins you like for flavoring. I left mine plain and paired it with honey for a snack. I also used it to top huevos rancheros inspired eggs.

Homemade goat cheese with local honey 
and a whole wheat cracker

Whole wheat tortilla, fried eggs, avocado, goat cheese, 
hot sauce, and cilantro with a side of beef bacon.


I still had half the milk leftover and decided to whip up a second batch with my own twist. For this batch I swapped in lime juice for the lemon juice. And for my mix-in I used fresh chopped cilantro. The bright flavors of lime and cilantro was a perfect match for the creamy cheese.


Step by step pictures for easy homemade goat cheese

The cheese is incredible alone, but I had some other ingredients hanging out waiting to be used for something creative. From the freezer I grabbed a bag of whole cranberries. From the refrigerator I grabbed orange peels and limes. The other day I had an orange for a snack and it struck me that I waste precious zest everytime I throw the peel away. I peeled off the flavorful outside and saved it to add to recipes later in the week.

Looking at the ingredients, I decided to make a zesty and tangy citrus cranberry sauce. There’s not much to making cranberry sauce. Just be sure you have a good heavy sauce pot and a stain-proof spatula! You add your ingredients, cook until it’s your desired consistency and then enjoy! I didn’t add a lot of sugar to this version because I wanted it to be more savory to pair with the cheese. The resulting sauce is bright and indeed zesty! This would be great with roasted turkey or chicken, as a sandwich condiment, or on a cheese plate. I took pictures at work on my phone, please excuse the lighting.



The smooth, fresh taste of the goat cheese paired well with the tanginess of the cranberry sauce. The goat cheese has also been a great addition to breakfast. I made a sandwich with a whole wheat sandwich thin, cilantro-lime goat cheese, a fried egg, and a big handful of spinach.


Easy Homemade Goat Cheese
Inspired by recipe on Kiss My Spatula
1 quart goats' milk (just pasteurized, not ultra-pasteurized)
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (or other herbs)
Salt to taste

Supplies Needed:
Thermometer (candy, deep fry, or instant read)
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, or string
Heavy bottomed pan
Stirring spoon
Ladle
Colander
Large bowl

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth
Set over a large bowl
Cut kitchen twine for tying

Add milk to a heavy bottomed sauce pan
Heat over medium heat until temperature reaches 180 degrees F, stirring occaisionally
Remove from heat and add citrus juice
After about 15-20 seconds the milk should look cloudy and you should see little specks separating
Ladle carefully into the cheesecloth lined colander (slowly, so it doesn't overflow)
Once all milk is in, pull together the four corners and tie with twine
Tie to a spatula handle and hang over a clean bowl
Let hang for about an hour, until consistency is soft, but not dry
Add to a bowl and mix in any herbs and seasonings
Will stay in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days (if you don't eat it all first!)

Zesty Cranberry Sauce
1/2 pound fresh, whole cranberries (rinsed)
1/4 cup sugar
Juice from 2 limes
1 tablespoon finely diced orange zest
1/4 cup water

Mix all ingredients together in a medium sauce pan
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly
The cranberries will burst and the mixture will begin to thicken
Serve immediately or cool completely before storing in the refrigerator

Giveaway Winner!
I used Random.org to select a winner from the 24 entries for the MultiGrain Cheerios prize pack! For complete randomness, the hubby ran the numbers and sent me the result. The winner is....


Congratulations to Renee! She said:

"Stairs, stairs, stairs! That is my commitment to being healthier! And to do 1 week of food logging to see exactly what kind of calories I'm taking in".

Congratulations Renee, hope this stylish gym bag and water bottle help you reach your goals!!

7 comments:

  1. All of those photos look AMAZING. I went to a dairy festival at Drumlin Farm once and saw a demo of goat cheese making.

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  2. The goat cheese looks amazing, love the cracker combo! YUM!!

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  3. Woohoo! Winner winner chicken dinner....or cheerios, whatever! Yay!

    PS- I got to try this goat cheese, and it is every bit as good as Lara tells you it is!

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  4. I am SO impressed by this goat cheese!

    Also, I got a walking pedometer for Hanukkah and it is SO great to remind me to walk a few more steps when I'm feeling a bit lazy! Any interest in doing a long walk (and maybe some eats) when it is warmer out?

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  5. I've made cow's-milk ricotta but never goat's milk -- now I can't wait to try it! Thanks for the tips.

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  6. YUM - this looks like a seriously satisfying snack.

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  7. I've made cow's-milk ricotta but never goat's milk -- now I can't wait to try it! Thanks for the tips.

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