Dietary requirements and restrictions are factors in the choices we make when it comes to enjoying high quality desserts such as cheesecake. Fortunately, advances in the preparation of cheesecake in terms both of its size as well as the crust and filling ingredients means that those who must eat a gluten-free, lactose-free, kosher or low-calorie diet can indulge in bite after bite of creamy smooth cheesecake. Read on to learn about some of these advances.
Gluten-free Dietary Requirements
Anyone who has been diagnosed with celiac disease must follow a strict, gluten-free diet. Glutens are the proteins in wheat, barley, rye, and cross-contaminated oats. Consuming gluten will cause inflammation of the small intestine in the person who suffers from celiac disease. Eliminating gluten from the diet is necessary, but not easy. Gluten appears in many food staples such as bread and cereal. It also lurks in many packaged and processed food products, and so requires in-depth label reading at the grocery store. In a difficult adjustment, people with celiac disease must give up many of their favorite foods, including cheesecake made with a graham cracker crust.
If you have celiac disease, you probably eat mostly fresh foods and prepare your meals from scratch. Or perhaps you enjoy some of the specialized gluten-free food products that exist today. These can range from breads, waffles and muffins to cakes, pies and other desserts. While eating a gluten-free diet is a challenging lifestyle change, there are plenty of alternatives available that make that change more palatable. Think cheesecake, for one. Yes, by substituting the graham cracker crust for one made with a gluten-free baking mix, you can soon be enjoying your favorite dessert once again. Better yet, get a mail order cheesecake that agrees with your stomach (intestine?) and soon those feelings of deprivation will disappear.
Lactose-free Dietary Requirements
People suffering from lactose-intolerance must also make select dietary choices. They are unable to digest large amounts of lactose, which is the primary sugar in milk and milk products, including cheese, and ice cream. Like the person with celiac disease, the lactose intolerant must also spend time reading food ingredient labels.
In addition to avoiding any food or product that lists milk or lactose, they should also steer clear of the food if the ingredient list contains words such as milk by-products, dry milk solids, or non-fat dry milk powder. There is good news here too, however. Similar to the arrival of gluten-free products in the marketplace, lactose-free
products have also made an appearance, thereby allowing a lactose intolerant individual to continue enjoying their milk, yogurt and cheese without repercussion. Taking it one step further, they, too, can once again enjoy cheesecake! Cheesecakes made with soy cream cheese and non-lactose, non-dairy whipped topping taste just as good as those made with cream cheese. Make one, and this could be the best cheesecake of your life!
Kosher Dietary Requirements
Unlike the gluten- and lactose-free diets which restrict intake of certain foods for health reasons, a kosher regimen is followed for religious reasons. Kashrut, a body of Jewish law, addresses which foods can and cannot be eaten and how they must be prepared and eaten. The word kosher means fit or proper, and so a traditional, Torah-observing Jew will adhere to a kosher diet in the belief that it will make him or
her better able to absorb and understand spiritual matters.
What, exactly, makes food kosher? Since, in Torah law, all life must be revered, the slaughter of animals or fowl must be done in such a way so that no pain or suffering is inflicted; a humane kill will make the meat or poultry kosher. Dairy products such as cheese must be free of animal by-products in order to be certified as kosher. Kosher
food that contains neither dairy nor meat is called pareve, and is considered neutral. Foods that grow from the earth are considered pareve in their natural state. This includes all fruits and vegetables, grains, flowers, nuts, mushrooms, seeds, nuts and herbs. However, the processing of any of these foods could change its kosher status. Eggs as well as fish with its fins and scales fall into the pareve category of kosher foods.
Some foods are considered unfit and improper to eat, and considered non-kosher. The most well-known is pork. Other forbidden foods are shellfish, wild birds and animals considered aggressive, in other words, predators and scavengers. To a Jew, ingesting these animals would mean also absorbing their negative instincts. If a question arises as to if a particular food item is kosher, just look for a kosher symbol or certification confirming its kosher status. What about cheesecake? Yes, cheesecake can be kosher and perfectly fit and proper in a kosher household. Order this cheesecake online and dig in, as long as you respect the Kashrut requirement for when you can eat this dairy delight.
Low Calorie Diet
Our daily calorie requirements vary depending on our sex, age, and activity level, and can range from 1,600 to 2,800 or more. Many health-conscious people or anyone trying to lose weight keep an eye on the number of calories they consume in a day. If they know they will be sitting behind a desk all day, they may consume fewer calories.
But if they will be doing 45-60 minutes of aerobic exercise, they might consume more calories. Anyone tracking their calorie intake must pay close attention to the number of calories per serving of a particular food. Calorie information is readily available on food labels. Selecting low-calorie foods, then, is quite simple and easily managed. This is especially true with snack-size cheesecakes, coming in at just 216 calories apiece!
We now know that dietary restrictions, whether for health or religious reasons, no longer mean deprivation and self-denial. You truly can have your cheesecake and eat it too! The next time somebody asks you what you would like as a birthday gift you can tell them to send cheesecake!