It's National Grilled Cheese Month

It's National Grilled Cheese Month, so let's celebrate by breaking out the cheddar the Plan Z Diet way!

By: Zola
Chief Dieter
Plan Z Diet




So let’s celebrate the Plan Z Diet way! Break out the cheddar!

I was raised in Wisconsin so I know my cheese. I’ve been eating cheese since I was a baby, and I don’t mean those gummy, rubbery slices wrapped in plastic. I mean real cheese.

Grilled cheese has always meant comfort food to me. For over 4 years I lived above an Irish pub on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. When my husband traveled and I felt sorry for myself I’d order up a grilled cheese sandwich from the pub. They did them up really nicely there. The white bread had just the right amount of butter, grilled to a golden perfection. The American/cheddar combo inside was triple gooey. The crispy bacon I had them add was just that. Crispy. And the tomato slices were actually ripe; even in the dead of winter. Best part — when I ordered it, they sent it up in an elevator on a tray. The grilled cheese sandwich rode the elevator all alone. This special elevator opened up into my living room and voilà! Special delivery of my piping hot grilled cheese sandwich.

I miss those sandwiches.

But I don’t really miss sandwiches in general. I have gotten over bread while on the Plan Z Diet. Too many carbohydrates, and leaving them behind has given me a smaller behind.

So I started dreaming of a grilled cheese sandwich. I think I’ll treat myself and make one, but it won’t look much like the one from the Irish Pub.I'll make a special Plan Z Diet grilled cheese.

First thing: I’ll use half as much bread. Commercial white bread has 23 grams of carbs per slice. That means 46 grams of carbs in one sandwich. That’s ridiculous. And who said you have to be able to eat it with your hands? I’m happy with my fork and knife. So I’ll cut the amount of bread in half and make my sandwich an open-faced treat.

When I make a grilled cheese sandwich, I labor over what cheese I’ll use. My first go-to is cheddar. That’s always a hit. But sometimes I like to mix my cheeses. So I may add some provolone for its melty goodness. My husband likes pepper jack cuz he wants the bite of the peppers. He also wants sautéed onions and a mustard smear. My new favorite is Boursin. I’ll spread some on the bottom piece of grilled bread. Then I’ll put a slice of cheddar on top. Top that off with the crispy bacon, the cold, ripe, red tomato slice and then another slice of cheddar. I use the oven and then my broiler to bring it to bubbling perfection. Sometimes I even add a bit of sliced avocado or spoonful of guacamole somewhere in there.

But back to the bread. I said one slice of commercial white bread has about 23 grams of carbohydrates. By cutting out one slice I cut that carb count in half. If I use a good commercial whole grain bread I can get it down to about 12 grams. So I’ve cut it in half again. But behold, we now have low carb breads on the market. Julian Bakery (for one) makes a variety of low carb breads made with almond flour and coconut flour. They have about 6 grams of carbs per slice. So you can have your bread and eat it too. Just in moderation and (to double that point) not every day.

A lot of made-up promotional holidays are just plain dumb. Shameless self-promotion. But I just might make a small exception for one grilled cheese sandwich.

Cheers,


To read more of Zola's blogs CLICK HERE or head over to https://www.planzdiet.com/blog/