This week’s snack obsession in our house is raw goat cheese. It’s nutritious, delicious, and couldn’t be easier to prepare. Well, unless you’re making it yourself from scratch – we buy our cheese pre-made.

Raw Goat Cheese is high in protein and healthy, raw fats. It’s also good source of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin K, phosphorus, niacin, thiamin, and medium-chain fatty acids. Because the milk has not been pasteurized, it also contains some healthy bacteria, which can help maintain the balance of good and bad bacteria within your intestinal tract. Further, the enzymes in raw milk are still living, and because they aid in the digestion of the sugars, fats, and minerals with in the milk, raw milk and cheeses are easier to digest.

Raw milk, and thus raw milk cheeses, also contain greater amounts of nutrients (such as B vitamins and vitamin C) that would otherwise be destroyed during the pasteurization process. Goat milk is easier on the human digestive system than cow milk because it’s more similar to human milk; people who cannot tolerate cow milk often do okay with goat milk (we use both cow and goat milk, as long as they’re raw). Goat milk is also lower in calories, cholesterol, and fat than cow milk, if those factors are of concern to you.

Raw Goat Cheese is creamy, appetizing, and it’s easy to grab when your kids (or your belly) is rumbling for a snack. The fats and protein sustain them for a longer time than a piece of fruit or something else that’s higher on the glycemic index. My boys are devouring goat cheese by the block this week.

What healthy snacks are you eating?

Sources for nutrition facts:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/goat-milk-benefits/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/430444-health-benefits-of-raw-milk-cheeses/
http://www.natural-health-home-remedies.com/goat.html
http://www.redwoodhill.com/goat-cheese/health-benefits/