Dairy is an important part of a vegetarian's diet. Some dairy products are extremely high in fat. It is important to go with lighter choices to stay healthy.

When you become vegetarian, where you get your protein becomes something you have to think about if you want to eat a balanced diet. Dairy is one of those protein sources that is also high in calcium. There are all kinds of different forms of dairy you can consume. Some dairy products are very high in fat and even if you eat a small amount, you are still consuming a lot of calories. There are other dairy products that are much lower in fat. Some vegetarians don't feel satisfied and often will eat more than meat eaters. It is protein that fills you up.

Cream, ice cream, milk, cheese, butter and yoghurt are the main sources of dairy. If you are used to eating a chicken salad sandwich and now you switch to a cheese sandwich, there are so many different kinds of cheeses available.

Cheeses range in fat content hugely. There are light options for some fattier cheeses. For example, you can get light cream cheese, light ricotta, light cottage cheese, and so forth. Some hard cheese have a higher fat content than some other hard cheeses. For example, camembert can often have 50% milk fat (m.f.) whereas some varieties of marble have 31% m.f. This is important information. You should always look at the label on your cheese. If you are buying cheese at a specialty cheese shop, ask for the lower fat varieties. They will be happy to point you in the right direction.

Dairy most commonly comes from cows but goat's milk products are often even lower in fat. Goat's milk cheese (sometimes called goat cheese, goats' cheese or chèvre) is a terrific option. It contains less milk sugar than cow's milk. You can many different varieties of goat's milk cheese such as feta and gouda. The more common goat's milk cheese comes in logs wrapped in plastic. They can be plain or seasoned. Sometimes you can get savory ones like sun-dried tomato and herb or sweet ones like fig or cranberry. Goat's cheese is terrific in a sandwich or a wrap. It is also terrific warm. Try it in a panini with grilled veggies or crumbled on a pizza or in a lasagna.

Light yogurt and sour cream are another way to be careful of fat content. If you frequently make smoothies, lower fat yogurt is a good idea. That said, you want a little bit of milk fat. The zero fat yogurts don't taste as good. 1% and 2% are healthier choices. If you are making tzatziki or a veggie dip, 3% is a better choice because it is a heavier yogurt with a fuller fat. Sometimes 3% yogurt can replace sour cream. It is better than getting light sour cream. If you are only using it as a garnish or as a condiment, you may want to go with 3% yogurt instead of sour cream. For example, if you are garnishing a soup or stuffing a burrito, you won't even notice the difference between 3% yogurt and sour cream.

Skim milk tastes like water for many people. Instead of going for homogenized (or homo) milk, go with 2%. Once you are used to it, you switch to 1%. Once you are used to 1% then 2% will taste creamy. Never go to the lowest fat possible. It won't taste good. Besides, often a lot of good nutrients are also being skimmed in zero fat dairy products. Not only that, sometimes other unhealthy things are added to no fat dairy products to make them more palatable.

Lighter choices are better choices. If you are vegetarian, dairy products are often a staple in your diet. Look at labels so you know what you are getting.