Changing your diet to limit or completely exclude most foods isn’t a healthy or balanced way to lose weight, even if you enjoy what you’re eating.

Even small servings of Swiss cheese have nutrients that are good for your bones, your eyesight and your immune system. A small 1 oz. serving is roughly the same amount of cheese found in a 1-inch cheese cube, a small slice of quiche or a sandwich in which cheese is not the primary ingredient.

When making hamburgers, it's best to use ground beef that is 80 to 85 percent lean, according to Steven Raichlen, host of "Barbecue University" on PBS. Too much fat produces a greasy burger, while too little fat can leave your burgers dry and crumbly.

Processed cheese products such as Cheez Whiz contain stabilizers that help maintain the soft shape. One 33 g serving of the spread has 90 calories, 80 of which come from fat, according to Kraft Foods. Cheez Whiz is a sauce, which makes the heating process relatively straightforward.

Mascarpone is a creamy Italian sweet cheese that is an ingredient in tiramisu. While there are no 1-to-1 substitutions that give the precise taste and texture to your tiramisu that mascarpone does, you can substitute whipped heavy cream, cream cheese or a combination of the two.

Cheese sauce, when made properly, is a good addition to pasta and vegetables; you can even use it to make various meat dishes. Some people do use processed cheese slices to make cheese sauce, but block cheese is another option. Cheddar cheese makes a rich, creamy sauce that is mild in flavor.

Cheese made with whole milk is a high-fat food, but it also provides protein, calcium and a variety of other nutrients, which makes it part of a nutritious diet when consumed in moderation.

Baking cream cheese poppers in the oven makes for a quick and hearty snack or appetizer. Baked cheese poppers are jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese and then breaded and fried or baked. They also can be wrapped with bacon and baked without breading. Either way, they are spicy, creamy and easy to make.

The versatility of the basic ingredients in lasagna complement so many other flavors that cooks prepare many varieties of the layered and baked dish. While cottage cheese often gets used in place of, or in addition to, ricotta cheese in a lasagna filling, omitting it doesn't detract from the flavor.

Cheese is a staple in diets across the planet -- but in the dieting world -- it’s often pegged as off limits. This is partly because of cheese's saturated fat content.

Kraft Foods is one of the largest food companies in the world, with many $1 billion brands. Its “blue box” macaroni and cheese product is a perennial favorite. Made simply at home, the macaroni and cheese product consists of dry macaroni with cheese sauce mix.

Fatty fish is an important component of a healthy diet. Fatty fish contains high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. The American Heart Association recommends healthy adults consume a variety of fatty fish at least twice a week.