Life without cheese is a prospect I'd rather not contemplate. Think of it: no more macaroni, no grilled cheese sandwiches, no blue cheese salad dressing. Give up cheese? Please.

But a doctor once told me to do just that after a test showed I had a borderline high cholesterol level despite being young and fit. I'll make some sacrifices in the name of good health, but pasta without parmesan is not an option.

Thankfully, there are enough reduced fat cheeses with a decent flavor and texture that I can still enjoy a Reuben without becoming Rubenesque.

Jarlsberg Lite [1] and Lite Dammer [2] have that gruyere goodness, melt well, and can stand in for a full fat Swiss in most recipes. Kerrygold [3] reduced fat vintage cheddar is excellent; if only it were distributed as widely as their other fine cheeses.

Coach Farms [4] offers three reduced fat goat cheeses: plain, herb, and pepper (my favorite.) The founders of Coach first made their name in handbags, but switched from skinning cows to milking goats, and I'm glad they did.

Feta, a must in a Greek salad, is naturally lower in fat; try it in pasta dishes, too. There are good part skim goudas, mozzarellas, ricottas, and fontinas, as well. Reduced fat Neufchatel can replace cream cheese, and I've even found a fat free farmer's cheese that's amazingly good, with a nicer flavor and texture than part skim cottage cheese.

But there ‘s also no shortage of reduced fat cheeses whose rubbery texture and anemic flavor render them unfit for any possible culinary application. How can you tell which ones are good? You just have to taste them, unfortunately. Apply the cracker test: if it's not good enough to eat on a cracker, it's not going to taste any better on top of a tuna melt.

Admittedly, the cheeses I've named will never share a platter with artisanal cheeses at the end of a meal, but they let me enjoy some of my favorite foods without feeling guilty. I'll still savor a nice, creamy, full fat blue cheese, once in a blue moon.

What about soy cheeses? They're cholesterol free, but do they have any flavor? I do eat a lot of soy foods, and will continue to do so despite the latest findings, but something about soy cheese scares me. Are any of them edible? What do cheese-loving vegans eat?