
If you are planning on buying cream cheese in any New Zealand supermarket - watch out - they are not all the same in quality or safety at all!
Although this is not organic, it would be my first choice. (It is practically impossible to find organic cream cheese at any kind of a reasonable price that normal people can afford)
This is the only cream cheese I have found that is pretty much made the traditional way and is not full of added ingredients (although there are a couple, it is the best I could find)
Traditional cream cheese should just be dairy, culture and salt. - no added gelatine or stabilisers, preservatives needed.
So if you are looking for cream cheese, steer clear of the Anchor Cream Cheese Original or Tararua Traditional Cream cheese - they are both full of added ingredients.
The Tararua spreadable cream cheese would be the only other alternative to the Philadelphia Cream cheese that I would recommend as it is almost as good in terms of ingredients.
At the moment the Philadelphia cream cheese is also the cheapest of the 3 options at PaknSave on most days - prices seem to fluctuate wildly from week to week at any of the supermarkets though and I have seen it for as low as $2.99 at PaknSave or up to $4.50 at Countdown so it pays to shop around!
Also, cream cheese can last for a while in the fridge so it is one of those products you can stock up on when it is on sale and have for weeks at a time.
My family uses cream cheese as an alternative to butter on sandwiches for school to help give the kids the extra fat and protein in their sandwiches - we literally slather it on in finger thick slices! We use it with everything. The poor kids are basically told "what do you want on your sandwich besides cream cheese?", because its assumed they will be getting cream cheese....and I don't just mean a little sliver...it is SLATHERED on there to help fill them up! Works a treat.
Cream cheese is also excellent for having on french toast, with pancakes and other foods that normally wouldn't have much fat or protein to help bulk it out and fill you up so you don't get such a sugar rush from all those carbs!
Although this is not organic, it would be my first choice. (It is practically impossible to find organic cream cheese at any kind of a reasonable price that normal people can afford)
This is the only cream cheese I have found that is pretty much made the traditional way and is not full of added ingredients (although there are a couple, it is the best I could find)
Traditional cream cheese should just be dairy, culture and salt. - no added gelatine or stabilisers, preservatives needed.
So if you are looking for cream cheese, steer clear of the Anchor Cream Cheese Original or Tararua Traditional Cream cheese - they are both full of added ingredients.
The Tararua spreadable cream cheese would be the only other alternative to the Philadelphia Cream cheese that I would recommend as it is almost as good in terms of ingredients.
At the moment the Philadelphia cream cheese is also the cheapest of the 3 options at PaknSave on most days - prices seem to fluctuate wildly from week to week at any of the supermarkets though and I have seen it for as low as $2.99 at PaknSave or up to $4.50 at Countdown so it pays to shop around!
Also, cream cheese can last for a while in the fridge so it is one of those products you can stock up on when it is on sale and have for weeks at a time.
My family uses cream cheese as an alternative to butter on sandwiches for school to help give the kids the extra fat and protein in their sandwiches - we literally slather it on in finger thick slices! We use it with everything. The poor kids are basically told "what do you want on your sandwich besides cream cheese?", because its assumed they will be getting cream cheese....and I don't just mean a little sliver...it is SLATHERED on there to help fill them up! Works a treat.
Cream cheese is also excellent for having on french toast, with pancakes and other foods that normally wouldn't have much fat or protein to help bulk it out and fill you up so you don't get such a sugar rush from all those carbs!