Portugal has a love of dairy. You will find aisles of cheeses, yogurts and the like in a Portuguese grocery store.

​And for whatever reason, sometimes people with a history of lactose intolerance in the US (hi, it’s me!) can consume all manner of dairy in Portugal, problem free. YAY! 

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Quiejo Fresco (Fresh Cheese) Cups

With this wide open door of opportunity and a desire to add some more easily accessible protein into our days, we started grabbing queijo fresco cups, first from the grocery store Lidl and in this case from Continente. 

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What Does Queijo Fresco Mean?

Queijo Fresco means Fresh Cheese in Portuguese.

These cheeses are typically soft and creamy, almost like a cousin to fresh mozzarella imo. These fresh cheeses come in a cup and you can scoop them out with a spoon or I suppose turn them upside-down and slice them as shown below

One day recently we saw that there was an “extra protein” version of the name brand Matinal’s queijo fresco at the local continente. Each cup would pack 10g of protein! 

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Portuguese Fresh Cheese Nutrition Facts

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Matinal Quiejo Fresco + Proteina Review — Is the Extra Protein Worth the Cost?

In our opinion, no.

You know how sometimes when you make a drink with a protein/nutrition powder it has that gritty taste? You basically think to yourself “This doesn’t taste that good, but I’ll still drink it because  _____” Fill in the blank of whatever benefits you’re trying to get from it. 

That’s how we felt about this product. Sure you are getting a couple extra grams of protein per cup, but at what cost?

Besides the slightly higher monetary cost, you are also paying a higher price in that you loose the smooth and satisfying texture of this fresh cheese and replace it with a grittier, less enjoyable experience. 🙁 

For us, we will stick with the regular fresh cheese cups. They have around 7-8g of protein per cup anyways and actually taste good. 🙂 

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What is Continente?

Oh by the way, are you wondering what Continente is? Continente is a Portuguese grocery store, a popular supermarket. It’s actually more of a hypermarket. For an American, think of it as a Portuguese Target or Walmart. Closest comparison I can make. The larger locations have a full grocery store as well as beauty, toys, tools, home & garden, clothing, pharmacy, optometrist, and a cafe!

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Want to Save a Little Extra on Everyday Shopping? ✨

If you shop online at stores like Walmart or Target, you can earn cash back on those purchases just by clicking through a free rewards site first. I use TopCashback to stack savings throughout the year — it’s an easy way to earn a little extra for travel. 😉

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