Cottage cheese - how do YOU eat it?

[Cheryl in NM]

So I'm trying to get more dairy in my diet and eat healthier. Cottage cheese is almost a "free" food right? Problem is...I hate dairy! I hate milk, I hate all soft cheeses, I hate yogurt. So tell me...IS there a way I can stomach cottage cheese?

[OnTheBrink]

I eat the non-fat with fruit. Oranges, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, apples. Also, when I want to be decadent, I dip Fritos into it.

[HRAAB]

One of my favorite breakfasts is cottage cheese, pears (I can pears for winter), handful of oatmeal and some almonds. The one thing I usually lack in the morning is protein, and I really feel it in a couple hours. This breakfast tides me over until lunch.

 

Janet

[Cindy in C-ville]

If you hate dairy, I doubt you'll be able to stomach cottage cheese. It is SO dairy. But, I love it and my favorite combo is grapes and toasted almonds. I like the contrast of the sweet grapes, the creaminess of the cottage cheese, and the crunch of the almonds.

[FlockOfSillies]

Chicken burritos.:drool5: Lasagna.:drool: Mmmm. :001_tt1:

 

But by itself? Or with only fruit to disguise it? :ack2:

[KarenNC]

My favorite is with watermelon.

 

Now not all cottage cheese is created equal. I personally prefer the Breakstone 2% (the really lowfat stuff is usually pretty revolting).

[Michelle T]

looks gross, but very tasty! And of course, cut up fruit is very good with cottage cheese. I especially like it with bananas, peaches or strawberries in season, oranges.

Michelle T

[Aunty Social]

.

[tuckabella]

Now not all cottage cheese is created equal. I personally prefer the Breakstone 2% (the really lowfat stuff is usually pretty revolting).

 

I totally agree with this!

[Melissa B]

I generally only eat small curd.

 

But I eat it plain, with fruit, with salad, with tuna, and on baked potatoes. :)

[EKS]

If you're trying to add calcium, then cottage cheese is not the way to go. Yogurt has way more calcium per calorie than cottage cheese (like 4 times more).

 

I like cottage cheese on toast. I also mix it into salads as a partial substitute for blue cheese dressing but I think that may be a weird way to eat it.

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I also mix it up very well.

[Kerrie in VA]

My Aunt's MIL would make Romanian crepes, spread a thin layer of cottage cheese, and fold the crepe in half while it's still in the skillet. Then slide it hot unto our plates. For three generations, this is still a favorite treat. I also love it with pears--my boys like to make a rabbit-shape salad with pear halves and a cottage cheese tail. And I also like it on crunchy lettuce in place of dressing.

 

Kerrie

[Tami]

unsweetened, organic apple butter and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. My husband also makes cottage cheese pancakes that are out of this world. They taste creamy and have very little flour in them (we use whole wheat). Try allrecipes if you are interested, they are easy to make in a blender.

 

On the yogurt, we use plain, natural yogurt in place of sour cream in everything. Right now, I am eating baby carrots dipped in plain yogurt sip I whipped up mixed with garlic powder, salt/pepper, onion powder, and a bit of fresh Parmesan.

 

My other favorite way to eat plain yogurt is mixed with ripe banana, honey, and a topping of organic granola or GoLean.

Edited January 23, 2009 by Tami

[cjzimmer1]

If it's hot outside, then straight from the container, if it's cold out then I put in a bowl with some spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese and heat it up until melted. Stir and you have delicious lasagna soup (without noodles of course).

[6packofun]

I sprinkle it with a teeny amount of cinnamon/sugar. I eat it for the protein and not for calcium, btw, and I don't eat it more than a couple times a week because it's pretty high in sodium. It's one of my power foods, though! I love it, plain or with the sprinkles. :D

[kewb]

I don't eat it.

 

However, my dad loved it mixed with pineapple and he also loved it on toast sprinkled with cinnamon.

[6packofun]

Also, you can make simple dips with it for pita chips or veggies. Here is one:

 

1/4 cup cucumber, Diced

1/4 cup green onion, Diced, Use All

1/4 cup radish, Diced

1/2 to 1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Mix it all and dip! (I make it with all cottage cheese and ditch the sour cream sometimes)

 

Or, I like to add diced tomato, green onion and a pinch of taco seasoning for another great dip. Or just sprinkle in some dry salad dressing mix like Hidden Valley Ranch. Yummy!

[lollie010]

of course mixed with fruit (pineapple is my favorite).

 

I use it as a salad dressing. You can mix it with a tiny bit of ranch dressing.

 

I also mix it with yogurt and eat with a graham cracker. Its tastes like pie.

 

Dh puts it on cherry tomatoes.

[Desert Rat]

With peaches.

[Ellie]

It's yummy with fresh fruit, strawberries and blueberries being my favorite. It's also good as a savory, rather than a sweet, with trail mix stirred in.

[Riverfront Headmistress]

I sprinkle wheat bran on cottage cheese.

[LaxMom]

I've always eaten it on toast, too. Preferably rye. I also like it with apple butter and crackers.

[mooooom]

but I like it with yellow mustard and peanuts.

[Punkinelly]

If you feel you must eat it... I like it with fresh tomato wedges that have a little salt on them.

 

Why not eat something else for calcium if you hate dairy? There are greens and almonds, and Citrical. :o)

[Sharon in SC]

So I'm trying to get more dairy in my diet and eat healthier. Cottage cheese is almost a "free" food right? Problem is...I hate dairy! I hate milk, I hate all soft cheeses, I hate yogurt. So tell me...IS there a way I can stomach cottage cheese?

 

Cottage cheese over waffles with syrup. Yum!

cottage cheese in yogurt. Good.

[Parrothead]

Pineapple, pineapple and more pineapple. I love it that way.

[Cheryl in NM]

If you feel you must eat it... I like it with fresh tomato wedges that have a little salt on them.

 

Why not eat something else for calcium if you hate dairy? There are greens and almonds, and Citrical. :o)

 

 

I know about the greens and almonds which I do eat and like! But...cottage cheese is cheap and high in protein. I thought that if I could find a way to stomach it that it would be a good filler. You know, better than Oreos, Nilla Wafers, Pretzels (by the pound), Cheez Itz, etc.... I'm just trying to find healthy snacks that pack a nutritional punch also.

 

I like the tomato sauce idea. I'm using it in Lasagna this week for the 1st time. I usually use a mix of colby, cheddar, jack, mozerella and parm in my Lasagna so we'll see how it is with cottage cheese.

[3lilreds in NC]

I only eat it plain. I think mixing it with fruit or other stuff is icky. Maybe a little salt & pepper would be OK.

 

My mom, however, mixes it with fruit and even green beans. :ack2: Could you try a few things and see if you can find something that will make it palatable to you?

[dcjlkplus3]

salt and pepper - especially fresh ground pepper.

I have also tried it with italian dressing and that wasn't too bad.

I love fruit - but I HATE it with cottage cheese.

My advice is if you don't like dairy - get it from ice cream (not as healthy, but who doesn't like ice cream).

[Garga]

WOW! I've been avoiding this thread all day because I thought you could only eat cottage cheese plain or with peaches. What a waste of a thread (I thought).

 

Was I ever wrong!!!!

 

I'm going to print this out and try all these ideas. DH saw the title of the post and thought it was a silly post, too. Wait till I show him! We'll be eating cottage cheese a lot more from now on!

[Vida Winter]

This sounds weird but it's delicious:

 

I love to eat a big scoop of cottage cheese with steaming hot spaghetti on top, and homemade spaghetti sauce with parm. cheese to top it all off. I could eat this every day.

[katalaska]

with canned fruit...canned peaches, canned pears.

 

Also just with sugar on top.

 

My mom's lasagna recipe calls for cottage cheese, too.

 

My friend makes pancakes with cottage cheese in them (they are blender pancakes).

[JWSJ]

I eat it straight out of the container it was purchased in. I usually have to stop myself from eating the whole container at once.

 

But, I love cottage cheese.

[PariSarah]

. . . with lots of fresh fruit, or maybe as part of a salad. I think it's great.

 

But if you don't like dairy, and are looking for healthier eating, I *don't* think cottage cheese is the way to go. The full-fat version is the only one worth eating (although I could do the 2% version if I had to), and it definitely tastes dairy!

 

What about yogurt? Yogurt would be a great way to get in more dairy--unsweetened and mixed with fresh fruit, or maybe put in a fruit smoothie. If you learn to make it yourself, it'll be even cheaper than cottage cheese.

[samba]

I have always eaten it sprinkled with salt and pepper. I don't like it mixed with fruit.

[kalanamak]

In a bowl with pineapple rings or baked in lasagna

[sixpence1978]

I agree with everybody that there are better things for dairy than cottage cheese. I gave up eating it because of how high in sodium it was. When I did eat it, I just ate it with pretzels (not very healthy), but I couldn't stand it with fruit.

 

I do use it in my lasagna, which is much tastier than ricotta IMO.

 

I, personally, love to just drink milk. But I'll also mix in some chocolate sauce for a sweet, low fat treat. I love to make smoothies with plain yogurt. I like to buy the reduced fat cheese sticks and eat them with some fruit for a snack. Cereal with milk on top will get you some calcium. The cheeses that are made fro 2% milk are quite good, and a far cry from the old low-fat cheeses they made a while ago. You could make a quesadilla, or bean burritoes with the 2% cheddar. I love parmesan on just about everything, and it packs a pretty good protein and calcium punch for as little as you use.

 

But, if you really don't like dairy, I don't think eating cottage cheese will be your cup of tea. That reminds of my nearly nightly treat, a cup of chai tea (made with 1/2 chai tea mix and 1/2 milk). You would probably do better to look into way of incorporating it more into meals.

 

When I'm trying to eat healthier, these are some of the snacks that I'll choose over chips.

 

Celery with peanut butter

apple slices with peanut butter

baby carrots

black bean chips with fresh salsa

fruit smoothies made with yogurt

fiber 1 bars

fruit and a cheese stick

 

Hopefully you find something that works for you.

[Jen in PA]

I have to agree about the Breakstone's 2%... it really is superior to others I've tried. I like cottage cheese, and my favorite ways to eat it are:

-- with grated apple and lots of cinnamon

-- with hot sauce mixed in for dipping veggies

-- in an omelet with fresh tomato slices and basil (one of my favorite breakfasts during summer months)

 

I think it's pretty wonderful with many types of fresh fruit, especially pineapple or berries.

[KarenNC]

Cottage cheese can be mixed with feta to stretch the feta in Greek dishes, things like spanakopita. I like to saute onions and garlic, add thawed frozen chopped spinach squeezed dry, saute, throw in a splash of lemon juice and some feta and cottage cheese, maybe a bit of whole milk plain yogurt and serve it as a side dish. Sort of the filling for spanakopita without the phyllo.

 

Ideas for yogurt beyond mixing with honey or fruit:

 

Make tzadziki to go with sandwiches as a spread or a dip for chips, veggies, grilled meat, whatever. I love to take plain yogurt (though we usually do whole milk plain for this---fat free is too astringent to me) and drain it overnight in a strainer lined with paper towels or cheese cloth. This makes it about the texture of cream cheese. Then I mix it with garlic, salt, pepper, some olive oil, finely chopped or grated cucumber (peeled, seeded and squeezed as dry as possible), a little lemon juice and sometimes dill. Let this sit for a while for the flavors to blend. I have also used Trader Joe's Greek style yogurt for this, in which case you can usually go with less fat and skip draining the yogurt as it's already thicker. http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/07/worlds-best-tzatziki-sauce-recipe-greek.html has a recipe with amounts, but I haven't used this specific recipe, just do it to taste.

 

Once in a pinch I ran out of mayonnaise and spread a bit of plain Greek style yogurt on my roast beef sandwich, just to have something to moisten it, and I liked it.

 

I also mixed some yogurt in with my pimentos, shredded sharp cheddar, shredded Monterrey Jack with jalapenos, splash of Worcestershire sauce, pepper and mayonnaise to make pimento cheese. This was the regular whole milk plain yogurt, as I remember it, and the extra moisture gave the pimento cheese the creamy texture I had not been able to get with just mayonnaise.

 

Mixed with Dijon mustard, it makes an interesting dip for grilled chicken.

[ereks mom]

I also use it as one of the layers in lasagna. Some people use ricotta, but I prefer cottage cheese.

[Apiphobic]

I love cottage cheese and pickled beets.

Or cottage cheese and sliced pears.

 

But if you don't like dairy, I can't see you liking cottage cheese.

[Amy loves Bud]

Mixed with hot salsa with some baked tortilla chips. Yum.

[swellmomma]

I usually just sprinkle some salt on it and enjoy, so yummy. I love cottage cheese. Of course I use it in other cooking too like lasagna, but normally just with a little salt.

[frogpond1]

is great. You can mix in some chives.