If you don't mind my asking, why is cottage cheese so highly regarded on this forum? It always looks like it's gone bad to me, personally :) But looking around on the forum poeple keep using it in recipies, even if they say they do not like the taste. So, just curious why it was so popular, and how would one go about using it in a recipe? Thanks

Nutritionally, cottage cheese is excellent. It's not in the same class as other cheeses, it's protein rich and relatively low in calories and fat (depending on what kind you get). It's a very cash and time-efficient way of managing your macros. It also provides a taste and texture to dishes that you can't really get from anything else with such a high nutritional value, so it shows up in many recipes for healthful meals.

It also contains casein protein, the ideal protein to ingest late in the evening, before bed, because it metabolizes slowly. As far as I know, it's the only notable natural source of this protein (at least in proportion to other proteins).

Cottage cheese is a cost-effective protein powerhouse. During WWI, the US government pushed cottage cheese as a replacement to beef and poultry in people's diets, because the latter could be preserved and shipped overseas, while the former could not, and still provided comparable health benefits.

And, by the way, cottage cheese has "gone bad," just like all cheese, wine, and beer. That's how people have made this stuff for thousands of years.

just curious why it was so popular

For me - its a perfect source of protein while cutting as its something that I don't DISLIKE - but really don't like it all that much either.

So I never have any issues getting the urge to overeat it - it's very filling and that feeling seems to last quite a while.

I don't cook with it - I've tried and it always seems to make stuff taste odd. I go for protein powder when i want to up the protein content of stuff I cook/mix up.

It took me three months of gradual acclimatization to get used to the taste and texture of the stuff. ...Well, actually, I still don't like the taste of CC straight out of the tub. ;)

I started out blending it smooth, mixing in fruit, and adding a packet of Splenda or Equal. Now I can handle the chunks, but I still need to add in that packet of sweetener because the flavor is just nasty to my taste buds! (I hate regular cheeses, too, though.)

I do use CC in pancakes, cheesecakes, spicy patties, and even a chocolate cake recipe.

Most of the time, though, I just do the fruit and sweetener thing with it because I do like it that way, and it's very quick and easy.

Is it easy to buy and cheap where you live?
here in portugal I think we have 2 different things. I think one of them is what you call cottage cheese but it has a different texture of what it seems "american" cottage cheese. I'll attach a picture to show you. We also have the other one that looks a bit more like cottage cheese but is more fatty (the 2nd picture)
can anyone satisfy my curiosity? thank you :)

Is it easy to buy and cheap where you live?
... can anyone satisfy my curiosity? thank you :)

Here's what I call cottage cheese (Eastern Coast of US) -

http://www.tricor.org/media/images/CottageCheese.jpg

It sells for around $1.50 US for 6 servings. (I buy the fat free kind)

I must be a screwball since I LOVE the taste of straight Cottage Cheese... :eat:
The best is Breakstone Fat Free or Purity Fat Free... just add ground black pepper :drool:

I must be a screwball since I LOVE the taste of straight Cottage Cheese... :eat:
The best is Breakstone Fat Free or Purity Fat Free... just add ground black pepper :drool:

OMG i absolutely love cottage cheese.

My favorite recepie is a couple of large cans of cottage cheese with some diced veggies (Cucumber, Tomatoes, Onions, Green Onions, Radishes) with a dash of black pepper and salt. Best served with a 100% WHOLE wheat slice of bread (toasted).

This makes a real nice breakfast dsih.

Here are some cottage cheese recipes--I can't vouch for their goodness but they sound pretty good

http://www.hphood.com/kitchen/kitchen.recipeList.Cc.asp

One of my favorites meals:

Cottage Cheese+a pinch of Splenda+1 tsp Natural Peanut Butter+1 tbsp Chocolate Whey Protein. Or, if you want, cinnamon instead the whey, or on top of it.

I could have that every day for the rest of my life.

Same happens with oats.

Fruit, sweeteners or PB in my Cottage Cheese make me yack. :drool: But I love it straight from the tub. And as I've said before- it's great with one ounce of nuts, especially raw almonds or walnuts tossed in. :jumping: :jumping: :jumping:

I started out blending it smooth, mixing in fruit, and adding a packet of Splenda or Equal. Now I can handle the chunks, but I still need to add in that packet of sweetener because the flavor is just nasty to my taste buds! (I hate regular cheeses, too, though.)


I cannot handle the chunks!

Now there is a solution. I don't know if you can find it in the USA. I am French and live in the UK. I read about cottage cheese being good for me, so I checked my dictionary... the French is "fromage blanc". I thought ok, I love that. So I bought 1kg of the stuff at my local Tesco (UK supermarket chain). And I hated it because of the chunks and the taste was not quite what I was used to... so I looked again in the store, and they also had "fromage frais" coming from France. They call it "smooth" and it's the same as "fromage blanc". I think it's exactly the same as cottage cheese, only smoother. And it comes in a low fat version as well. Compared to yoghurt, it has more proteins, les carbs. I haven't compared the nutritional info side by side with the "chunky" cottage cheese, but it must be pretty much the same.

By the way, I don't add sweetener but if I want carbs with it (depending on time of day etc...) I get one or two oatcakes with it. Made in Scotland. Tastes great.

I love regular cheese as well, but I don't eat any these days, I prefer getting fit.

Vincent.

I do use CC in pancakes, cheesecakes, spicy patties, and even a chocolate cake recipe.

.

Do you happen to have a good low-fat healthy cheesecake recipe? :D

Do you happen to have a good low-fat healthy cheesecake recipe? :D



Mini Cheesecakes
12 servings

Nutrition info (per cheesecake): 54 cals, 6.2 g carb, 6.8 g protein, 2 g fiber, .3 g fat

2-1/2 full graham crackers OR replace with ¾ cup All-Bran
2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1/4 cup sweetener (try splenda for baking)
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium egg whites
3 -4 Tbsp cornstarch

¾ scoop vanilla protein powder
.5 cup lite whipped topping (optional..not included in nutrition info)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. coat 12 muffin cups w/ cooking spray; divide graham cracker crumbles among cups.

2. cream cottage cheese in food processor until fluffy, about 1 min. Add remaining ingredients, except whipped topping, and process until smooth.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until firm, about 20-30 minutes; cool completely. Trace each muffin cup with a knife to loosen cheesecakes, remove from muffin cups and garnish each with 2 teaspoons of whipped topping. Yields one 3-inch cheesecake per serving.
——————

BIGGER Mini Cheesecakes
12 servings

Nutrition info (per cheesecake): 104 cals, 10.25 g carb, 10.83 g protein, 1.5 g fiber, 1.6 g fat, 1 g sat fat

1/2 cup All-Bran, crushed in blender
3 1/4 cup fat-free cottage cheese
6 TBSP sweetener (try splenda for baking)
1.5 - 2 tsp vanilla extract
6 medium egg whites
1/3 cup cornstarch

1 ¼ scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder

1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate mini-morsels

Optional:

· .5 cup lite whipped topping
· Raspberries, strawberries
· Cinnamon
· Cocoa
· Syrup or glaze

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. coat 12 muffin cups w/ cooking spray; divide crumbles among cups.

2. cream cottage cheese in food processor until fluffy, about 1 min. Add remaining ingredients, except toppings, and process until smooth.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until firm, about 25-30 minutes; cool completely. Trace each muffin cup with a knife to loosen cheesecakes, remove from muffin cups and garnish w/topping.

——————
Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes
12 servings

Nutrition info (per cheesecake): 82 cals, 7.33 g carb, 10.66 g protein, 1.33 g fiber, .25 g fat

1/2 cup All-Bran
3 ¼ cup fat-free cottage cheese
6 TBSP sweetener (try splenda for baking)
1.5 - 2 tsp vanilla extract
6 medium egg whites
1/3 cup cornstarch

1 ¼ scoop vanilla or chocolate protein powder

Optional:

· .5 cup lite whipped topping
· Cocoa (if you want chocolate version

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. coat 12 muffin cups w/ cooking spray; divide crumbles among cups.

2. cream cottage cheese in food processor until fluffy, about 1 min. Add remaining ingredients, except toppings, and process until smooth.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until firm, about 20-30 minutes; cool completely. Trace each muffin cup with a knife to loosen cheesecakes, remove from muffin cups and garnish w/topping.

Thanks! Wow i cant wait to try them :D

I blend my CC smooth and add davinci syrup for flavor - I generally have several tubs in the fridge - one plain, one chocolate (davinci and a little unsweetened cocoa), one blueberry and one banana. Yummy! I home-make small SF/FF whole wheat muffins and have one with a cup of sweetened CC for a nice Prot/Carb meal.

I'm going to be adding cottage cheese to my last meal. I like it with a little paprika or pepper on it. Sometimes, a dash of cayenne pepper with the paprika kicks it up a notch. :drool:

I also like it with grapes. Oh, and tomatoes are good with CC too. And cantelope. But I can also eat it plain. I get the generic low fat kind at Albertson's. It tastes the best and has the best texture of any I've had. Some brands are too runny, some too dry. This one is just right. :tu:

If you don't mind my asking, why is cottage cheese so highly regarded on this forum? It always looks like it's gone bad to me, personally :) But looking around on the forum poeple keep using it in recipies, even if they say they do not like the taste. So, just curious why it was so popular, and how would one go about using it in a recipe? Thanks

I guess I was lucky to have been served cottage cheese as a child. So I don't have this inherent revulsion toward it like many people (including my wife). I like it best with fruit and often with Splenda added. If you blend it in a food processor with frozen fruit, a splash of milk, and some Splenda, you can create a healthy dessert that's similar to a sorbet. Grind up the frozen fruit first into a powder and then add the other ingredients.

I don't think I had ever eaten it until college. So I dig it.

But when I do have it before bed I put some sugar free pudding mix in it, stir it up and put it in the freezer for an hour or two. And it is a nice little ice cream like treat before bed.

I love solid cheese and could eat loads of it, but I can't stand the look, feel, or taste of cottage cheese.