How to jazz up cottage cheese?

[Ms.Susan]

I'm getting ready for a cruise in 3 weeks and want to drop a bit of weight. Any ideas on low fat ways to liven up a bowl of cottage cheese?

Thanks!

[eclecticsynergy]

Here's a link to an older thread with a staggering number of variations on the theme, many of them diet-friendly...

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/336491

[poptart]

For some reason I am not crazy about cottage cheese except for Friendship brand, which I love!
Reminds me of the old "Breakstone's dry curd, California Style" I liked growing up.

One of my favorite mix-ins: salted roasted sunflower seeds.
Today I had some fresh raw English peas which I also added in, great combo with the sunflower seeds!

[smaki]

jam
garlic powder
pinch of fresh ground pepper and a pinch of kosher flake salt
dry hot pepper grind (combination of varieties with some smoked dry - just a pinch if use it)
cracker crumbs (your favorite, a few of mine are listed below)
sunflower seeds
nuts (sometimes chopped sometimes not - various kinds based on mood)
cheese garlic bread chunks
fresh chives
fresh dill
cucumber (slices thick enough to stand up as rounds or in ovals as 'chip' or base)
bacon bits
baked beans
ranch salad dressing home-made
Roquefort blue cheese salad dressing home-made
garlic Parmesan (I like Pecorino Romano) home-made salad dressing
dill salad dressing home-made
good olive oil (flavored oils especially garlic or herbs are sometimes very special on anything)
seasoned salt or a favorite home-made seasoning like no-salt hotter smoky 'BAM'

Many of the above are good alone on cottage cheese often as a topping. Maybe only a couple. Some, like baked beans, I eat as a side.

Then can get into the many combinations of the above. Like bacon, chive, a little ranch dressing, bread crumbs, granulated garlic, salt, pepper. Cucumber (fine chopped), ranch, cottage cheese, and cracker crumbs is tasty. Cottage cheese topped by your favorite jam on your favorite cracker or bite size toast chunk is nice a yummy different thing learned to try watching someone from Germany enjoy.

Chopped crackers or garlic cheese toast on top of cottage cheese is tasty. I like wheat thins, chicken in a biskit, and triscuit crackers (original and roasted garlic are triscuit kinds buy most). Other kinds also work. Bits of roasted garlic triscuit add nice texture and a nice subtle additional flavor (which can be further enhanced with a little bit of granulated garlic).

Cottage cheese sprinkled with a decent pinch of granulated garlic alone is also tasty to me. Alone or on top of a piece of toast makes a quick breakfast or snack. "Dave's Killer Bread" brand "Good Seed" lightly toasted then cut in six chunks works well as a cottage cheese base. Crackers also work as a good bite-sized foundation.

Cottage cheese and baked beans combined together on a spoon, cracker, or chip is good to me. Probably from running together on paper plates as a kid.

Cucumber ovals (rounds cut on a bias) and carrot ovals make good 'chips' for dipping flavored cottage cheese. Or base for a bite including cottage cheese with various topping(s) a person can eat by hand.

[maabso]

I add a little drizzle of honey to my cottage cheese and it actually tastes great!

[lexpatti]

One of these threads turned me on recently to cottage cheese mixed with peanut butter. I thought that was crazy but I just tried it and love it. Awesome on nice whole grain toast.

[chef chicklet]

Red pepper flakes and sea salt. I literally cover the scoop of white stuff with red flakes, then salt....mmmmm!
Or I like to put chucks of tomatoes and salt and pepper. Pretty boring, but I like it.

[wayne keyser]

Spice Islands Garden Vegetable Salad Topping - I suspect that some variety of "Mrs. Dash" would do as well. Love it that way!

[Lori SF]

I love tomatoes and a tablespoon of salad dressing, I usually always make my own just olive oil, sherry vinegar with lemon, and fresh herbs. I also have a guilty pleasure with Paul Newmans salad dressing.. just use a tablespoon just to liven it up a bit.

I also like chopped apples in my cottage cheese with a bit of dressing too.

[jen kalb]

I despise cottage cheese with sweet stuff - goes back to the childhood cott cheese with canned pineapple or peaches I guess.
But what did stick from childhood was a love for cottage cheese with chopped up tomatoes and onions (with plenty of black pepper and salt of course.
Second best is a mix with onions (could be green ) grated carrots and chopped celery. Lots of pepper and salt for that one too.
Both of the above are great lunch dishes, and if you put in enough of the veg very filling.
I recommend 2% fat at a minimum - the no fat stuff is just disgusting.

enjoy your cottage cheese!

[nofunlatte]

Apple butter--I like Bauman's With Spice No Sugar. That's probably difficult to find outside of PA Dutch country. I'm in Indiana, but when family visit, I always ask them to bring Bauman's Apple Butter. I like a slice of Ezekial Cinnamon-Raisin bread with some apple butter and cottage cheese as a healthy sweet snack. And I second whoever suggested Nancy's--my very favorite cottage cheese (found at places like Whole Foods).

[goodhealthgourmet]

cottage cheese is one of my favorite foods, and a dietary staple for me - i consume it pretty much every day. HOWEVER, beware of the extremely high sodium content. water retention/bloating and skimpy cruisewear aren't exactly a match made in heaven ;)

[CodysMom]

My favorite breakfast is low fat cottage cheese with some blueberries and raspberries sprinkled on top, along with some chopped walnuts. I also put a little bit of Kashi Good Friends cereal on top, for something crunchy (and fiber). I like it so much that sometimes it makes a good easy supper. Tastes great with a good cup of coffee!

I also tend to use frozen blueberries and raspberries.

[Mellicita]

I mix the cottage cheese in a food processer (or extremely good expensive blender if you have one - I don't) to make it smooth and creamy. Mix in splenda or equal sweetner and some good unsweetened cocoa powder (alternatively, use sugar free hot chocolate mix). This will make a thick rich chocolate pudding!

Take cottage cheese and put a small amount into a food processor with frozen peaches or strawberries or other frozen fruit, larger proportion of fruit compared to cottage cheese. Whiz it up into a absolutely delcious "ice cream" of sorts.

Mix sun-dried tomato and fresh basil into it to make a delicious dip. Here the lumps are acceptable, but again you can blend it to get the lumps out if preferred.

I recently switched to use the zero % fat or 2% fat plain Greek yogurt in these recipes. Its very low in cals (esp compared to regular Greek yogurt) and to me has a better flavor than cottage cheese, and you wont need to blend it up to get rid of the lumps.

I also use cottage cheese in various "quiche" type dishes with eggs, or egg beaters to save on calories. If you blend the cottage cheese in the blender to get the lumps out with the eggs, it will replace the cream that would go into such a dish, and give you a lovely light creamy texture. For cheese, use a part skim mozarrella or try using parmesan or feta, since they have a strong flavor, you will require much less that other cheeses. Serve the "quiche" with a nice salad of baby greens and vinaigarette for a light meal.

[vshank]

Lowry's seasoning salt, cracked black pepper, diced bell pepper, diced tomato.

[Ms.Susan]

Wow! Thank you everyone! I feel so supported! I am definitely looking forward to trying all your ideas!

I never thought of cottage cheese for dinner...but some of the savory ideas are making me think twice.

Thanks again!

[globalcubbard]

I remember my mom eating it on toast in the morning with a little cinnamon on it also it's awsome with apple sauce!!

[Connie Bevier]

I love applesauce and cottage cheese. But I'll have to try the cinnamon wit it. Thanks

[Mick Ruthven]

Start with a non-bland cottege cheese. Nancy's Organic cottage cheese has a distinct sour cream type of flavor instead of the usual bland "nothing" taste. If you can't find Nancy's organic version, the non-organic tastes almost the same.

http://nancysyogurt.com/nancys_produc...

[drmimi]

Breakfast is exactly this- breaking a fast. I need protein in the morning for my brain and body to work properly. Actually I need protein with my salads at lunch and some protein with my dinner so I feel satiated.

Cottage cheese, yoghurt (fat free) and fat free milk are very good calcium sources. Also having some of this dairy can actually HELP you to lose weight. Getting some active bacterial cultures in my tummy on a daily basis helps my body to "move out all the stuff" if you know what I mean.

I'm doing weight watchers core (lots of every thing but breads-if eating grains-- whole grains are fine with 35 points a week for treats). I am LOSING weight hooray.

My favs for cottage cheese-- a bit of mango chutney or ginger jelly- adds a little spice to that mushy background. Sometimes I need a savory version - chop up bits of green onion, cucumber or perhaps a bit of tomato. Rice vinegar can also add a bit of zing to cottage cheese (or yoghurt).

Eating with enjoyment has helped me a lot. Getting up a tad earlier to eat sitting down has really helped my day. Trying to emulate my German friends who are firm believers in brisk walks after meals.

[mshpook]

i like almost every suggestion posted, but one that i haven't seen, which i really like a lot, is to mix the cottage cheese with a good grainy mustard and use that as a dip for veggies. very flavorful and satisfying.

[bolivianita]

I love cottage cheese and dill with cracked pepper (with tater chips, guess you won't be eating those) but with triscuits its just as good. Cottage cheese has a high sodium content so watch out for that. Please eat your BREAKFAST! Eat cottage cheese for breakfast! Or eat a big salad for lunch with lots of crunchy vegetables (broccoli and carrots) with a scoop of cottage cheese.

[foodseek]

Like plain yogurt cottage cheese goes well with diced cucumbers and fresh dill-may add raisins to mix too for sweetness, if desired.

[Jacey]

I LOVE cottage cheese and find it to be a great breakfast, lunch or light dinner if you had a lot that day.

Sweet:
splenda, strawberry sugar free jelly
splenda and cinnamon
cinnamon, splenda and sugar free jelly (looking for an apple flavor)
apple butter and splenda
pumpkin butter or pumpkin from the can and splenda
raspberries and blackberries mixed in
cocoa and a little bit of melted PB, splenda (trust me, it's good)
use cottage cheese and make a mox rice pudding
sprinkle granola and splenda

My favorite brands are Low Fat Friendship (not the FF) and Lucerne (the safeway brand)--this one has extra calcium added to it!

[JennyHunter]

Oh, I lied. I do eat it a thrid way. I cook spinach pasta and drain it - but hold back a little of the liquid. THen I toss it with the cottage cheese, frozen spinach (that has the water squeezed out) and black pepper. Sometimes add a little parmigano. It's like a healthy alfredo. When I was pregnant I lived off of it.

[JennyHunter]

I can only eat cc two ways. The first is with a ton of black pepper. The second is mixed with really good apple butter. It has all of the cinnamon, cloves, etc...yummy.

[Bzdhkap]

First find a really great low fat cottage cheese that you enjoy. My favorite is Axelrod's one percent Easy Dieter brand. I find it really creamy, with a nice flavor.
For a savory choice, I mix mine with cut up scallions, sliced or diced radishes, and cucumber - and season with salt and pepper.
I eat it with cut up tomatoes. (I love the Campari brand tomatoes that are the best that I can find here in New York during the winter months.They are very expensive, but I'd rather splurge on this than on the junk food that I often indulge in, when I'm not watching my diet.)

For sweet, I mix it with pieces of drained canned pineapple in its own juice, some artificial sweetener (I use Equal), and some cinnamon.
For a real treat (a diet cheese danish), take two slices of canned pineapple in its own juice. Cut up one slice, and mix it with the cottage cheese. Mix with artificial sweetener and some cinnamon. Put the fruited cottage cheese on a piece of toasted cinnamon raisin bread (the lowest calorie brand you can find). Put the other whole slice of pineapple on top of the cheese, and sprinkle with cinnamon.Warm your "danish" for a few minutes in the toaster oven. Delicious!

Just checked out the earlier thread that someone linked to. It has some great ideas. I can't wait to try them!

[piccola]

First of all, don't adopt some weird habits - like skipping meals or banning entire food groups.

Now on to your actual question.

I personally love cottage cheese and I think I've eaten it in almost every permutation there is. I'll skip the more obvious ones. Keep in mind most of these look disgusting.

For sweet, add:
sugar-free cherry pie filling
fresh figs and 1/2 tbsp. toasted chopped walnuts
grapes or melon
roasted fruit (pears, peaches, even bananas)
dried fruit compote
pomegranate seeds
pumpkin purée, cinnamon and Splenda

For savoury, add:
mixed bean sprouts and scallions, stuffed inside a hollowed tomato
grated carrots and raisins
black beans and salsa
celery, apples and curry powder
sliced and drained cucumber, chopped mint
sliced radishes and chopped drained tomatoes
hot sauce
roasted beets
black olives and roasted red peppers

[piccola]

I forgot:
red pepper jelly
crumbled nori, toasted sesame seeds and soy sauce
cocoa powder and Splenda (or sugar-free choc syrup)

[HillJ]

If you find that the cottage cheese doesn't satisfy try switching off with hot oats for the fiber. It's easy to get bored when focusing on one weight controllable food choice. Low fat/no fat yogurt, pureed fruit/soy smoothies are also nice morning choices.

If you can walk! 17 years ago I lost baby weight in 2 speedy months by walking, portion control, lots of whole foods and SMALL PORTIONS but frequent meals.

Good luck and happy cruisin!

[Jcooks]

I lost 35 pounds in 2006 and my breakfast is to take one apple, cup up and microwaved for 1 minute. Sprinke 1/2 t cinnamon over the apple and mix in 1 cup 1% cottage cheese. If you get enough protein in your breakfast, with a little healthy fat - it should hold you till lunch. I've maintained my wait since the day before Thanksgiving.

BTW: I went on a cruise in Dec and was able to have this every morning. I saved my calories for dinner with dessert!

[Connie Bevier]

Ya! Try applesauce and cottage cheese, same flavors!

[FoodieNY]

I like to put fruit, such as pineapple, in mine. Lychees are great in it as well, like at City Bakery.

[lucyis]

Try subbing ricotta for cottage cheese. It has more calcium and it really tastes better. You can give it savory accents or make it sweet with cinnamon and fruit.

[Humbucker]

Ricotta tends to be much higher in calories, though which is something you might want to keep in mind if you're trying to lose weight.

[Leadbelly]

I like cottage cheese as a topping/accompaniment to baked or steamed sweet potatoes, butternut squash (or other winter squash) or potatoes, along with some soy sauce and black pepper. Makes for a filling but light lunch, and its easy to do at work.

[jan]

This also may sound disgusting, but I absolutely love it. I eat it for breakfast about 4 times a week. I'm doing weight watchers and losing nicely. Take FF cottage cheese, a little salsa and a chopped up hard boiled egg. It's like pumped up egg salad. Lots of protein and calcium and it keeps me full all morning..

[Babette]

Agree with the pineapple. Also, sliced bananas & cinnamon. Another one is lowfat cottage cheese with plain old chopped tomatoes, if good tomatoes are to be found. This time of year that might be cherry tomatoes or romas, unless your farmers' market has some good ones. Add some dill weed if you like, or maybe a little celery salt.

Also, drinking lots of caffeine free tea seems to help me keep from getting hungry when I'm cutting back on calories.

[Connie Bevier]

It may sound nasty, but I love applesauce and cottage cheese together! Low in fat and sugar. Good luck and lucky you, go girl!

[juster]

Crushed pineapple's my fave, and the black pepper is great, too. I'll have to try the horseradish! One of the Moosewood books has a couple great lists of things to add, one sweet, one savory; add one thing or all. It makes nice, full-flavored, fresh-tasting salads.

Savory -- sesame seeds, sunflower sseds, diced carrot, tomato, scallion, bell pepper, celery, cuke, parsley, alfalfa sprouts, hardboiled eggs, lemon juice, S&P

Sweet -- raisins, currants, toasted nuts, poppy seeds, apple, peach, pear, grapes, oranges, melon, honey, lemon juice

[hotoynoodle]

personally, i can't stand the stuff.

buy the low-fat kind, eat a very small amount, but with a very large amount of chopped raw fruit -- berries are high fiber and low cal-- or steamed veggies -- broccoli, zucchini, radishes, asparagus. hot sauce will help with the latter. maybe try plain low fat yogurt (or the greek style) instead? better for you...

[lexpatti]

Get a bottle of Spike seasoning - it's really awesome on cottage cheese. It's got like 39 herbs (no msg) - used to be able to only get at a healthfood store - now all the grocery stores carry it.

I also like sugar free jelly, like apricot and a pinch of curry powder.

[gansu girl]

I posted this same question in June and got some FABULOUS ideas (have since decided that I just don't like cottage cheese that much). My favorite, and clearly one of the most simple of the bunch, was cracked black pepper in the cottage cheese . . . . good foil for baby carrots or even scooped on top of lettuce.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/285801 query=cottage+cheese&user_name=gansu+girl

[Tony Miller]

Cottage cheese, canned tuna, peperoncini, black pepper. Big protein load in this, so you don't have to eat a whole lot to get a satisfying lunch.

[fooddiva]

cottage cheese with mangoes will make your heart sing!

[saucy_girl]

barbeque sauce mixes it up for savory, or sugar-free vanilla syrup for sweet...

good luck!

[wayne keyser]

Eat it (unflavored) as an accompaniment alongside spicy things you ordinarily eat - chili, curry, etc.

I discovered this while having (very caloric) Ethiopian food - one national dish is a fairly simple dry-curd cottage cheese, and it makes a nice contrast with the spicy entrees.

A generous shake of (sorry, I buy it because my kid likes it) "Mrs. Dash" seasoning can work well, but you have to let it moisten before it's palatable.

[shaebones]

Sugar free jam (the strawberry jam from Trader Joe's is amazing ) and a cut up peach. I eat that almost every morning.

[atomic]

I like adding tomatoes and lots of black pepper. Cucumbers are good too. I'm just not into fruit with my cottage cheese, but if you do, frozen berries and a handful of cereal/granola is a great breakfast. I like 2% cottage cheese, for only ~100 cals/serving it's a really good protein-rich snack.

[Emme]

Salsa w/ cottage cheese.

Mixed with cinnamon, splenda, and vanilla.

Celery, diced red onion, diced red apple, and dill.

Canned chiles, tomatoes, cumin, and a little fat free italian dressing.

Steamed broccoli bits and low fat or fat free cheddar shreds.

[Ted in Central NJ]

You could try putting ketchup on it, as Richard Nixon did. Then again, since he wound up talking to the oil paintings on the walls of The White House, you might not want to copy him. ;-)

[krissywats]

Seriously? Someone else did this? My brother did that growing up in the 70s and i thought it was the most disgusting thing I'd heard - I had NO idea anyone else did it.

[Ted in Central NJ]

Yes, old "Tricky Dick" was told by his M.D. that he needed to lose some weight, and the White House chef suggested that the President should have cottage cheese for lunch daily in order to lose that weight. After one taste, Nixon decided that he could only tolerate the cottage cheese if it was thoroughly doused with ketchup. Although I still think that this is pretty weird, I do agree with the idea of adding some Tabasco to it. In fact, a few shots of the green Tabasco is actually a pretty interesting addition to the cottage cheese.

[ML8000]

I had a coach in high school that put tabasco in his CC. Thought it was gross and weird back then...now I can see it.

[goodhealthgourmet]

if weight loss is the goal, i'd forgo the sugar-laden ketchup.

[wendy8869]

Lots of black pepper. Really. Good stuff.

[krissywats]

Sea Salt, pepper, scallions

(My husband lost 1.5 inches in one week on the Dr. Oz program - I lost 1 inch)

[onefineleo]

I have cottage cheese (fat free) and blueberries for breakfast every day these days. I think it is very satisying and really holds me until lunch ( tuna with a bit of mayo in a container that I bring with me to work). Dinner: big salad, some nice tasty big fish ( chilean sea bass the other night, with some sauteed carrots). Keep your eye on healthy, and you can do it!

[chezlamere]

But if your determined to suffer cottage cheese. I used to live across the street from a green grocer that had the most amazing catalopes. I would cut them in half, spoon out the seeds, replace that with half the carton of cottage cheese (i'd give my husband -boyfriend at the time, the other half of the cantelope)sprinkle the cottage cheese with celery salt, and fresh pepper and voila. You need a grapefruit spoon, it makes eating it a little easier.

[j2brady]

What the???

Horseradish? No breakfast? No breakfast is a sure-fire way to over consume later in the day.

Try some exercise and a low fat, CALORIE restricted diet.

Wine is calories dense and does not offer a whole lot of nutritional value which is important if you are consumming a lower caloric diet.

As for the cottage cheese...I like to top mine with cucumber and a little salt (though salt = water retention so go easy), olives, or some nice fresh, canned (in juice of course) fruit, nuts, or just a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Jenna

[cafesimile]

Jenna,what you've written makes good sense. Breakfast (not bacon and eggs) is extremely important. Cottage cheese lends itself well to many flavors, being itself slightly nuetral. . . However, whether trying to lose or gain weight, there must always be room for wine. Always.

[j2brady]

Totally agreed about the wine! I love a nice glass of red most definately!

[jenniebnyc]

add a spoon of horseradish

[Kitchen Queen]

Never was big on cottage cheese however, when I do partake, I eat savory - with green onions, or chooped green olives or even capers which I love. Might want to give that a try. KQ