Cottage cheese and other dairy products make a good source of calcium and protein, especially if you choose a low-fat version.
Cottage cheese is one of those rare foods that's not only tasty and incredibly versatile, but also healthy. Depending on how you season it, cottage cheese can be anything from the centerpiece of a main course to a breakfast or even a dessert. Experiment with different combinations to find your favorite flavors.
Appetizer or Snack
Cottage cheese works surprisingly well as a dip for fruits and vegetables.
Turn cottage cheese into a dip by mixing in spices like oregano, dill, basil, lemon juice, cilantro or even all of the above. You can also mix cottage cheese together with refried beans and chili powder, either cool or warmed, for a spread on crackers or tortillas. Dried onion soup mixed together with cottage cheese makes for an interesting flavor as well, though you will want to be careful about the salt content.
Breakfast or Dessert
Dessert isn't the first thing people think of when they consider cottage cheese, but it works surprisingly well in crepes.
Mixed together with fruit and nuts, cottage cheese can be excellent as breakfast or even as a dessert. Try adding cinnamon or related spices, such as cardamom, ginger, cloves or nutmeg. Use a combination of them for a good, spicy kick that might make you think of Christmas. If you're feeling adventurous, try adding these seasonings to your cottage cheese and then tossing it in a blending with a frozen banana or two.
Main Course
Many Italian pasta dishes incorporate cottage cheese.
You can wrap cottage cheese in a tortilla, stuff it into a pita or mix it together with macaroni noodles to make a good main course for lunch or dinner. Possible seasonings for such a combination might include garlic or onion powder, cayenne, chili powder, hot sauce or dijon mustard. If you want a more fruity flavor, try mixing in lemon juice, a dash of orange or grapefruit juice, or dried fruits such as raisins.
Salad
Both fruit and vegetable salads alike can be topped with cottage cheese.
Cottage cheese works well aside a green salad and as a component of a pasta salad. Try adding crunchy toppings like bacon bits or a small sprinkling of fried chow mein noodles. Almonds, walnuts and other nuts also work well in cottage cottage cheese salads. For spices, try oregano, basil and other herbs as well as garlic powder and lemon juice. You can also drizzle salad dressing over your cottage cheese.
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