As a college student trying to stay healthy, I love Greek yogurt. It's the perfect choice for a quick breakfast or an easy snack during the day. Unfortunately even when you love a food, eating the same thing twice a day, every day can get boring within no time. To hold onto the nutritional benefits of your breakfast, alternate your Greek yogurt with cottage cheese. It's surprisingly just as good for you and tastes better than its bad rep leads us to believe.
The stereotype is that cottage cheese is a dated food. It brings to mind images of parents and grandparents eating it with canned peaches or pineapple back in the 70's and 80's. In recent years however, the curd is making a comeback—here's why you should be just as excited as I am.
The return
There has been a recent movement to embrace dairy fat as a positive component of our diets, with a particular push towards full-fat milk instead of skim milk. The trend has inspired emerging brands of cottage cheese like Good Culture, that sell products richer and creamier than any cottage cheese has been before (read: say goodbye to the watery, fat-free cottage cheese you remember from childhood).
Why should you eat it?
Cottage cheese is a nutritional powerhouse. I was skeptical to hear that it has the same amount of nutrients as Greek yogurt, but was pleased to discover that cottage cheese is full of protein, low in sugar, and heavy in B-complex vitamins.
It contains about 25g of protein per cup, which is even more than that in Greek yogurt and where Greek yogurt has 9g of natural milk sugars per serving, cottage cheese only has 3 to 6g.
Additionally, the casein protein in cottage cheese (about 90% of the total protein content) is a slow release nutrient. This means it provides a consistent release of nutrients over a longer period of time. The slow release of amino acids can help prevent hunger pangs and cravings, making it a perfect food for when you're on a diet or need a good bedtime snack.
Although cottage cheese doesn't naturally have probiotics like Greek yogurt does, some brands culture their products, which makes them just as beneficial for digestion. Unlike Greek yogurt, Cottage cheese also has B-complex vitamins like vitamin B12 and riboflavin, which are great for heart health and digestion.
If you aren't ready to love cottage cheese on its own, try using it in recipes for cheesecake or pancakes. You can also try transforming your cottage cheese by adding fruit or eating it with toast. Next time you reach for the Greek yogurt, consider trying cottage cheese instead and embrace the return of the curd.