5 Ways to Eat Cottage Cheese And Fruit
Cottage cheese and fruit make a great snack or meal combination that is high in protein, loaded with fiber, and packed with antioxidants to keep you feeling your best. Here are 5 delicious cottage cheese and fruit pairings for you to try.
Recently, cottage cheese has been featured in a variety of creative recipes including chip dips, pasta bases, and even ice cream. Who knew this mildly flavored dairy product could be so diverse!
While all of these viral cottage cheese recipes are delicious and trending for a reason, simple pairings of fruits and cottage cheese are equally as impressive and significantly more convenient to throw together for a balanced meal or snack!
How to Build a Balanced Snack:
When building a balanced snack, I encourage people to include a base and a protein. This method will ensure you are including enough calories and a good blend of the macronutrients to nourish your body and keep you fuller for longer.
Base: This is going to be a higher carbohydrate food or a food that is lacking in fat and protein. Generally this is a vegetable, fruit, or high fiber carb
Protein: This is going to be a food higher in protein content (and generally contain some fat as well). Examples of a protein would be eggs, greek yogurt, beef jerky, edamame, hummus, peanut butter, and cottage cheese.
Why Pair Cottage Cheese and Fruit?
Fruits are a fantastic base option to choose because they are higher in fiber, naturally sweet, and full of antioxidants that can support health and lower your risk for disease. Cottage cheese is an excellent protein option to include that is higher in protein (some brands have over 15g per ½ cup!), lower in calorie, and contains some satiating fat as well.
One nice thing about choosing cottage cheese as the protein of your snack is that you can vary the fat % that you buy to make it work for you. For example, whole milk cottage cheese will be slightly higher in fat and calorie which makes it more satisfying for people and lower fat cottage cheese will be lower in fat and lower in calorie making it easier to fit within a calorie controlled diet without missing out on protein.
Paired with Pineapple
If you want an easy way to pair cottage cheese and fresh fruit, this is a go to balanced snack idea that should be in your weekly rotation! The tart pineapple pairs so well with the creamy cottage cheese, trust me.
Instructions: For this, simply chop your fresh pineapple and top it with a serving of cottage cheese. If you are not a pineapple fan, fresh nectarines are equally as delicious for a fresh fruit and cottage cheese pairing idea that you can throw together quickly.
Peaches & Creamy Cottage Cheese Smoothie
Ever heard of peaches and cream? Well here is peaches and creamy cottage cheese blended up in a smoothie for an easy pairing to try.
Instructions: Add 1 chopped fresh peach, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tbsp vanilla jello pudding mix, and 1/2 cup ice to a blender cup and blend until smooth. Top with whipped cream (optional) and enjoy!
*pro tip- choose a softer, juicier peach for a fuller and sweeter flavor. Trust me when I tell you to trust the process. Unlike the tangy flavor of Greek yogurt, cottage cheese has an incredibly mild flavor which makes it easy to incorporate into just about anything. I am a big oatmeal fan, but I am always searching for ways to up the protein content of my morning oats, and adding a dollop of cottage cheese is one easy hack! For 1/2 cup of cooked oats, I will add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of low-fat cottage cheese which bumps up the protein content by about 8 to 15 grams of protein depending on brand.
Herb Cottage Cheese Stuffed Medjool Dates
Don’t let their dried exterior fool you, medjool dates are a fresh fruit and they pair perfectly with a cottage cheese stuffing. Dates are often stuffed with goats cheese or cream cheese and served as a tasty appetizer. I prefer to stuff them with higher protein cottage cheese and snack on them throughout the week for a balanced snack!
Instructions: Add 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 2 tsp fresh herb like thyme or rosemary, add them to a blender cup and blend until smooth. Choose large, pitted medjool dates and stuff with your creamy cottage cheese stuffing and enjoy.
Frozen Honey Cottage Cheese Bark with Fruit
This is a tasty summer treat and a great snack option for a teething baby (with appropriately chopped fruit, of course). You can choose really any fruit that you have on hand and some additional topping ideas would be strawberry banana, mixed berry, or mango.
Instructions: Add 1 cup cottage cheese and 1 tbsp honey to a blender cup and blend until smooth. Spread your cottage cheese into a thin layer and top with fresh fruit of your choice. Freeze for a minimum of one hour, break into pieces and enjoy!
Cinnamon Cottage Cheese & Peanut Butter Dipped Bananas
Don’t let the long name fool you, this is a really easy way to eat fruit and cottage cheese together!
Instructions: Blend 1/2 cup cottage cheese and 1/2 tsp cinnamon together in a blender cup. Split your fresh bananas in half and place on a wooden stick. Dip or roll the bananas into the cinnamon cottage cheese until evenly coated. Top with peanut butter and freeze for 30 minutes to an hour. Enjoy!
Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a registered dietitian and my goal is to give you tips and tricks to make healthy eating fun, easy, and even delicious!