The new food trend is adding cottage cheese to your diet, but where does fad end and healthy eating begin? Cottage cheese is a good source of protein, calcium, and probiotics, but the salt content can add up quickly.
When working cottage cheese into one’s diet, plan your meals and eat in moderation. Options include cottage cheese as a snack, replacing it in a simple dish, blending it into a liquid, or mixing it into a recipe.
“It seems like 2023 is the year cottage cheese finally gets the respect it deserves,” noted another health influencer.
They’re statistics and view counts that might make you chuckle. But cottage cheese can be a welcome addition to one’s diet if you follow guidelines any expert will tell you – plan meals, and eat in moderation.
Carly Zimmer, a registered dietitian-nutritionist at OSF HealthCare, says cottage cheese combines skim milk and an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar. It separates into curds (the small white chunks of cheese) and whey (the liquid part).
“In processing, there’s a cream-salt mixture that’s added to give it flavor and the softer, creamier texture,” Zimmer noted.
Emulsifiers and gums also are added to create the creamy mouthfeel and prevent separation, but Zimmer says those aren’t a big dietary concern. What you do need to keep a close eye on is salt (listed on a food label as sodium). In a typical half cup of cottage cheese, there are 400-to-500 milligrams of salt.
“It can add up quickly,” she remarked. “For somebody with high blood pressure, heart disease, or congestive heart failure, watching your sodium is pretty important. Cottage cheese may not be the best option.”
For people with those conditions, Zimmer says the recommendation for daily sodium intake is 1,500-to-2,000 milligrams. For others, it’s no more than 2,300 milligrams. This means you should look at food labels, do some math, and portion appropriately. A low fat or fat free option also may help.
But there’s positive news: Zimmer says cottage cheese is a great source of protein and “protein helps build muscle, immune health, and keeping you full.”
The general recommendation for protein intake is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. For example, a 150-pound person needs around 55 grams of protein per day.
Cottage cheese is also a good source of calcium, which promotes bone health, and some brands also have probiotics, which help with gut health. Look for “live and active cultures” on the food label.
So, how can you work cottage cheese into your diet and be healthy about it? There are plenty of ways, and you can experiment to find out what tastes good.
- A popular choice is to have cottage cheese as a side dish or snack. Try pairing it with fruit.
- Replace an ingredient with cottage cheese in a quick meal. On a sandwich, swap mayonnaise for cottage cheese.
- Blend cottage cheese down to a liquid and mix in a ranch seasoning packet to make a new type of vegetable dip or salad dressing. Or blend cottage cheese with fruit for a new take on yogurt.
- A popular one for those Zimmer counsels on healthy eating is to mix cottage cheese into scrambled eggs as they cook. Stir the curds in, and as they melt, it makes the dish creamier.
- A storage tip: Putting cottage cheese upside down in the refrigerator can help keep the fresh taste for longer, but don’t disregard expiration dates. If you develop significant symptoms after eating, including vomiting, diarrhea, or stomachache, see a health care provider.
- What about the TikTok inspired recipes like cottage cheese lasagna? Too good to be true?
“Cottage cheese adds protein, so it could have its place in recipes. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to say it needs to be added,” Zimmer commented. “It depends on the person and what they like.”
Another way to look at it is the body can’t store protein. Once bodily needs are met, extra protein is used for energy or stored as fat. So, binging on cottage cheese may not do favors for your waistline.
To learn more, visit the OSF HealthCare website for cottage cheese-inspired recipes.