Let me start off by saying, I hate cottage cheese. I always hated the taste. The consistency just seems wrong to even attempt a bite. In bodybuilding, I have needed to make sacrifices. Find ways to spruce and spice things up to make them palatable. I have finally decided to take on the personal challenge of making cottage cheese taste better. Batch by batch, finding out which flavors are enjoyable, and which downright suck!
The key to finding the right flavor is to decide what you wish to taste. Are you looking for something sweet? Or maybe something with a little zip? How about some sweet heat?
The first go-round was to find something simple and make it easier to eat without wanting to puke. Each batch involves a one pound tub of low fat, small curd cottage cheese. I decided to shoot for quick and easy with 3 packets of splenda and 3 drops of vanilla extract. The flavor was ok, but not exactly what I would consider a daily joy. The next batch was 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and a half scoop of strawberry whey protein. This was quite awesome to be honest!
The third batch was more towards the spicy end, but still simple. I tossed in some black pepper, a little salt, smoked paprika, and a dash of onion powder. This actually turned out well. I wouldn’t consider this a daily staple, but would go well in a weekly rotation. My fourth batch was a bit more bold. I decided to toss in some diced banana, bell , and jalapeno peppers. The cheese helped balance the flavor, and that heat was about perfect. I would consider this a win as well.
The fifth batch was the crossover batch. I decided to go with some chinese chili sauce. I used a one tablespoon along with one packet of splenda. The sweet heat was decent. I don’t think removing the splenda would help with the flavor. My sixth batch was sort of a crossover as well. I used some basil, parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, and a hint of garlic powder. This was good, but not really phenomenal. I could see this one as a weekly rotation as well.
Batch Breakdown:
Batch 1: 3 packets Splenda, 3 drops vanilla extract
Batch 2: 2 tbsp natural peanut butter, 1/2 scoop strawberry whey protein
Batch 3: black pepper, salt, smoked paprika, onion powder
Batch 4: diced: banana, jalapeno, & bell peppers
Batch 5: 1 tbsp chili sauce, 1 packet splenda
Batch 6: basil, parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, garlic powder
My goal was to find ways to make this a better midday snack, rather than an addition to meals. I’ve seen it used in various recipes, but the focus was simply a spiced up snack. Through this experiment, I did find some good options that will help me enjoy cottage cheese. I’ve found that an additional texture, rather than just flavor, really helps make cottage cheese taste better. Let the experiments continue! If you have a suggestion for how to spice up cottage cheese, please share it on our facebook page: Athletic Xtreme Facebook page.
