Friday, January 30, 2009

Still trying to get enough protein

I am still trying to figure out how to get "enough" protein into my daily diet. After whining about my recommended 128 grams per day, I talked with a friend who tries for 200 grams per day and my trainer aims for 300 grams per day (his are for bodybuilding goals). So most of my whining went on deaf ears. I tried tracking my protein for a few days and could rarely get over 100 grams per day. So, I had my first shake this morning. I was not impressed. Surprisingly, it did not taste as good as the $5 shakes made at the shake shop. I have a few tricks to try next time, like using some Sugar-Free jello powder to flavor the plain or vanilla shakes. Adding up the shake powder, the extra protein powder, and the skim milk it was 27 grams of protein.

I also found a cereal bar made by South Beach Diet (Caramel Peanut) that has 19 grams of protein per bar. Yes it is 210 calories and is technically a meal replacement bar. Since some days the Fiber One bars (2g protein) were all I was eating for breakfast, I'm ok subbing out those for these new ones, especially on the days when I'm running too late to make a shake. I can keep a few in the console of the car and that will hopefully keep me out of the Chick-fil-A drive-thru.

But what about this miracle food everyone keeps talking about....28 grams of protein in one cup, low in fat, fairly inexpensive compared to a similar serving of meat....the elusive cottage cheese.

A couple of months ago I noticed that Google had updated their search tools and now when I start typing in my topic of interest a little box pops up below with suggestions for how I can finish out the wording of my desired topic. It has been quite helpful and usually very accurate. I Google alot. It has been very helpful with suggesting sites for calorie tracking (cancelled WW Online--now trying to decide between The Daily Plate or Fit Day--both free), playlist selections for the iPod, smoothie/shake recipes, nutritional info on specific foods. So, of course, when I set out on my search for cottage cheese recipes, I immediately turned to my helpful friend Google.

Ok, I start typing....cottage ch...up pops some suggestions....cottage cheese discharge...ewwww! this finding does not help with the icky texture issues I am already trying to overcome...no, not CCD....how about cottage cheese recipes....yes, thank you Google, you have redeemed yourself. I now have a few recipes to try out over the next few weeks.

My last trip to the grocery store I bought 2 of the Breakstone Doubles, cottage cheese with fruit servings. I ate the first one a few days ago. The first few bites I ate eagerly and totally blocked out all past objections to this "miracle" food. I kept telling myself, "I'm going to LOVE IT!" But by the 4th bite my gag reflex was ready to engage. Now what.

About 10+ years ago, my mom was on a diet and she told me about how she would blend cottage cheese with a little Sweet & Low and some strawberries. She said it was like a dessert. Being fresh out of college and not interested in any advice or knowledge that my mother wanted to share, I was all "whatEVER, that sounds disgusting...." So, this afternoon I get out my Magic Bullet blender with the small cup and the other Doubles from the fridge. I dumped all the cottage cheese and peaches into the mixing cup, and blended. Tasted it, pretty good, maybe a little Splenda (with Fiber) and a splash of skim milk to thin it, blend some more. Taste...oh, yeah, it's really good...I put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes and it was very good. Reminded me a lot of frozen yogurt...kinda like a dessert.

I am now on a mission to figure out as many ways to substitute blended cottage cheese in recipes. One of the first ones I want to try is Ranch dip/salad dressing. I don't have any Ranch mix powder on hand, so that one will have to wait until I can get to the grocery store again. I saw multiple recipes for using cottage cheese in mashed potatoes. I'll write an update on which recipes passed or failed in a few weeks.

4 comments:

  1. Hey! I found your blog on the TDP forum. Don't give up on cottage cheese, I swear it is a miracle food! I like it most with fruit, but mashing it in with potatoes is a great idea! Ricotta is another cheese-like substance with a fair amount of protein. Good luck! :)

    -Susan

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  2. I came across your blog and had to laugh at your cottage cheese findings. I cant stand CC for that exact texture problem. I really want to love it, but every time I try it makes me want to spit it back out. Blending is a good idea.. one I will have to try!

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  3. Hi, I came across your blog on TDP/LiveStrong. Eh, I do not like cottage cheese. It grosses me out for some reason. :\

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  4. I will have to try the cottage cheese shake. You are so good at finding new yummy recipes!

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