Avocado and Cottage Cheese: Nutritious and Delicious
Avocado, cottage cheese, and sauerkraut—a winning combo!
One of my boys learned in preschool that our taste buds are renewed every seven years. He was convinced that the day he turned seven his likes and dislikes would be radically changed; he’d be a brand new taster! I tried to explain that it was a gradual rollover of taste buds so changes would be gradual, but he looked ahead to his seventh birthday with curiosity and a little trepidation. However, I think in those long years between age four and seven he forgot about that fun fact but I remember it 1) because of his cuteness, and 2) because it is an interesting fun fact. It explains why our tastes do change overtime.
There are many foods that I enjoy now that I could not tolerate when I was younger. Some of the foods that moved the farthest on my list, from way down low to way up high, include sauerkraut, cottage cheese, and avocados. All three were not something I could stomach and now my mouth waters at the thought of them—especially when all three are together in one bowl! It’s true!
I first came upon the idea of pairing avocado and sauerkraut in a book suggesting it as a good option for breaking a fast—good, healthy fats, high in fiber, plus lots of probiotics. The only thing that makes it better is adding in the cottage cheese which adds the missing protein, thus making it a nutritional powerhouse that is nourishing, filling, and delicious. The delicious part is according to my current, and, I hope, future taste buds, though the truth is that my past taste buds would have refused to even take a bite!
But that is not the only way I like to combine avocado and cottage cheese; I also like them together as a sweet treat! Cottage cheese has taken the internet and Instagram by storm because it is an easy, versatile, and tasty way to add protein to your diet. You can find tons of recipes that feature cottage cheese in sweet treats and this is a bandwagon I have happily hopped on. I make smoothies with cottage cheese a couple times a week, but my favorite sweet treat with cottage cheese combines it with—surprise!—avocado. Blended together (along with coco powder) these two nutrient superstars make a creamy, pudding-type treat that is perfect topped with berries, cacao nibs, and seeds (like in the photo), or with granola, nuts, chocolate chips, bananas, or whatever you’d like! Give it a try and see how you like it.
Avocado and Cottage Cheese Pudding
Whip this up for a nutritious breakfast, snack, or lunch and dress it up with your favorite toppings.
Ingredients
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 cup of cottage cheese
- 1-2 TBSP of coco powder (high quality is best!)
- sweetener of choice (I recommend a sprinkle of pure stevia extract to keep it sugar free with no impact on blood sugar levels but you can experiment with other sweeteners as well. Natural options like maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or monkfruit would be good options to consider.)
- optional: gelatin or collagen poweders for added protein
- optional: toppings like berries, cacao nibs, nuts, seeds, granola, etc.
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into highpowered blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add a liquid of choice (water, coconut water, milk, almond milk, etc.) if you desire a thinner consistency. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired.
- Pour into bowl and either eat immediately or chill for a bit. (I prefer a chilled pudding, but if I am in a hurry I sometimes throw in a few ice cubes as I blend it and that does the trick!)
