When you think of breakfast you probably think of foods like cereal, eggs, waffles, and even yogurt. Cottage cheese probably is not on the top of the list as a breakfast food for many people. Most people likely associate cottage cheese with a dinner side or a snack. However, cottage cheese provides many benefits that trump other breakfast foods. Below we have provide 10 reasons why we think you should try cottage cheese for breakfast.
1) High-protein
Protein is responsible for keeping lean muscle on the body, but for many Americans most of their protein comes at the end of the day. Consuming protein at the begin of the day helps the body promote lean muscle growth throughout the day. Cottage cheese contains casein protein, which is a slow moving protein that takes several hours to absorb into the body. This keeps the stomach full for longer so you won’t be prone to snack between breakfast and lunch. A cup of cottage cheese contains approximately 24 grams of protein, which is close to the protein in a serving of some meat products.
2) Low Calories
While cottage cheese is high in protein with the ability to keep you full through the morning, it is also low in calories. The calories in cottage cheese will vary based on milkfat percentage. A cup of nonfat cottage cheese has about 105 calories, 1% milkfat has around 165 calories, 2% milkfat has roughly 185 calories, and regular (4% milkfat) cottage cheese has approximately 220 calories. In comparison, a plain bagel (3 oz) and cream cheese (2 tbsp) has about 450 calories.
3) High Calcium
Cottage cheese is made from milk so it is packed with calcium. One cup of cottage cheese will satisfy approximately 12 to 20 percent of your daily recommended calcium requirement. Eating foods high in calcium to start the day tends to help people meet their calcium requirement before bedtime.
4) Versatile
There is a long list of uses for cottage cheese beyond just eating it plain. Commonly, cottage cheese is topped with fruit or maybe eaten with a tomato. In terms of breakfast, it can be added to scrambled eggs, used to make pancakes, used for a bagel spread, mixed in a smoothie, and much more. Plain cottage cheese can be boring for many people, but there are near endless combinations of foods that pair well with cottage cheese.
5) Cheap
cottage cheese is really cheap and a filling breakfast at the same time. A 24 ounce cottage cheese container has about 6 servings of a 1/2 cup per serving. Our grocery store currently has this size cottage cheese for $2.00 per contain. In comparison, an Egg McMuffin meal (containing hash browns and small OJ) is $3.99 and will start your day with a whopping 600 calories, 21 grams of fat, 7 grams saturated fat, and 78 grams of carbs. I’ll take the cottage cheese, please!
