There are many reasons for that, one of which is the fact that the quality of your energy intake matters. 1000 calories of Twinkies is not 1000 calories of steak, no matter what idiotic single-food-focused diet you may choose to consume (see: Twinkie diet, cabbage soup, grapefruit, lemon-cayenne-maple syrup, et al).

I hope to help folks understand eventually that energy in vs energy out is not the only thing that determines body composition — your body’s response to a given food also makes a huge difference. (I’ll be harping on this a lot in future, so consider this a warning shot across the bow.)

An interesting, albeit small, recent study correlates protein quality to waist size. What is interesting here is that the researchers stipulate “quality protein”. What the heck does that mean?

Let me explain the concept of essential amino acids (EAAs).

Essential amino acids and protein quality

If there’s one thing Nature does real good, it’s make proteins. (Actually, Nature does lots of things real good.) Oh how organic systems love their proteins. You’re a big pile of protein, from your hair to your toenails.

The building blocks for proteins are amino acids. There are lots of amino acids out there. Sure, we love ‘em all, but there are some that we really need — these are known as essential amino acids. There are also amino acids that are conditionally essential, which means that sometimes we need them more than others. Frinstance, glutamine is a conditionally EAA — we need more of it during times of physical stress, which is why it’s often included in post-surgical nutrition.

Now, what you’re looking for in your diet is a good assortment of these EAAs, and generally (unless you have some kind of intolerance or genetic inability to metabolize certain AAs) getting some of the conditional AAs doesn’t hurt either. Bone broths, for instance, are rich in glycine. (And they taste great! So win-win.)

Some proteins are more equal essential than others

Problem is that not all protein sources are created equal.

Just because something “contains protein” does not mean that the protein source is optimal. Sure, we’re scavengers so we will grab ‘n’ go whatever we can get our greasy little protease enzymes on — we can extract protein from darn near anything edible.

But that protein may not be our best choice. Frinstance, vegetarians often opt for beans/legumes, grains, and nuts as protein sources. (And others of you like to delude yourself that peanut butter is a “good protein source”. Hey man, I get it. Nothing beats scooping out that buttery goodness and feeling morally righteous and nutritionally justified as the silky, sexy, salty, peanutty velvet melts into your soft palate. Unnnngghhh.)

Now, these protein sources aren’t “bad” or “wrong”. They’re just not optimal. Let’s compare.

Here’s a sample of protein ranking according to the PDCAAs score. (Don’t worry about the acronym. Just get the idea.) The PDCAA scores proteins on two things: our amino acid requirements, and how well we can digest these particular proteins.

The higher the number, the better-quality (for us) the protein in terms of giving us the amino acids that we need.

Lab vs real world

I should point out that theoretical digestibility doesn’t always correlate to real-life digestibility.

Although, for instance, whey and casein are highly ranked, many folks actually can’t digest dairy well, and in fact consuming casein/whey is a source of other health problems. Same deal with soy — if you rely on soy as your major protein source you are in for some serious issues. And of course, if you’ve read Fuck Calories, you’ll know how I feel about wheat.

Indeed, some researchers have pointed out that the PCDAAs may over-value certain foods if it looks only at amino acid availability, noting that the PCDAAs ignores the real-world protein quality of the “protein sources which may contain naturally occurring growth-depressing factors or antinutritional factors”.

What this means is that we have to look at the big picture: How does a given food actually behave in a real human body?

Also note that not all of these are whole foods. Casein, whey, and soy protein powders are industrially processed foods that require an elaborate production chain. You know my thoughts on industrially processed foods, which is that in general we should avoid most of them. And unless we’re hardcore bodybuilders, we don’t just eat “casein”, we usually eat something like “cottage cheese”, which contains both whey and casein.

But anyway, just get the general picture here. Some foods are higher in essential amino acids than others. This is what the researchers mean by “quality protein”. More EAAs per gram of food, better protein quality.

Better protein quality means a leaner body?

The Coles Notes version here is that a higher intake of quality proteins is correlated with a smaller waist size, and by inference a leaner body.

Now, you could say the sample is too small to be of use, and that this effect is simply correlation not causation, and you would be correct on both counts from a methodological standpoint. But this general trend  (abundant protein = you get lean & strong) has been confirmed across a zillion other studies.

So again, let’s talk lab vs. real world. I can tell you from my observation of hundreds of clients (yes, real people in the real world, just like you) that it’s very, very hard to get lean and strong, to stay robustly healthy, and to perform well athletically on a low-quality, low protein diet. Period. There are always a few rare outliers who claim to kick ass while living on twigs and sprouts, and more power to ‘em. Likely, those folks are not you.

Conversely, for most folks it’s a lot easier to feel energetic, full, and psychologically satisfied — and get lean — on a diet that includes lots of high-quality protein. Mo’ protein, no problems.

If you don’t incorporate high-quality protein sources into your diet (and let’s be honest, I mean eating something that is an animal or was made by an animal), you’ll likely find it more challenging to get and stay as lean, healthy, and strong as you would like, and you’ll have to rely more on heavily processed foods such as protein powders to bring your intake up to snuff.

Feeling all a-Twitter about this post? Why not chat about it on my Facebook page?

Good question. Here’s my advice, expanded from earlier comments.

Start small. One step at a time.

In this order:

1. Add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet. Expand the variety that you do eat. Get some diversity in there. Make them colourful if possible — dark leafy greens, blueberries, purple beets, etc.
2. Make sure you have a good roster of lean, ideally animal-based protein sources: chicken, turkey, duck, fish, eggs, seafood, lean red meats, game, etc. Get accustomed to having a bit of this protein with every meal.
3. Eat only whole, unprocessed foods — again, fresh fruit/veg, fresh meats/fish/poultry, etc. Get used to eating these foods. Make sure you know how to shop for, prep, and make them taste good. (Not hard to do, luckily.) Learn where your food comes from.
4. Once you have #1-3 solid, THEN remove ALL sugar. For carbs, have fruit or starchy veggies such as yams or butternut squash. I’m a hardass about sugar; some folks will say honey or maple syrup is “primal”, but unless you’re willing to climb a tree and stick your hand into a beehive, or suck on tree sap, I’m not buying that argument. (Here is a step-by-step guide to dumping sugar.)
5. Remove ALL processed vegetable oils (e.g. corn oil, safflower oil, soy oil, cooking spray, margarine, etc.). Replace with small portions of good fats from whole foods: whole avocados, butter, fresh coconut, extra-virgin cold-pressed coconut oil (not the hydrogenated/refined crap), fattier cuts of grassfed/pastured meats, fattier fish, olives and extra-virgin olive oil, high-fat raw dairy, raw nuts, etc. But keep your portions moderate — one or two “thumbs” of fat per meal. Many a primal eater has “mysteriously” packed on a few pounds after heeding the siren call of cashews and bacon.
6. Once you nail steps 1-5, only THEN remove ALL wheat and wheat gluten. (Read labels. But if you’re eating whole foods, there should be no labels.)
7. Once you’re comfortable with both the no-wheat groove and carbs from veggies/fruit, take out all other grains — oats, rye, barley, etc. (Rice is usually well tolerated so the occasional sushi probably won’t break you.)
8. Take out all non-fermented or non-raw dairy (e.g. raw milk cheese). Some purists say “all dairy” — I say take it all out, add fermented stuff back in slowly, and see if your skin breaks out or you get sniffly. Butter is usually OK, as is real whipping cream (read the label — often it contains milk.)
9. Optional — take out beans and legumes such as lentils, soy, black beans, chickpeas, and peanuts. Personally, I find a few lentils or a bit of hummus now and again is no big deal, especially if the beans and legumes are soaked, sprouted, and/or fermented. So it’s your call on this one. But definitely chuck out soy.
10. Add some fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.

I suggest doing it this way because it’s easier to add first, then take away. It’s also easier from a practical standpoint to learn one small step at a time. I suggest one week per step. If you need more time, take it.

Understand that you won’t really be rocking “primal” till step 7, but that steps 1-6 are a “primal warmup”, if you will. And understand that you will see improvements with each step, but usually not massive changes until you get rid of grains, sugar, and dairy.

Still, if you only ever do steps 1-5, you’re way ahead of most people.

Don’t get too hung up on fiddly details. Get it in the ballpark for now.

Other folks advise just leaping in and going full-on primal for a month. They argue that you need to remove all the crap right away so you’re hooked on how good you feel, and you get a lot of the junk out of your system immediately.

I don’t dispute that; I just prefer the one-thing-at-a-time method because it works better for the vast majority of my coaching clients.

It can be so overwhelming to learn, prep, cook, and live on a new diet, it’s easy to go off the rails. Then you feel like a screwup. Or you start nurturing a nascent eating disorder. Not really what we’re going for. So let’s keep it real, go slow, and make this work!

However: if you absolutely love the “cold turkey” approach, go for it! Check out RobbWolf.com and grab the Quick Start guide. Mmmm turkey.

In any case, give yourself time to “warm up”, learn the ropes, and prepare. Check out Everyday Paleo and Paleo Comfort Foods for recipe ideas.

Then let ‘er rip. Set yourself up for success with this experiment!

Handy tips

Don’t be intimidated — you’re probably farther ahead than you think. If you already eat pretty healthy, then you only need to make a few small changes and substitutions.

Keep a food journal as you do this. You don’t have to be obsessive. (In fact, you shouldn’t be obsessive with your food, ever, and if you are, UR DOIN IT RONG.)

Just write down what you’re eating and how you feel. The point here is to connect food with experiences and feelings.

You might discover things like “trigger foods” for health issues such as allergies, joint pain, migraines, depression, GI upset, etc. Notice how you feel after eating — even the next day. See if you observe any connections.

Keep it real. Don’t go down the rabbit hole of “Paleo products” just yet. Eat real, whole, fresh, unprocessed foods. Whatever your ancestors could have hunted, gathered, or dug up counts. (But it’s OK to cook things. Our ancestors had much tougher stomachs than we do.)

Portion size still matters. Ignore the folks who say you can eat anything you like and get ripped on primal eating. Folks who say that are usually 22-year-old dudes who are Crossfitting 15 times a week. The laws of thermodynamics still apply, so if you’re looking for fat loss, eat slowly and only until you’re just satisfied (not “full” or “stuffed” or “in a groovy bacon coma”).

Use this project as a way to connect with your own food history. Quite likely your family heritage involves traditional recipes that can easily be modified to suit a primal way of eating, and/or ancestral cooking techniques such as making real bone broths (soup stocks) or oven roasts. Heck, take the kids berry picking or something.

Above all: HAVE FUN! Don’t make this about restricting or controlling or being “perfect”; make it into a fun game and self-experiment.

Old school, baby!

On paper, using the logic of “nutrientism” (the idea that we should focus only on isolated nutrients in a food, and that all “nutrients”, e.g. “protein” or “vitamin C”, are equivalent and interchangeable), soy makes sense. It is a plant that appears to be high in the types of amino acids that humans require. It’s relatively easy to grow and is sort of like the universal solvent — you can make damn near anything from it.

In real life, it’s not so simple. “Nutrients” are not whole, complete, discrete foods. Our bodies respond to whole foods, eaten as part of a whole diet, in a context of a whole life and whole environment. We eat food. Not “nutrients”. And, as a food, soy doesn’t offer much benefit compared to its drawbacks.

The aggregate data suggest that whatever benefit soy may offer is vastly outweighed by its many liabilities — especially when it is processed, as it must be in order to be edible. (Really guys — did you honestly think that Tofurkey was healthy?) For a review of the clinical literature and concerns, check out The Whole Soy Story.

One key problem with soy appears to be its effects on brain health with aging.

A study in the JACN followed thousands of subjects following a variety of Japanese and Western-style diets in Hawaii. The study concluded that in subjects ranging from their 70s to their 90s, “poor cognitive test performance, enlargement of ventricles and low brain weight were each significantly and independently associated with higher midlife tofu consumption.” In other words, the more tofu a person consumed earlier in life, the worse their prognosis for healthy brain aging would be.

Of course, this isn’t causative, merely correlative. Other studies have suggested that soy isoflavones may offer a protective effect. Again, the data is mixed.

For instance, one study points out that our conclusions about healthy brain aging depend on the indicators we use to measure it, as well as sex differences. Given soy’s estrogenic actions, what effects does it have on men and women? (In women, for instance, should we assume that more estrogenic activity is always good?)

Another study points out that we have to distinguish between soy’s effects in vitro (i.e. on cell cultures in a petri dish) and in vivo (i.e. in actual people living real lives). “Lab significant” may not be “real world significant”, and/or effects on free-living people may be much different than effects on cells bathed in a medium of isolated substances. As this study comments, “While it has been shown that the soy phytoestrogen genistein inhibits neuroprotective functions in cell cultures, recent in-vivo findings strengthen the case for a possible causal mechanism of soy-induced neurodegeneration.”

Now, the JACN study is ten years old, but another study from 2008 offers similar but somewhat more nuanced results. High tofu consumption was associated with worse memory, while high tempeh consumption (a fermented whole soybean product) was independently related to better memory, particularly in participants over 68 years of age. Another study looking at the same population found that the effects changed when the groups were disaggregated by age and type of memory recall. (BTW, both studies found that fruit consumption was also associated with improved memory across the board.)

What many of these studies indicate to me is that “soy” is not a homogeneous category, just like “meat” can encompass everything from rare Kobe beef to baloney.

Having an ounce or two of traditionally fermented tempeh now and again — importantly, within the context of a traditional East Asian diet, eating patterns, and lifestyle — is not the same thing as drowning in TVP, soyloney, soy milk, and soy cereal  every day within the context of a modern Western diet, eating patterns, and lifestyle.

Ask yourself: How is soy protein powder produced? How do they make soy bacon? Have you read the labels? After considering the actual process by which most mass-produced soy products are created, do you still want to eat them? Do you still consider them “healthy”? What does the rest of your diet look like?

Thus, when we ask “Is soy bad/good for me?” we have to ask:

“Which soy? In what format?”
“For whom?”
“For what purpose?”
“How much are you consuming?”
“What exactly are you assuming that soy will do/not do for you?”
“In whose interests would my soy consumption be?” (In other words, who is telling you soy is good and to eat more?)
“WTF is Tofurkey and why is this offense to Saint Julia Child on my table!?”

First of all, I love NutritionData.com like Perez Hilton loves a starlet meltdown. ND is especially useful because you can do a very detailed nutrient search (check under “Tools”). If you’re curious about which foods are higher in, say, the amino acid valine, ND is your all-knowing guru.

Second, here’s a little chart that might be helpful. Here are common foods that are good sources of the major nutrients.

Remember, whole foods are usually combinations of nutrients — most foods have a bit of everything. For example, I’ve filed beans and high-protein grains such as quinoa under “carbs” because their carbohydrate content outweighs their protein content. Nuts and nut butters go under “fat” for the same reason, although they also contain protein.

Now let’s look at some sample meals that combine these three groups. I’ve given you some ideas from various cuisines.

If you’re controlling your carbohydrate intake, simply eliminate things like noodles and grains and minimize fruit in favour of vegetables. Note also that I’ve listed some vegetables as carb sources, but again, except for the root vegetables/tubers (carrots, yams, potatoes, taro, etc.), and squash, they’re mostly just vitamins, fibre and water.

Ideally, vegetables should form the largest proportion of your meals.

So, for instance, in your East Asian stir-fry, opt for something like 75%-80% vegetables (by volume), 4-6 ounces of protein (about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards), a sparing sprinkle of nuts or sesame seeds, and a small serving of noodles (optional). Some nutritionists use the “plate method” to describe this: imagine half your plate is vegetables, one-quarter is protein, and one-quarter is the carbohydrate portion.

Personally I suggest that folks view starchy carbohydrates as a condiment and include about the same amount they’d use for other condiments such as salsa.

Again, in general, the bulk of your carbohydrates should generally be consumed around exercise, either before or after.

• (Thai) Beef, chicken or shrimp curry with coconut milk and vegetables (served over brown rice if desired)
• (South Asian) Same deal as Thai, except different curry seasonings and a side of cucumber in yogurt or carrot chutney, or a mango lassi (mango whipped with yogurt)
• (Greek or Middle Eastern) Roasted meat, poultry, seafood or tempeh with roasted zucchini, eggplant, and peppers brushed with a little olive oil, with a side of chickpea hummus or even straight tahini (sesame butter)
• (East Asian) Vegetables and protein of choice stir-fried with a little olive oil, served over soba (buckwheat) noodles, topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds or crushed almonds
• (Italian) Grilled rabbit with whole wheat pasta in a tomato sauce and side of rapini tossed with a little olive oil
• (French) Nicoise salad with fish, boiled egg, green beans, salad greens and Dijon vinaigrette
• (German) Turkey sausage with red cabbage braised in a little olive oil and apple-vinegar sauce
• (Southern US) Pork tenderloin or turkey breast stuffed with apples, served with wild rice and squash, and a side of collard greens, topped with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts or pecans
• (Southwestern US) Chili made with beef, turkey, and/or beans (which in a vegetarian version count as the protein), served with guacamole and tomato salsa
• (California) Seafood served over greens, avocado and grapefruit, tossed with a vinaigrette
• (Korean) Bi bim bap: grilled beef or tempeh mixed with vegetables, served over brown rice with a cooked omega-3 egg on top
• (East African) Doro wat (chicken stew) with sauteed greens atop injera (teff flatbread) or with lentil stew; niter kibbeh (spiced butter) made with coconut oil
• (Indigenous Canadian) Grilled salmon (has omega-3 fatty acids) with wild rice; side of blueberries or stewed cranberries
• (Indigenous US) Wild game (has a good omega-3 fatty acid profile) with corn and beans; tomato salad
• (Latin American) Squash soup topped with pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and a side of grilled fish
• (Caribbean) Jerk chicken with pigeon peas, greens, and coconut

Cottage cheese nutrient analysis per 120 g serving (1% fat version):
Energy: 99 cal
Protein: 16 g
Fat: 1.2 g
Carbohydrate: 6.0 g

Many weightlifters badmouth cottage cheese, whining that it tastes bad and can’t be used in any recipes. I henceforth declare them crybabies. To overlook cottage cheese is to do without a great source of lean protein and a versatile food.

Thus, I have made it my mission to convert the heathen.

High in protein, low in fat, easily available even in the crummiest dive of a convenience store, and great as a substitute for higher-fat cheeses or in its own right, cottage cheese is truly the food of the gods. Try a few of these (and send me any that you might have) and see if you can’t bring CC into your life too.

A disclaimer: I’m a seat-of-the-pants cook and my quantities are often instinctive. The amounts I have given are just suggestions, since I rarely measure things when I cook. Since I’m assuming we lifters all have our own weird diets, most of these are for one person. Adjust amounts accordingly for more.

reader mail! reader mail!

cottage cheese nachos fat free cottage cheese lean or extra lean ground beef) some tomaotes/green peppers or salsa some tostito low fat baked sour cream and cheese tortilla chips Combine all ingredients and you have some healthy nachos! They are awesome, high in protein, low in carb and fat…. try to get as much as possible from the cottage cheese (cottage cheese is the sour cream substitute) and as little as possible from the chips… also, try cottage cheese mixed with microwaved garbanzos and add 1 packet of Equal….. cottage cheese and “tasteless tuna” Also, try this discovery: if you boil tuna for 2 minutes in water, it loses about 80-90% of that nasty tuna taste! Just don’t eat it hot. Pour cool water over it and drain it so that it is cool and dry and it is almost tasteless! Mix it with cottage cheese and Equal and garbanzo beans and it is perfect! —Jeff Ward My favourite breakfast consists of cottage cheese and other stuff. It’s taken from one of the Zone recipe books. Anyway here it is: 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1/4 cup plain yogurt 1 cup of frozen blueberries (big plump ones, not pale little ones) 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg or more to your liking 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, again to your liking 4 teaspoons of slivered or sliced almonds 1) put the cottage cheese and yogurt in a bowl 2) blend the blueberries (can be misc frozen fruit if market doesn’t have any) with the applesauce 3) put the blueberry mix into the above bowl 4) put the nutmeg and cinnamon in the bowl 5) mix it all up 6) dust top with almonds Delicious! —Lyndsey Ferguson I’ve just got one Cottage cheese recipe. I love it and eat it every day. Just take Cottage chesse and add 3 tsp of sugar and 2 tsp of cocoa for every cup. I think it’s better than chocolate milk and doesn’t have much more sugar. —Chris Gold I love cottage cheese too, and have been enjoying a crazy recipe which I saw on your page for some time now (Chris Gold’s recipe, above). I can’t believe someone else likes this! I call it “chocolate cheese” and it grosses everybody out! She suggests sugar, but I think it tastes great with 2 packets of equal. You can also add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract if you wanna make it extra yummy. It tastes like chocolate cheesecake!! Another thing I love, love, love is equal parts store bought salsa and cottage cheese as a dip for fat free tortilla chips. This is awesome! I call it “Salsa Con Cottage Queso” and I made it up while living in Texas, feeling sorry for myself while missing out on all that yummy tex-mex. I can eat it just plain with a spoon!! I take thin sliced turkey (you know, lunch meat style) lay it out flat, put in some cottage cheese, and pickle, of course, roll it up, and eat. Quick, and lots of protein! —Laurie Jones I use cottage cheese as a really healthy filling for baked potatoes. Cook the potatoes as usual and then scoop out the flesh. Mix this approximately equal amount of with cottage cheese and season with salt and pepper. Fill the potatoes back up with the mixture and dollop a bit more cottage cheese on top! Healthy, yummy and filling. —Caroline Middlebrook My favorite is mixing 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with 1/2 cup of sugar free jello. It’s yummy! —Mary Wasielewski I offer you a cottage cheese topping for a bagel, or perhaps a filling for a pita or celery stalks: Drop a portion of cottage cheese in some cheese cloth & squeeze, squeeze, squeeze out the liquid. Put it in a bowl with some garlicky Mrs. Dash or your favorite dry herbs/seasonings, and mush it with a fork. This spreads easily over a toasted bagel and won’t make it soggy! —Juliana Williamson-Page I have never been a cottage cheese fan, however, a great invention that I discovered is mixing a bowl of cottage cheese with fresh fruit and a spoonful of cool whip light. This is a great late night snack that always satisfies my sweet tooth attacks. Try it out, I’m sure you will love it!! —Sherrill Guinn cheesecake 2 cups dry curd pressed cottage cheese (fat percentage optional) 3 eggs 1/2 cup yogurt (any percentage of fat) 1/3 cup honey 1 tsp. grated lemon peel 1-2 tsp. vanilla Preheat oven to 350. Combine ingredients and process until satin smooth. Pour into loaf pan and bake 30 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Cool and refrigerate for several hours. Top with fresh or cooked drained berries or fruit of choice. Serves 8. 148 calories per serving. 12.65 g of protein, 20.5 g of carbs, 2.5 g of fat. From “Breaking the Vicious Cycle” by Elaine Gottschall. —Carol Frilegh Scramble some eggs and just before you are ready to take them out of the pan, add some diced tomatoes and some cottage cheese just long enough to make them warm. The cheese should just start to melt a little but still look like pieces of cottage cheese. (Sounds gross but tastes good.) —Nancy Hill So glad to see more uses for my stand-by protein. Like many others I have a recipe that I too stumbled on. It is kind of like a Waldorf salad without the mayo (but you could add it if you wanted to). 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1/4 cup ultra low-fat Cool Whip or equivalent frozen edible oil type topping 1/2 apple cut up 1 tablespoon of Heath bar or Skor bar…caramel bits slivered almonds or walnuts (optional) Mix it all together and eat. Leave it overnight and the caramel will blend and it will taste even better. I can’t believe that this is good for me. I feel like I cheat every time I eat it. —Glenda Hey Krista, I thought I’d let you in on my favorite cottage cheese snack. Take a piece of good, chewy, whole wheat/multigrain bread and toast it to your prefered shade. Layer on some cottage cheese, and then top with some well-drained crushed pineapple. Sprinkle a little ginger over the whole thing, and you’ve got a very satisfying treat. It’s so incredibly good. I hope you like it as much as I like your site, which is lots and lots! —Tara. cottage cheese smoothie Hello Krista, I absolutely love your website! I wanted to pass along this delicious cottage cheese smoothie recipe for your cottage cheese page. It’s delicious and filling…..even my kids like it! In a blender combine: 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (low or nonfat) 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries 1 cup of milk (low or nonfat) 1 scoop of protein powder (optional) 1 packet of Splenda or sweetener of choice For those that use flax oil, you can add a tablespoon to this and it doesn’t really change the taste. Blend for 1 to minutes, serve and enjoy! Best Regards, —Alexandra L Krista, Thanks for your great site. My workout partner and I especially love the cottage cheese page… it is our ultimate food, since we are teachers and need quick, packable lunches. I like Indian food, so I made up a recipe that is sort of Indianish: .5 cup cottage cheese (non or lowfat) .5 cup frozen spinach (the kind that comes in a bag can be thrown in while it’s still frozen) .5 cup organic canned lentils 1 t. curry powder garlic powder and pepper to taste I throw everything into a tupperware container the night before and just zap it for a couple of minutes in the microwave at lunch and stir. The cheese gets melty and I think it’s delicious. It’s a good way to get more veggies, protein and fiber, too. Thanks again, Alicia Hamilton christina’s two second miracle 1. toast a sourdough or whole wheat English Muffin 2. scoop on 1% or fat free cottage cheese 3. add some hot salsa sauce on top of the cottage cheese…that’s it! Yum Yum Yum Yum I hope you like it. You can use it on your page if you’d like. Take care, Christina mexican c.c. Since I am from Mexico I crave beans, cheese and spicy stuff. I am used to have pinto beans with “queso fresco” (fresh cheese in English, kind of cottage cheese I think) and a whole fresh “Serrano” chile (somewhat spicy). Well the thing is that since I started eating healthier and I could not give up on my beans and cheese I came up with this recipe, which at first I thought was kind of gross but after trying it I really enjoyed it. Here it is with approximated nutrition facts: 1/2 cup of black beans 1/4 cup of low fat cottage cheese Crushed red pepper or crushed cayenne pepper to taste Heat the beans and cottage cheese together in stove to the desired temperature, pour in a bowl and season with salt, black pepper and the crushed red pepper or cayenne if you like it spicy. Aprox. Nutrition facts: calories 155, carbohydrates 21.5g (total carb. 14.5g), protein 13.5g, fiber 7g, fat 1.7g. I hope you enjoy it. Magda K “cheesecake” mix 4oz low fat cream cheese 4oz low fat cottage cheese 1/2 sachet of sugar free jelly (any flavour you prefer) 3/4 pint of boiling water 60ml skimmed milk Chill the milk in the freezer in the container you’ll be whipping it in- don’t let it freeze, just get it icy cold. While milk is getting cold, sort out the two cheeses and stick them in a dish on the side so they’re ready for plonking in. Also make sure kettle is on to boil. Get milk out the freezer and using a milk frother, whip the cream till you get it as close to whipped cream consistency it will go. Put it back in the freezer. Make up sugar free jelly using ur 3/4 pint of boiling water and stir for two mins, till all the jelly crystals have completly dissolved. Leave jelly for 5 mins to cool down a little. Add cheeses to jelly and blend till smooth. Pour into dish u will be chilling it in and fold in whipped milk. Smooth down with a spatula and refigerate for 4 hours. Makes 4 servings, and each serving has 70 kcals and 4grams of carbs. N.B. you may want to add a calorie free sweetener tablet to the jelly crystals to sweeten it a little more, this doesn’t affect the carb or calorie count if u use the tablets that you can stick in tea/coffee. Also, you could use semi-skimmed or whole milk for a better whipped consistency if you like. Kindest regards, Gemma, Norwich UK cottage cheese waffles 2 Waffles (I usually go with 99% fat free ) Cottage cheese Parkay zero calorie/fat free “butter” spray Step 1. Warm up the 2 waffles Step.2 Spray Parkay spray on both sides (leave off or add something else if you like) Step 3. Spread cottage cheese onto waffles and then place onto each other sandwich-style. Step 4. Enjoy. —Jerald more cottage cheese waffles 2 whole grain frozen waffles (I get the kind with flax seeds) 1 C cottage cheese 1 C diced tomatoes- I use Roma tomatoes, so it’s usually 2 or 3. If you got big ones take the seeds out or it gets too watery. Toast waffles. Put 1/2 cup cottage on each waffle, and top with diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Thanks again! Verna Mandel c.c. and yogurt I get 1 part cottage cheese, one part yoghurt and a teaspoon or half of dried cinnamon or sweetener, then mix this with a fork or spoon, whatever you prefer. Then spread it on some toasted fruit bread or scones. It also goes well with jam on them if you like. —Michael cottage cheese salad My fave cottage cheese crave of the moment involves fresh spinach, shredded carrots, garbanzo beans, cottage cheese OF COURSE and a wonderful (at least I think it is) salad dressing called Red Bull Italian. It’s full of garlic and a scant 25 calories per 2 Tbsp serving. It doesn’t get any better than this! (When I’m feeling naughty I sprinkle in dry roasted sunflower seeds to the above gorp) —Beth F cottage cheese pizza This is delicious and kids love it, too! Each pizza is 1 serving. Spread approx. 1 Tbsp pizza sauce over whole wheat pita. I get mine at Trader Joes. Over pizza sauce spread a heaping Tbsp fat free or low fat cottage cheese. Top that with sliced, cooked chicken breast or homemade turkey sausage. Add veggies if desired. Cook on top rack of oven at 475 degrees for 9 min. Who said pizza was bad for you? :) YUM YUM YUM! —Rose cottage cheese omelet In keeping with your love of cottage cheese…I add it to my omelet in the morning! Mmmmmmmmm…love cottage cheese. Egg beaters (or egg substitute) equivalent to 6 eggs 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup fat free shredded cheese 2 roma tomatoes Green onions to taste Salt Pepper **I add a few mushrooms, but these can be omitted for those who hate the little fungi. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. I distribute evenly into small loaf pans (think banana nut bread) or you can make smaller ones and put in a muffin pan. Cook at 350 degrees for about 25 – 30 minutes. I make three at a time and store them in the refrigerator. Keeps me from having to cook every morning and leaves me time to workout instead. Hope you enjoy, Diane quick cottage cheese “lasagne” This is a super easy lunch idea for people in a time crunch. Cook up some whole wheat pasta, then throw some cottage cheese and tomato sauce or natural pasta sauce on top. (Classico is great.) Nuke till heated through… and voila, tastes like lasagne! Mine has been watery, but if I used dry curd or drained it a bit I’m sure it would be better. —Tammy, Yukon mock alfredo 1 1/2 C. fat-free cottage cheese 1/2 C. skim milk 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 tbsp flour 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried mustard 1/2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp salt 8 oz cooked & drained pasta of choice 1 – 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced In blender or processor, combine cottage cheese, milk and garlic until smooth. Add flour, lemon juice, basil, mustard, salt and pepper until well blended. Pour into saucepan and heat at medium-low until thickened. Do NOT boil. Serve over pasta – topping with diced tomatoes. Variations: I leave out the dry mustard, and sometimes throw in 3 oz fat free cream cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan for a more authentic taste. I also make a recipe-and-a-half because this isn’t saucy enough for us once mixed with the pasta Enjoy! Melissa K dining hall cottage cheese Here is a good, quick, easy, college dining hall cottage cheese recipe. Cottage cheese Broccoli Tomato sauce (marinara sauce) Take broccoli from the salad bar. Take two glass dishes. Fill one with broccoli, put the other dish on top of the broccoli-filled bowl, upside down. (So you create a dome.) Microwave for about 30-60 seconds. This creates steamed broccoli. Mix the broccoli with cottage cheese and tomato sauce. It tastes great, is contains lots of protein and vitamins, and grosses out your friends. (It doesn’t look great, but it tastes wonderful.) —Melissa cajun cottage cheese 1 cup of no-fat CC half a can of black beans (washed of course..or you will regret it!) 1 13-oz can of chicken breast Cajun spice to taste Throw it all in a glass bowl, put it in the microwave for two minutes and presto!! Even my son loves this meal, and he is 11. Shawn Pierce live-culture cottage cheese I’ve always had sort of a problem with cottage cheese—its lack of flavor, snotlike consistency, etc. Recently, however, I’ve fallen completely in love with live-culture cottage cheese. The brand we can get in California is Nancy’s, and it has a really terrific, tangy flavor and a much denser (and in my opinion, more palatable) consistency than the usual grocery-store brands. Presumably there are other local variations. I can scarf it down by the tubful without hurling! Now there’s an endorsement. I may finally get my protein in the 1g./lb. bodyweight range. Cheers, Nathan cottage cheese phyllo logs Last year I discovered this cottage cheese recipe among my mother’s heap of Eastern European recipes, and I thought I’d share: 1 pkg phyllo pastry 6 tbsp sugar (or Splenda, etc) ? cup raisins 1 pkg dry pressed cottage cheese 3 eggs 2 tsp cinnamon 1 lb chopped tart apples (Granny Smith work the best) Phyllo pastry is normally kept in the freezer. The night before, put it in the fridge so it defrosts a bit. If you leave it on the counter, the phyllo sheets will stick together. Mix the cheese, eggs, sugar, apples, raisins and cinnamon. (You can add more raisins and cinnamon to taste, or you can omit them altogether.) Take the phyllo sheets, four at a time. Lightly brush a little bit of canola (or another kind) oil between the layers. Put a generous amount of filling on top of the phyllo pastry. Roll into a log (but not too tightly). Place on lightly oiled square shaped (12 x 15 inch-ish) pan. You should be able to fit 3 logs onto one pan. Lightly brush tops of logs with oil. Bake at 450 F until nice and brown. —Katarina your cc is in my peanut butter! your peanut butter is in my cc! I’m sending a cottage cheese recipe that my Grandmother introduced me many years ago. I love this for breakfast, lunch, or a snack. My husband says it’s utterly disgusting, but he doesn’t like ANY type of cheese, so what does he know?? LOL! toasted whole wheat toast, english muffin or bagel cottage cheese peanut butter Spread the peanut butter on the bread as soon as it pops out of the toaster so the warmth will melt it a bit making it easier to spread less on. Spoon cottage cheese over peanut butter. Enjoy! —Linda R. cottage cheese muffins I have another cottage cheese recipe to share – it’s a modification of the cottage cheese pancakes recipe. Handy for those of us who have to eat breakfast in the car! Add ingredients to blender in this order – blend after each ingredient. Bake at 375 for approx 25 minutes. Makes 6 muffins. 1 egg 1 c cottage cheese 2 T fat free half and half 1 t vanilla 1 t cinnamon 3 packets splenda 1 t baking powder 1 banana 1 c oatmeal Thanks! Belinda cottage cheese danish Place 1/4 cup cottage cheese on 1 piece whole wheat bread. Sprinkle with Equal and cinnamon. Place under broiler until bubbly. —Amy super yummy cottage cheese pasta I dearly adore cottage cheese. Today I made sort of a deconstructed veggie lasagna with lots of cottage cheese in it. Incredibly satisfying. 2 cups cooked whole wheat, spelt, or kamut pasta (I use rotini-style) 1 can of tomato sauce about 10 sliced button mushrooms 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced pan spray 1 large ripe tomato, chopped 1/2 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 2 tbs capers 1/2 cup chopped black olives 2 sticks of string cheese or 2 oz shredded mozzarella (string cheese was all I had) 1 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil Saute the garlic in pan spray for a few moments, then add the mushrooms. When they start to soften, add the spinach, capers, chopped tomato, and olives. Let the flavors mix for a minute or two. Then add the pasta and tomato sauce. When that all comes to a bubbly boil, add the basil and cottage cheese. Tear up the string cheese, or just use shredded mozzarella sprinkled over the top of the hot mixture so it melts. Mmm… just like lasagna. This recipe makes about three large-ish servings. You’d be surprised how filling one serving is. Love from Kona, Liz bulgarian potatoes Serves 10 to 12 2 cups of 4% cottage cheese (1 lb) 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly 1 1/4 tsp. salt 3/4 tsp black pepper 3 lbs russet baking potatoes, about 6 medium 2 lg. eggs 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 2 1/2-qt. baking dish (about 12 x 10 x 2 inches). Puree cottage cheese in a food processor until it is as smooth as possible, about 1 minute, then add butter, 1 tsp of the salt and 1/2 tsp of the pepper and blend until well combined well. Peel potatoes and cut crosswise using an adjustable-blade slicer into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Spread one third of the potatoes evenly in 1 layer in dish and top with one third (a scant cup) cottage cheese mixture (mixture will not cover potatoes completely). Continue layering potatoes and CC mixture, ending with mixture. Cover tightly with foil and bake until potatoes are tender, 1 to 1 1/4 hrs. Whisk together eggs, yogurt, remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes and bake, uncovered, until custard is set, about 20 minutes. Note: Potatoes with custard can be baked 1 day ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered with foil. Reheat, covered, in a 375 F oven until hot, about 3 minutes. —Heidi “men’s favourite salad” Here’s a cottage cheese recipe that I found in Gourmet magazine. The theme was their favorite recipes from the last 65 years. This recipe is their top pick from 1969 and I especially like the name: Men’s Favorite Salad. Barbara Edwards, the reader who sent us this recipe, wrote that every time she served this salad, the men in the group would “lick the platter clean.” We found the women in our test kitchens were crunching on it as happily as the men. 1 (2 1/2-lb) green cabbage, outer leaves discarded 1 med. onion, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise 2 Tbl. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley 2 cups 4% small-curd cottage cheese (16 oz) 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbl mayonnaise 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or more to taste 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper Cut cabbage into 2-inch wedges and core, then very thinly slice crosswise. Transfer to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Let stand 15 minutes (or chill up to 2 hrs) to allow flavors to meld. Hope it doesn’t have too much mayo; I guess you could always substitute some yogurt to make it healthier. —Heidi Krista, I am massively inspired by your cottage cheese site and read through all the recipes with enthusiasm – I can’t wait to try them out. I was amazed to find that my personal favourite recipe for c.c. was not in there. A delicious party dip or spread for toast (I prefer to lather it on rye crisp breads for more dip, less dip delivery vehicle!) is to mix c.c. with smoked peppered mackerel – just mash the fish with a fork first. Hey presto ‘cant-get-enough’ protein and healthy fish oils – you can’t go wrong! Kylie — UK best freakin’ scrambled eggs ever Growing up, my Grandma made the best freakin’ scrambled eggs ever… I found out later that her sweet & buttery secret was cottage cheese. This is a quick and dirty breakfast that makes you feel like you’ve actually ate something. If you do it right, all you need is a pan, spatula, two bowls, two forks, and 5 minutes. It is easy on the dishes, easy on your time, and all that great protein! 5 minutes to the best scrambled eggs you’ve ever had. Step 1) Put your non-stick pan on med-high heat Step 2) Mix well 3 eggs (or 3 egg whites and an egg), a dash of salt, a dash of Molly McButter, two tablespoons of cottage cheese, and one tablespoon of water. Step 3) Spray pan lightly with a non-stick oil Step 4) Fry up those eggs! Your pan is hot at this point so keep stirring for about 3 minutes, don’t stop! Step 5) Done! Enjoy the fluffiest sweet-cheesy eggs you’ve ever had. –Brian Jones I have had pretty bad TMJ since I was 9 or so, and in the past 15 years I developed a liking for mushy, barely-chew foods despite never being fed porridgey-type foods in my childhood due to my mother’s hatred of mush. I began eating cottage cheese in college b/c I nearly became an undeclared vegetarian at the end of my first year of eating meat from on-campus dining. The lack of protein sources made the muscles around my knees ache when going up stairs after going for 4 days w/out protein. The other “protein” I ate couple times a week were cubes of jello from the salad bar and all sorts of beans. Cottage cheese’s bouncy texture combined w/ canned mandarine sections from the salad bar was a taste/texture treat for me! oatmeal-cottage cheese I began eating oatmeal after college, and use about 1.5 times the water called for on the packages. I start with warm/hot water if possible, stir it with the oats to soak for a min, then microwave it 30 seconds at a time to make sure it’s almost pasty w/out boiling over, for about a total of 2 minutes, depending on the starting temperature of the water. And, as soon as it’s out of the microwave when it’s way too steaming to consume, I drop in a couple tablespoonfuls of cold cottage cheese (or a gigantic spoonful) for every half cup of cooked oatmeal and stir it in. This cools the oatmeal to a still-hot but palatable temp. And, the cottage cheese melts a bit and stretches out fine strings, kind of like mozzarella. To this, I often add chopped apples in the last 15-30 secs of cooking, and either a dash of nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice. A drizzle of honey also gives it a complicated flavor! The different textures are great b/c not all the cheese melts, and it’s not just pasty oatmeal, but has softened apples/fruit and plump cheese. stuffed tomatoes Using a mix of slightly drained cottage cheese and chopped pickles, olives, pickled garlic, artichokes or any flavorful veg. and to stuff halved tomatoes is a great summer lunch! Scoop the tomatoes out and grind some fresh pepper over them, make the filling w/ chopped tomato innards and the rest then stuff it all back into the tomatoes. Chopped almonds/pecans/walnuts add crunch to it all, and goes well on a bed of salad greens too, instead of a dressing. I guess this e-mail got very long. I meant to thank you for all the recipes, some of which are simple enough for me to to implement. –Grace

cottage cheese & tortilla stackup 1 lb container cottage cheese 4 oz can diced green chiles 1 egg, beaten (can use 2 if eggs are smallish) 1 dozen or so corn tortillas grated jack/cheddar cheese Mix together the cc, chiles and egg(s) in a bowl. Layer tortillas, then mix, then grated cheese in a baking dish and bake at 350F for 30-45 minutes. Serves 6 or so. vegetarian enchiladas corn tortillas (heated until pliable) enchilada sauce (I use the canned variety, easy) cottage cheese rice (optional) green onion jack cheese Mix together all ingredients except the tortillas and sauce, then spoon the filling into the tortillas, roll, put in a baking dish, then top with the sauce. Cook at about 350F about 20-30 minutes (until they’re heated through, and cheese is all melted) —Lorianne Rosales potatoes with cottage cheese sauce 16 or 24 oz lowfat cottage cheese 1 or 2 baked 9or boiled) potatoes 2 or 3 green onions chopped 1 to 2 oz lowfat milk salt and pepper to taste Bake potatoes or boil potatoes or heat a can of potatoes. Mix all other ingredients in bowl and keep refrigerated until potatoes are ready. Pour mixture over potatoes and enjoy! —Frank Utecht As a side dish or whatever. I take tomatoes from my garden and slice them open like a flower, then put some cottage cheese in the centre, with a little bit of pepper. And bingo! a great tasty little snack/side/whatever. Enjoy! —Rosie Wysong make yer own c.c.! This recipe is drier and not soupy (unless you put cream with it just before you eat it.) If you put the cream on it when you make it then it will sour and be too ‘tart’ to eat. I prefer it without the cream as that is how my grandmother made it. My recipe is my grandmother’s, and makes a small curd cheese. To about two gallons of skimmed milk I add a cup of buttermilk and allow the milk to come to room temperature and sit, covered, for 24 hours. I then gently cut the curd into about half inch cubes and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Then I start to very gently stir and warm the curds. I do this by using a ‘double boiler’ method where I heat the water gently, raising the temperature about a degree a minute until it gets about 110 F and let it stay there for about thirty minutes. Then raise it to about 120 and keep stirring gently until the curds are ‘dry’…. in other words they will shrink up and sink to the bottom of the pot. If you bite into the curd and it is like yogurt it is not done yet. When it is done, strain and rinse with ice cold water and put into cheese cloth and squeeze out the moisture until it is dry enough to suit you. Salt and put into container and refrigerate. —Donna R Myers-Raybon (a lucky grrl who has her own cows and goats) better than butter (bread spread, but I use it on low-sodium rye crisp, etc) 1 pint lowfat cottage cheese 1/4 cup water 4 Tablespoons nonfat dry milk 2 packages ButterBuds (butter flavor mix) 1-3 packages Splenda sweetener (the amount is to your taste preference – can also use Sweet-N-Low or Equal, but I think Splenda tastes better.) Put all ingredients in the blender. Blend on low and increase speed until smooth. Pour/scrape it all back into the cottage cheese tub and store in refrigerator. This is less than 7 calories per teaspoon. A huge difference from butter or margarine! 2 envelopes of Butter Buds Mix is equal to 1/4 cup of the Butter Buds Sprinkles. Also, Butter Buds has a refridgerator life of only 3 days once it’s been liquified, so I blend all the ingredients for this spread but wait to add the Butter Buds as I want to use it. 1/4 cup of the cottage cheese mixture with 1/2 Tablespoon of Butter Buds Sprinkles mixed in at the last minute is the right ratio. —Gayle W Time for some horn tootin’! Rave reviews for the cottage cheese page… Reader Nick Haines writes: I’m 23 and had never even tried cottage cheese before now. Always figured it was just one of those dieter’s foods. I ran across your page tonight while surfing for nutrition info, and came across “The Cottage Cheese Page”. Seeing as how the rest of your site seemed to be true (and you weren’t selling anything), I figured I’d give this stuff a try. BTW, I have to disagree with the weightlifters who say it tastes bad; I find it has almost no taste at all (That’s not necessarily a bad thing). I LOVE tuna, I can eat that stuff right out of the can! So I figured I try the tuna and cottage cheese mix. I was VERY surprised to find that it tasted even BETTER with the cottage cheese!! One $0.50 can of tuna in spring water, and half a cup of cottage cheese turned out to be a whole meal (if you eat 6 small meals, anyway). I looked at the packages and crunched a few numbers and this 1 bowl of tuna funk had just about the right amount of fat for 1 meal, a negligable amount of carbos, and almost 50 grams of protien!!! Who the hell needs expensive (and usually nasty tasting) protein shakes?!?!? I am indebted to you for this awesome tip, and wanted you to know that you work in this web page has not gone unappreciated! “gross out your friends” breakfast 1/2 cup CC 3 oz tuna 5 or more egg whites (and one yolk if you want) 1/3 cup dry oatmeal Seasonings (anny good Southerner will use Tony Chachere’s or “Tony’s”) Mix well, scramble in a skillet. Chow down. Smells bad, tastes great—kinda like fried matzo. Gracias, Stephanie Austin, TX or, without the tuna if you prefer… 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal (dry not cooked) 2 or 3 packets of Splenda 4 Egg Whites Put all ingredients in blender. Spray frying pan with Pam Spray. Pour ingredients into frying pan. It makes one big pancake. I usually top it with a low sugar syrup or fruit spread. I sometimes add 1 tsp. of all natural peanut butter to it. It tastes great. Regards, Linda L I love my cottage cheese either plain, but usually mixed with applesauce (kind of like the yogurt style). I don’t really like the yogurt style, because it sits heavier than the applesauce. With the applesauce/cc mix, it is a little like a dessert, but very light and tasty! I will try the other recipes as soon as I head to the store! Great webpage! —Faith Cottage cheese mixed with dried Cranberries is absolutely delicious! I came upon this one day when I was starving and these were the only two things in the fridge worth eating. I just tried it again and it is still good. —Bruce Turnbull Sounds totally gross – but tastes totally killer: cottage cheesey steel cut blues 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup blueberries ¼ cup steel cut oats ¼ cup sugar-free maple syrup 1 tsp Splenda Mix cold cooked steel cut oats with Maple syrup. Place in bowl or container. Top with cottage cheese sweetened with one packet Splenda, add thawed blueberries. (Sometimes I leave out the blueberries and just to 1/2 cup oats) stace’s waffles 1 egg white 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1/2 cup cup Bob’s Redmill 10-grain pancake mix 1 tsp Splenda ½ tsp vanilla extract ¼ cup sugar-free maple syrup Blend together cottage cheese, egg whites and vanilla (I use a handheld ‘stick’ blender) Add waffle mix and Splenda and mix til smooth. Mixture is slightly thick. Pour batter in pre-heated waffle iron coated with cooking spray. You MUST spray iron for every batch! Do not overfill! Cook until well browned, these take longer to cook then regular waffles but every iron varies. Serve with syrup. —Lisa McPherron cottage cheese pasta I was looking at your site (it’s good!) because I and my partner are getting into weight training. My mother in law is part of a study to see if lifting weights helps lower blood sugar levels for type II diabetes (looks like it does) and she’s encouraged us to do it too. As we are too bogged down with the new baby to manage to get to our regular martial arts training we got right into it at once – we just do it at home with free weights. Anyway, I found your cottage cheese page, and can’t believe people don’t like it!! Here’s my cottage cheese pasta that’s my absolute favorite lunch meal, especially when it’s cold and wet as it is now – I’m in Australia by the way. I get four or five heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese, a couple of heaping tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a garlic clove or two, finely chopped. I also add some Italian (flat-leaved) parsley, finely chopped if we have any. And then I mix in about 300g of pasta – I don’t drain it too thoroughly, as that bit of extra liquid helps melt and mush up the cottage cheese a bit. And that’s two good large steaming bowlfuls to stave off winter chills. —Judy chocolate c.c. Here is a recipe I use for a chocolate treat: 1 large box of sugar-free, fat-free chocolate pudding mix 2 cups of cottage cheese 4 eggs 6 or 8 packets of Splenda Mix together with mixer or in blender. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350. Divide into ½ cup portions. Delicious. Thanks for all your inspiration Angie G cottage cheese pb&c 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese (look for the Friendship 1% Whipped Spreadable as it has 16 g of protein and only 3 g of carbs) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-2 teaspoons of peanut butter 1 packet of splenda 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder Mix them together until evenly mixed and enjoy! JoLynn C cottage cheese salad dressing This is great for grrls (and boyys) who want a tasty, healthy, protein-packed alternative to their beloved Caesar, Ranch, Bleu Cheese, etc. dressings. Mix 1/2 c. lowfat cottage cheese with Hidden Valley Seasoning and Ranch Dressing Mix to taste (I usually start out with 1/2 tsp and add from there.) Add to favorite salad (I like either baby spring greens or chopped up romaine, some grillled chicken, some black beans, carrots, peppers, etc. etc.,) mix it up and silently gloat over the amount of protein you are consuming in one delicious meal. Be kind to others around you who are still eating regular creamy dressings or worse, ‘fat-free’ versions of same. They just don’t know any better. In fact, you can mix the cottage cheese with any savory sort of spice, or just plain with a tiny bit of salt and pepper, as a salad dressing. I’ve tried cajun spices, taco seasoning, lemon juice, a bit of flax oil and Mrs. Dash’s. It’s just great to know you don’t have to give up ‘creamy’ salad dressings to eat clean and get great nutrition. Julie G Colorado cottage cheese and apple It surprises me that you have missed the simplest, easiest and most delicious way of eating it. On a plate with a fresh cut apple. It doesn’t need another thing. I’m in Australia, and so the apples I would use are a Pink Lady (sharp, sweet and crisp) or a Fuji (tastes like a great apple smells). Just quarter (or more – I usually do 12ths) an unpeeled apple. Spread cottage with cottage cheese and enjoy. It is the perfect snack for eating at your desk post workout, but I love it just about any time. Jean cottage cheese “ice cream” It sounds gross, but if you mix some vanilla and equal with cottage cheese, it seriously tastes like ice cream. I also take the above, mix in some fresh strawberries or blueberries, and occaisionally top it with some Kashi Go-Lean cereal. It is one of my favorite breakfasts, although I can honestly say I have eaten it for lunch or dinner sometimes as well. Cheers, Erica grilled sweet cottage cheese Take your choice of plain wholegrain breadstuff: Slice of bread, 1/2 english muffin, 1/2 bagel, whateva. Spread with fruit preserves — regular, low sugar, all-fruit, whatever floats your boat. (Strawberry would be the traditional flavor, but any will do.) Spread with a thick layer of cottage cheese. Sprinkle with a very light dusting of sugar or sugar substitute (optional). Broil until bread is toasty on the edges and cheese is melty. If you use a lot of cottage cheese you may have to eat with a fork, but with a thin layer you can eat out of hand. Yum! —FunnieGrrl cottage cheese pancakes I’m also not really one for the measuring cups, so you have to experiment ’til you get it right, and there are lots of variations. The original idea came from the Moosewood Cookbook, also a Canadian standard, where there’s a delicious entry of Cottage Cheese and Apple Pancakes. You can add shredded apple to these, too. Take a bit less than a half cup of rye flour (it’s easily available in Finland and I have an unresearched belief that it’s healthier, but you could use any flour) and a wee bit of baking powder. Add one egg and a cup or so of cottage cheese. Throw in some cinnamon, or nutmeg, or cardamom, etc, if you like. A couple generous dashes of milk (I usually use soy, doesn’t matter either way), and voila: batter. Now, the pan. I always screw up my first pancake because I’m generally impatient, and when I’m making these I’m hungrier than usual. But the pan should be so hot that a droplet of water thrown on its surface will bounce before evaporating. Use butter/nonstick spray/whatever your frying medium of choice is, and lay on the batter. Flip them when the edges are dry and bubbles are coming through the middle. After flipping, cook them a little longer than you would your average Aunt Jemima numbers. Serve hot. I don’t bother with maple syrup because the butter and cinnamon give enough flavour – plus these are great as a more savoury treat. —Johanna, Finland crustless quiche I make this crustless quiche all the time, and it’s a HUGE favourite with people who don’t even know there’s cc in it! It’s really, really good, and smells fantastic. 4 eggs handful of mushrooms, sliced 100g (or more — it doesn’t matter much) non-fat cottage cheese, onion and chive variety for preference 1 onion, finely chopped 25g shredded cheese (optional) tomato, sliced salt, pepper, and parsley Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 and spray a 20cm square pan or Springform pan with olive oil spray. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the cottage cheese until well combined and fold in the diced onion, mushrooms, and cheese (if using). Pour into your pan and top with tomato slices. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the eggs have set and the top has gone as golden as you like it. Serves 4, or 2 if you’re very hungry, and keeps well in the fridge. You can also dump a tin of macaroni and cheese into it, in lieu of the shredded cheese, and a small tin of drained sweetcorn. From my food site Gastroblog.com – Jackie middle eastern cottage cheese sandwich 1/2 lavash or whole wheat pita hummus cucumber slices tomato slices salt, pepper, garlic powder, and olive oil cottage cheese Slather your favorite hummus on the lavash (or pita if you prefer) and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Sprinkle kosher salt & fresh ground pepper & garlic powder on top. Add sliced cucumber & tomato. Glob cc in center and roll that bad boy up. Wow. Adding a little dill and grilled vidalia onion slices might be good, too. I just didn’t have them :(. Hope you like! Nicole faux loaded baked potato 1 med. potato 2 strips turkey bacon Butter buds or butter spray 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese chives or green onions salt and pepper Microwave the turkey bacon according to package directions. As it cools, microwave the potato for 7-8 min. Slice open and mash butter buds, salt and pepper into the flesh. Top with cottage cheese, crumbled turkey bacon and chives. —Christine baked sweet potato 1 medium-large sweet potato 1/2 tub onion and chive flavour cottage cheese 1 dessert spoon low cal ketchup Pinch chilli flakes Dash fresh lemon juice Freshly ground black pepper Bake potato in microwave til soft, remove skin and discard. Chop up potato flesh. Mix cottage cheese, ketchup, chilli flakes and lemon juice together. Dollop on top of potato, add pepper to taste. Looks like vomit but tastes divine! Protein, complex carbs and vitamin C all in one fast meal. Nice with steamed broccoli. —Anni mexican salad 1 cup chopped Romaine lettuce 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast 2 tsp taco seasoning Dressing 1/2 cup cottage cheese 2 tsp taco seasoning 1 Tbls chopped red bell pepper 1 Tbls chopped green onion 1 Tbls chopped cilantro Rub chicken breast with 2 tsp of taco seasoning then grill. Chop breast into bite size pieces. Set aside. Mix all ‘dressing’ ingredients together. For smoother consistency place cottage cheese and taco seasoning in blender, mix until smooth, then stir in remaining ingredients. Place lettuce on plate. Place the chicken on top of the lettuce, then top with dressing and serve. —Deana F. berry-tastic frozen cottage cheese joy 1/2 cup frozen strawberries or mixed berries 1/2 semi-frozen banana 1/2 cup NO SALT ADDED cottage cheese (friendship is great!) 2 packets artificial sweentener or 1 T honey Puree all in heavy duty blender or food processor until smooth and top with fresh berries, if desired. —Jean J. cc salad topper I mix cottage cheese with pesto, or cottage cheese with mustard, and top salads with it. It’s really excellent! —Erin I love to take lowfat cottage cheese with chives and put a ton of garlic pepper in it to have with veggies. It’s the ultimate alternative to a peppercorn ranch type dip. Just when you think you have added too much garlic pepper, add more. It’s so good! I even put it on salads and sandwiches. —Katie cottage cheese and spinach pie 1 10 oz. package frozen spinach (very well drained, water squeezed out) 1 cup low or non-fat cottage cheese 3 egg whites 1 small onion, chopped any way you like A handful of fresh basil, chopped Fresh garlic cloves to taste (I used 5 medium) 4 tbsp. grated cheese (I use Romano) Combine all ingredients. Place into non-stick sprayed casserole, or 9-inch cast iron skillet. Bake at 350º for about 45 minutes or until top is browned. blenderizationy goodness I don’t like the texture of cottage cheese, so I buy the cottage cheese with pineapple in it and put it in the blender. It is a little bit thick for my blender so I add just a touch of milk. It is really good! It is a good idea for people like me who don’t like the bumps. cottage cheese breakfast 1/2 cup cooked barley 1/2 cup cottage cheese 1 tbsp jam or honey 2 tbsp pumpkin or sunflower seeds 2 tbsp raisins a pinch of wheat bran or germ Heat the barley and cottage cheese in the microwave until warm. Add other ingredients and stir together. I ate this for breakfast today and just about died. So tasty. I’m sure it’s good with plain yogurt too. Aloha from Kona, Liz cottage cheese and fruit preserves Spoon a small amount of all-fruit preserves without added sugar into a small bowl of cottage cheese. I personally prefer not to mix it all the way in, so some bites are sweeter than others. Optional addendum to the “super easy breakfast”: Mix in a small amount of your favorite crunchy cereal. I use Kashi Go-lean Crunch! myself. Thanks again, Dan college cheese nachos I just came up with a new cottage cheese recipe that I thought you might enjoy. It’s inspired by the cottage cheese nachos recipe, but using only the ingredients that I (read: poor college kid) happened to have in the kitchen: one can of Ranch Style pinto beans, pour in some Pace picante sauce, and about a cup or so of cottage cheese (I didn’t measure). Mix it together – no need to blend unless you just really want to – and scoop some of it over some frito-like corn chips. I’m not gonna lie – it looks really, really gross, but tastes kind of like a mixture between homemade chili and salsa. —Kayla in Texas on the go breakfast shake I’m a bulking male, so scale recipe to fit your goals. 2 cups raw oatmeal Throw it in a blender and blend it a bit. Half pound frozen blueberries (or other fruit, frozen works well) Throw it in and blend some more. Then take: half cup cottage cheese spinach, perhaps 40-50 gram worth of whey protein tiny drizzle of honey sprinkling of flax seeds unless you prefer to ingest carbs and fats seperately Turn on the blender and pour in water slowly till it swirls around to the consistency you want it at. Chug it down. it’s actually sort of good… tasteless almost, except for the vague blueberry/protein/flax thing. Here’s one more. Throw fatfree/lowfat/whatever cottage cheese into a food processor with some lightly cooked mixed vegetables. I like them defrosted in the microwave then thrown in a hot pan with some coconut oil and cumin/coriander/fennel seed/whatever spices you want for no more than a few minutes. Add some raw spinach and process till it’s smooth. Tastes spicy and rich like guacamole. Makes for an awesome dip, though I can’t think of anything to dip besides raw veggies. Any suggestions? Oh, cayanne pepper to up the heat works well too. —Dev cottage cheese and egg breakfast muffins From the great food blog Kalyn’s Kitchen When I was a kid, there was a tavern/restaurant 1 block from our home. When you entered, the owner always had a table with a LARGE bowl of peppered cottage cheese to which he had added chopped green onions – tops and all. He had packages of plain saltine/soda crackers and everyone just heaped on the c.c. and enjoyed…yum, yum. I still make it to this day…takes me back to my youth. I will also add alone or any combination of: chopped, drained tomato; pepperoncini; Vidalia onions; or salsa. – Gigi, Pittsburgh, PA Here’s one easy cottage cheese snack I really enjoy which is simply; 1 cup of cottage cheese 1/2 to 1 tsp mild indian curry paste –Gary Brandel My cottage cheese “recipe” is this: 1. Put 1/2 cup (113 grams) cottage cheese in a bowl. 2. Add a serving or two of fruit (fresh, frozen, dried, or canned pineapple, banana, berries, orange, apple, pear, or whatever you like). I like mine cut into small bite-size pieces. The idea is to get a bit of everything in every bite! 3. Add some chopped nuts or seeds (amount to equal about 10 grams of fat or whatever your plan calls for). 4. Optional: add a a little fresh vegetable (sliced celery and/or grated carrot, for example). 5. Optional: add a sprinkle of crunchy carb such as granola, Grape Nuts, or crushed sesame sticks. My current favorite combinations are banana/almonds and apple/celery/walnuts. Regards, Michal Here’s my ultimate childhood comfort food. My Mom made this for us every time we were sick: egg noodles cottage cheese sugar (or you could use stevia or Splenda) cinnamon Heat & serve. It tastes like a hug. Also, to add to your lasagna recipes: I like to use egg roll wrappers as lasagna noodles when I make a single-serving lasagna at home. Light & low-cal, very tasty. –alwswrite One from Jamie Oliver, with a twist. His basic recipe: Make a whole load of dry mix from: (portioned to your liking) mostly porridge oats a decent amount of bran brown sugar dried fruit of your choice nuts of your choice The night before you want to eat it, put enough mix (you can do a few days worth) in a bowl, plus enough milk to cover the dry mix. Cover and leave in the fridge. In the morning get out your portion, add any fresh fruit you want, and more milk to loosen up the mix. And then I add about 2 table spoons of cottage cheese on top and stir. –Jeff Chong cottage cheese caprese salad Cottage cheese (however much a serving is to you) Tomato pieces (any kind of tomato you like cut into bite-size chunks) Basil leaves (torn, or cut into small strips with a knife or scissors) Extra virgin olive oil to taste Pepper to taste Mix it all together in a bowl and enjoy. Thanks, Diane Here’s the receipe for my favourtie healthy + light snack: Put a nice slick of honey on 2 slices of crackerbread and add plenty of CC on top: voila – a brilliant and yummy sweet n creamy treat! –Kiara Krista, I love your cottage cheese page. I eat cottage cheese almost every day. I wanted to share with you some yummy and simple recipes. I mix about a half cup of cottage cheese with a couple of tablespoons of pomegranate seeds and a tablespoon of honey. It is so delicious. Another one if my favorites is to mix sliced green onions, sliced radishes, and toasted sesame seeds into a serving of cottage cheese. Kathryn mocha miracle I live in Sweden and that sort of interferes with my high protein diet. Here, tofu is non existing. Tuna (except for the canned kind): non existing. And as I don’t eat meat, that leaves me to a looooot of daily cottage cheese. So thanks everyone for the inspiring recipes. Now – take three tablespoons of cottage cheese, a tablespoon of (frozen) blueberries, 100 mL (sorry, European girl entering) of skim milk, 100 mL of low fat yogurt, a tablespoon of cocoa powder, a teaspoon of instant coffee and half a banana. Put it all in the blender and wait for about a minute. If you’re in a hurry you can take it out quicker, but it gets nice and airy if you give it some time. Top with some almonds and you have my mid morning snack-meal. With a handful of oats, it can go as breakfast as well.Greetings from a Dutch cottage cheese fan! – Tack så mycket! Med vänliga hälsningar/kind regards, Ellen W

Food is generally regarded by bodybuilders not as an experience of organic and sensual enjoyment, but as fuel or a substance which contributes to the achievement of a particular physical goal. Bodyfat, in “fitness culture”, is the physical manifestation of overindulgence. Eating, for many people in this culture, is something to be brought under control, and to be done within a clearly defined regimen of bodily discipline.

Enjoyment of food and control of the body are thought to be incompatible; after all, who gets brown rice and lentil cravings? Thus, if the pleasure of eating is antithetical to control of the body, it stands to reason that foods deemed appropriate for “health” goals must be-symbolically or actually-separate from those kinds of foods which are enjoyable. “For”, as Margaret Morse notes, “if food is the manna of fullness and pleasure, nonfood is bad-tasting medicine that-precisely because it is disgusting-can be eaten with pleasure…”(145)

While the latest nonfood supplements such as flavoured whey protein or protein bars taste better than their predecessors, the very fact that they are now supposed to be tasty (or at least palatable) only reinforces the notion that they are “healthy” substitutes for the “unhealthy” real thing. The flavour list of ProMax’s protein bars, for example, reads like a dessert menu: apple pie, raspberry truffle, chocolate fudge brownie. These bars are a morally superior stand-in for “forbidden” foods, and in fact become preferable to the real thing. One may indulge one’s sensual appetites through “virtual flavour” with no physical “harm” being done. Like Olestra, these nonfood products provide a simulacrum of food.

Ironically, it is the most processed foods that are most likely to trumpet their “improved” health value. Some years back, Maple Leaf Foods in Canada promoted a hot dog product by emphasizing its vitamin content. This state of affairs might stem from our cultural “loss of faith in our ability to survive a toxic natural and social world without medicinal help” (Morse 147), and the symbolic link between technology and the future of “progress”. Bodybuilders are always searching for the next big thing, the newest substance to give them an edge over their competitors. The democratic nature of access to “real” food allows nonfood to have a cachet of scientific sophistication. And, we think, the more engineered the food, the better it must be for us. We can bypass all that inconvenient nutrient conversion and jam those isolated aminos straight into our cells.

Personally I feel that we cannot improve on real food. One square of real dark chocolate beats the snot out of a whole fake flavoured “chocolate brownie” protein bar any day. Some of the “delicious” supplements taste downright awful. Real food has sustained us for thousands of years, we’ve gotten very inventive at preparing it in delicious and nourishing ways, and it contains everything we need to survive and thrive. Also, there is a near-complete lack of genuine nutrition in prefab crud. Although the manufacturer may have shoved a handful of vitamins in there like a cook shoves stuffing up a turkey’s butt, the chemical soup of fake food resembles a waste dump more than a meal.

However I do like the convenience of protein bars. So, I decided to use my simian brain and the Julia Child spirit and come up with one myself. And aside from the fact that it’s “real food”, it’s also a whole lot cheaper per bar.

Bordo, Susan. “Anorexia Nervosa: Psychopathology as Crystallization of Culture”, Food and Culture: A Reader ed. Carole Counihan and Penny van Esterik (New York: Routledge, 1997).

Morse, Margaret. “What Do Cyborgs Eat? Oral Logic in an Information Society”, Virtualities: Television, Media Art, and Cyberculture. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.

I began experimenting with a protein bar fomulation. The most “artificial” thing the bar could contain was protein powder. I discovered a brand of whey protein sweetened with stevia, a natural herbal sweetener. I hit upon the following concoction, which I have expressed as a set of principles rather than a set recipe. Feel free to experiment and add other things.

The two things you’ll need for sure are protein powder and a binding agent to hold it together. The most rudimentary protein mixture is simply protein powder combined with natural peanut or other nut butter. This has a taste and texture rather like halvah. But I find it a bit crumbly, personally. So I decided to add another binding agent and another flour-like substance to give it a bit of body.

Basic ingredient 1: flour. You needn’t use regular flour. Just take large flake oats, or another type of unprocessed grain flake, and put it in the food processor. Whiz it till it’s a fine grainy flour. It doesn’t need to be super-fine; something about the texture of sand will do. If you have a coffee grinder or a really good food processor, you can also make flour from nuts and seeds (great for folks who are on grain or gluten-free diets). Try all kinds of nuts and seeds, including sunflower, poppy, chia, flax, and hemp seeds as well as coconut. This will often lend the bars a wonderful flavour. OilSeedWorks makes hemp, flax, and sunflower seed flour. You can even try carob or mesquite pod flour. What the heck!

Basic ingredient 2: protein powder. Your choice here of whatever type and/or flavour you prefer. I find vanilla works well.

Basic ingredient 3: peanut or another nut butter. Personally I find that I prefer the nut butters to regular peanut butter. They give the bars a more interesting taste. Again, up to you. If you’ve got that food processor out already, you can just whiz up some nuts in it, adding a teensy bit of oil if necessary, and make the nut butter that way.

You will combine these in an approximately 1:1:1 ratio, but the exact quantity will depend on how much you want to make, what texture you like, and what else you combine with the mix. What you’re aiming for is a mixture that holds itself together, like a cookie dough, without being overly gooey.

you’ll need:

• A food processor
• Wax paper
• A rolling pin (optional)
• A cookie sheet or shallow square or rectangular roasting or cake pan (optional)

basic process

Step 1: Whiz the grain in the food processor until it’s a flour. Remove about one-third to half of a cup of it from the food processor and set it aside. I do this instead of leaving it in the food processor because I never know whether I’m going to add too much binding agent later in the process, and end up with something too gooey because I don’t have more flour to dump in. It doesn’t seem to work if you add just whey powder later on, so I save a little of the flour, just in case.

Step 2: Dump in the protein powder and zip that in the processor for a second till the flour and powder are combined.

Step 3: Add the nut butter a little at a time, blending between additions, until the mixture has the texture of cookie dough and holds its shape when pressed together.

Step 4: Either lay out a sheet of wax paper on the counter or on the cookie sheet, or line the roasting pan with it.

Step 5: Dump the mix on the wax paper. You can cover it with another sheet of wax paper and roll or pat it out into the desired thickness, or you can just press it into the roasting pan with your hands. Cover with another sheet of wax paper or saran wrap if it fits better on top of the pan.

Step 6: Put the thing into the freezer. Chill for a few hours.

Step 7: When nicely frozen, remove and cut into bars of desired size. Wrap each bar individually in wax paper. I like to wrap a few then put them into a container or plastic bag which I then put back into the freezer. Keep the bars chilled until just before eating, if possible. You don’t need to be overly fastidious about this (i.e. you could leave one in your bag for an afternoon), but staying cold helps the bars keep their shape, and keeps them from going bad. I keep mine in the freezer then grab one out on my way to work and keep it in the fridge at work. If you want to be able to eat them immediately after retrieving them from the cooler, you may want to just refrigerate them instead of freezing.

variations

OK, now here’s where it gets fun. There are lots of things you can do with the basic recipe to spruce it up a bit.

The first thing I like to do is add mashed fruit to the mix in step 3 to make the texture a little chewier. Adding any kind of fruit puree will give the bars a moister, chewier texture. Bananas are a good option but lots of things will work: apples, cranberries, stonefruit (i.e. peaches, plums, etc.), kiwi, really most fruits you have on hand except for citrus. I’ve also used things like mashed squash, shredded carrot, and yams. Before I do step 1 above, I just whiz up the fruit in the food processor, often using the shredder attachment, to make a puree.

In Step 1, I also often add dry spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Here you can also add nuts or seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Just grind them up with the flour. Walnuts and pumpkin seeds will add omega-3s, and Brazil nuts will add selenium (an antioxidant). Shredded coconut adds good fats too.

In Step 3, you can add dried fruit and/or a wee shot of vanilla. Just remember in the second case that you’ll need a little extra flour to compensate for the added liquid.

In Step 5, you can use foil muffin cups instead of wax paper/cake pan and just press the mix into the muffin cups. This will give you a relatively consistently sized “protein cookie” instead and if you leave the “cookie” in the muffin cup, you don’t have to worry so much about it getting squished.

To figure out the nutritional breakdown (i.e. calories, fat, protein, carbs), just total up everything you put in, and divide by the number of bars you made (assuming you made the bars more or less the same size).

Enjoy!

Looking for photos of this recipe? Check out EcoJoe’s step-by-step photos here.

Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet,
and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof…
–Ezekiel 4:9

In my article series The Carb Myth, I argued that it is the quality, not the quantity, of our carbohydrate intake, that plays a role in good nutrition. Carbs are not the enemy of a healthy diet any more than fat is. Rather, in both cases, it is the source and value of each nutrient that matters.

Grains are an excellent source of high quality complex carbohydrates. Unlike highly refined carbs, which are low in fibre and convert easily and rapidly to glucose, whole grains are digested slowly. As a result, blood sugar levels remain relatively constant, without the insulin spikes of simple sugars and starches, and you feel full longer. Plus, your bowels and cholesterol levels are happy about the fibre.

However, many people in North America are not familiar with the wide variety of grains available. They assume that if they cut out the highly processed, bleached Uncle Ben’s crap that passes for grains, they have no other culinary choices, and so they consign themselves to protein bars filled with glycerin, or fake low-carb substitutes full of chemicals.

This is a mistake. Humans have a long history of grain consumption, and the cultivation of grains has been an essential part of most civilizations. There is a broad spectrum of grains that are easily available at the local supermarket and health food store, and they contribute variety, valuable nutrients, fibre, protein, and fatty acids to the diet. Additionally, their texture and taste is infinitely superior to refined junk. In this article, I’ll introduce you to some of the most common grains, and suggest ways in which you can prepare them.

the problem of lectins

Lectins are proteins found in grains and legumes (i.e. beans and peas). Emerging evidence suggests that these proteins can interact with the gastrointestinal tract, causing localized inflammation (e.g. stomach upset, bloating, gas, diarrhea) as well as systemic inflammation and immune system overactivity (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, chronic pain, other autoimmune disorders). Because they interfere with the lining of the intestines, lectins can poke tiny holes in the digestive tract (aka leaky gut syndrome). Lectins can also change the proper balance of gut flora by inhibiting the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria and encouraging the overgrowth of other types.

Wheat is the biggest culprit but oats, rye and spelt are other offenders.

Grain intolerance — or more precisely, an inflammatory response to the proteins in grains, which can touch off a host of autoimmune symptoms — is relatively common. Unfortunately few affected people realize it, because the symptoms aren’t always stomach-based, and/or typically appear hours after consumption. And since most North Americans’ diet is grain-based, people with intolerances find themselves just chronically, generally ill from multiple ongoing exposure.

If you find yourself having vague autoimmune symptoms, consider eliminating grains for a week and see if that helps. This includes:

• bread, bagels
• rice
• pasta and other noodles
• baked goods: cookies, muffins, pastries
• oatmeal
• granola and other breakfast cereals (most of which are crap anyway)
• wraps and flatbreads
• corn and corn products: chips, tortillas (yes, corn is a grain, not a vegetable)

Be sure to check for things like wheat gluten in ANY processed/prepared foods, including sauces and condiments… but if you’re eating Stumptuous style that means whole foods, so you shouldn’t be eating that crap anyway. Bear in mind that it isn’t just gluten; gluten is only one substance that can trigger the autoimmune response.

Here are some typical symptoms. You may have one, a few, or all of them. They may range from mild to severe. My own symptoms manifest themselves as allergies and skin irritation, which are almost precisely timed at 4 hours after grain consumption.

• Excessive fatigue
• Weight gain
• Vague digestive complaints: nausea, bloating, not feeling “right”
• Acute digestive complaints: cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating constipation and diarrhea — anything related to irritable bowel syndrome
• Skin irritations: rashes, psoriasis-type lesions, eczema
• Nasal allergies and irritation: sinusitis, the snufflies, congestion
• Joint pain and muscle aches — including exacerbated menstrual cramps and pain
• Chronic yeast infections
• Chronic urinary tract infections
• Iron deficiency anemia (since grains contain phytates that may inhibit proper mineral absorption)

Basically anything that seems like an autoimmune-type chronic disorder may be caused by intolerance. The mucosal tissues (gut lining, nasogastric passage, vaginal lining) are the most likely affected, but effects can persist throughout and manifest themselves as chronic autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, allergies and asthma, chronic fatigue, etc. Some people even suggest that things like type 1 diabetes are linked to the autoimmune response to grains (since T1D is generally understood to be an autoimmune disorder).

The only way to know for sure is to eliminate ALL grains for a period of time and see. If you suspect that grains may be a factor in symptoms you’re experiencing, try cutting them out for a couple of weeks and keep a detailed list of your experiences. (Get your carbs from fruits and veggies instead, and maybe a little honey.) I discovered that I can almost turn my allergies on and off by consuming wheat. Within a few hours of consuming wheat, I’m itchy and sniffy. Luckily, in my case, it’s not overly serious, so on very rare occasions I’ll indulge in bread and deal with the snuffles.

More reading on grain intolerance:

Gluten sensitivity
Celiac disease

You can also beat the lectins and other antinutrients by soaking, sprouting, and/or fermenting the grains beforehand. Because lectins are heat-resistant, they aren’t broken down by cooking.

More reading on lectins:

Cordain, Loren, L. Toohey, M. J. Smith and M. S. Hickey. Review article: Modulation of immune function by dietary lectins in rheumatoid arthritis. British Journal of Nutrition 83 (2000): 207-217.

so, umm… like, why are you telling us to eat grains?

I’m not. As you can see, many people are sensitive to them. However, folks who are new to dietary changes may struggle with going from 0 to 100 immediately. Few folks who are accustomed to a typical North American diet can switch overnight to a Paleo-style grain-free diet and make it work. It’s a lot more practical to say “switch to whole wheat bread from white bread” than to expect people to make drastic dietary changes right away, just like it’s a lot more practical to say “switch to diet soda from regular soda” even though both are garbage.

where to buy

If possible, buy these grains in bulk; they’ll be cheaper and you can just store them in glass jars or plastic containers. Make sure the containers are airtight and store the grains away from moisture. You can see a shot of my cupboard to the left (notice my Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure spelling of wild rice, and the mysterious jar of saurkraut in the back. This jar of saurkraut has been there since approximately 1998. Neither of us has the wherewithal to chuck it out; we fear that it has become a malevolent entity).

The average health food store will carry a decent selection of grains, so go in and look around. Most grains, with the exception of oats, store well after being cooked. It’s easy to cook up a large quantity of the grain of your choice and put it into smaller containers in the fridge. It usually stays fresh for a week or two. You can then grab a container on your way to work, reheat as needed for a quick side dish, or throw some into a salad. Many of these grains are also available in prepared cereal forms, but read the labels carefully to make sure your “healthy” breakfast isn’t loaded with sugar.

In general, to cook grains, you must simmer them in liquid (usually covered, except for oats and amaranth, or if you put them into soup). Typically, they’re a wee bit bland on their own, so unless you plan to add a sauce of some type later, it never hurts to throw a little zest into them. An easy way to add a little flavour is to substitute some chicken stock for the cooking liquid. However, I suggest you experiment with adding various flavours and spices, as well as things like sauteed veggies, fruit, and nuts to the mix. Whole grains often require much more cooking liquid than processed grains. They will also take longer to cook. If you find the amount of water listed in the recipes below makes grains too dry, just add more. For more ideas on how to prepare these grains, check out the fabulous Allrecipes. If you would like to know more about the nutritional content of the grains, check out NutritionData.com.

amaranth

The tiny grains of amaranth, not much bigger than poppy seeds, are the seeds of the amaranth plant. The amaranth plant has many uses, particularly in South and Central America where it has an illustrious history dating back to pre-Columbian civilizations. It can be eaten in baked goods, popped like popcorn, and brewed into drinks and home remedies. I cook amaranth seeds in the morning for porridge. It has a grainy texture rather like grits. Amaranth porridge takes about 15 minutes to cook, so I just set it up first thing as soon as I get up, then wander off and do something else while I’m waiting. To cook amaranth as a grain side dish, use a ratio of 1:2.5 grain to liquid. For a porridge, use more liquid, about 1:3. To make amaranth porridge, put amaranth into a small saucepan with the required amount of water. Sprinkle in a little cinnamon and sweetener. Amaranth has a slight natural sweetness, so it won’t require much additional flavouring. If you like, also add chopped apple and chopped walnuts. Simmer uncovered on medium heat until the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on it as it gets close to the end, as the transition from “a little bit of liquid left” to “glued to the bottom of the pot” is a quick one. I usually dump some cottage cheese on top of this, but it can be eaten however you like.

barley

Barley is fairly familiar to most folks in North America, though it seems to have originally been cultivated, like many grains, in Mesopotamia as far back as the Neolithic period. Humans, being clever and fond of getting tanked, figured out early that barley was not only tasty eating, but handy stuff for fermenting into beer and booze. Barley is commonly put into soups and stews, but it can also be cooked on its own. To make as a side dish, add 1 cup barley to 1.5 cup liquid, put both into a pot; cover and bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid is absorbed. Barley goes nicely with sweeter flavours such as dried fruit and nuts, but it’s versatile and will work with most flavours. You can substitute pearl barley for arborio rice in making a risotto.

buckwheat groats (kasha)

Buckwheat is believed to have originated in China. Although buckwheat noodles (soba) are a staple of East Asian cooking, I personally associate buckwheat grains with my grandmother’s Ukrainian cooking. Buckwheat groats are a great side dish in a fall meal, but they are also tasty when served with eggs as part of breakfast. The key to successful buckwheat groats is coating the grains with egg and toasting them before boiling. I also find that buckwheat is one of those foods like chili that is better on the second day. Thus, I often cook the grains, let them cool, fluff them with a fork, stir in the flavouring, and then re-bake it in the oven. Immediately after boiling, the grains often have a mushy texture, but if they’re allowed to cool then re-heated, they dry out nicely. To cook buckwheat, spray a nonstick saucepan with cooking spray, or coat with a small amount of oil or butter. Preheat pan over medium heat. Beat an egg, and pour it into the dry grains. Mix well, being sure to coat all the grains. You might need a second egg if you’re making a large quantity of buckwheat, but one egg should be fine for at least a cup and a half of dry grains. Pour into the pan. Stir frequently until the egg is cooked and grains are dry, which will only take a few minutes. Then pour 2 cups of liquid over the grains, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer until liquid is absorbed. I like to add additional flavour to buckwheat by sauteeing some chopped onions along with a bit of chopped bacon, ham, or sausage (I use turkey sausage), chopped mushrooms, and a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, then stirring this into the cooked buckwheat.

bulgur

Bulgur is a form of whole wheat that is commonly found in Middle Eastern dishes such as tabbouleh (parsley and tomato salad). Because it is partially cooked, then ground, it cooks quickly. Instead of bringing to a boil, then simmering, often boiling water is poured over the dried grains, and the grains cook by soaking in the hot water. Bulgur can also be used as a higher-fibre substitute for bread crumbs in things like meatloaf and stuffings. I often make a dish I call “slurkey”. Basically, take some ground turkey, and mix it with egg and bulgur to make a slurry (hence the name slurkey). This basic slurry can then be flavoured as desired (I love putting pesto and pine nuts into it), and baked into a turkey meatloaf. Bulgur is versatile and will work with a variety of flavours. It can be baked into breads, eaten as a pilaf, stirred into soups, and tossed with salads such as the aforementioned tabbouleh. Cook bulgur using a 1:2 ratio of grain to liquid.

kamut

Kamut is an ancient form of durum wheat. Its geographic origins are ambiguous, although Egypt is a strong contender for its birthplace. It’s typically found in baked goods, cereals, and pasta, and is often well tolerated by people who are sensitive to regular wheat.

millet

Millet is a widely cultivated grain across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Like most old grains, it has many uses including baking, brewing, and pilafs. It’s relatively high in magnesium, and has small amounts of niacin and phosphorus. It seems to be relatively non-allergenic and is well tolerated by most people. Millet can be cooked like a pilaf using 1:2.5 millet to water ratio, or one can use 1:3 for a creamier, more porridge-like consistency. Millet is cooked like a typical grain: covered and simmered until the liquid is absorbed. I find that like amaranth, you have to watch millet carefully or it will adhere itself to the pan very rapidly near the end of cooking. Some people also roast the dry millet grains prior to boiling, by shaking them for a few minutes in a hot pan before adding the liquid. Millet porridge is nice with nuts and fruit, or you can use it as a substitute for couscous.

oats

Oats are pretty familiar to most of us who recall Wilford Brimley’s avuncular exhortations to eat Quaker cereal. Oats are available in many forms, and their speed of cooking depends on the degree of processing. The more processed, the less time it takes to cook them. Beware of highly processed instant or quick-cook oatmeal preparations, as they often contain chemical flavourings and lots of sugar. They’ve also had much of their good stuff stripped out. Oatmeal cereals also suffer from this problem, so buy the grains instead of anything preprocessed, and read the labels carefully. Rolled oats are less refined. The best option is to buy steel-cut oats (sometimes called Irish or Scottish oats) or oat groats, which are a more complete form of the original oat grain. The drawback, of course, is that it does take a while to cook the less refined oats. Again, a little strategy comes in handy: fire it up first thing in the morning, and then go do something else for 15 minutes or so while the thing simmers. Oats can be flavoured like amaranth with dried and fresh fruit, nuts, and cinnamon. If you like milk with your oatmeal, you can also mix the milk with a bit of whey, then pour it over the hot cereal for some extra protein. My younger sister loves dry oats – she eats them straight. In Scotland and Ireland, oats are used as the Everygrain in breads, cookies, batters, and so forth. After a trip to Scotland, I got hooked on oatmeal biscuits which are eaten rather like toast as part of breakfast. Oatmeal, when applied to the skin, will also soothe itching and dryness, although you may want to wash it off before you go out walking around unless you want people to think you’re the Swamp Thing with a horrible case of acne.

rice

In Showgirls, possibly one of the worst films ever made, one showgirl has a memorable bit of dialogue with another as Showgirl #1 queries Showgirl #2 on her commitment to an ascetic slimming diet. It goes something like this:

SG#1: “Don’t they have brown rice and vegetables?”
SG#2: “Do you like brown rice and vegetables?
SG#1: “Yeah.”
SG#2: “You do?”
SG#1: “Sort of.”
SG#2: “Really?”
SG#1: “It’s worse than dog food.”

Brown rice, in this witty interchange, signifies something tasteless and fibrous that the determined showgirl must endure in order to stay whippet-slim and stage-ready. In any case, it’s supposedly nasty stuff.

And yet there are many varieties of brown rice as well as other types of rice. In the cupboard shot at the top of this page, you can see a jar of Asian black sweet rice on the far left. Now, this is glutinous and probably high-glycemic like regular white rice, but it makes the most wonderful rice pudding with a unique colour (I serve coconut black rice pudding with a lemon cheesecake for a lovely colour contrast). Brown rice (shown on the right hand side of the picture above) comes in a basmati format that can be used just like regular basmati rice. Cook using about a 1:2 ratio of brown rice to liquid. Like most fibrous grains, it will take longer to cook than white rice.

Wild rice is in the centre of the photo above. It’s a uniquely Canadian rice that was originally grown indigenously in wetlands by First Nations people. As such, I find that it tastes nice with a “woodland” sort of flavouring. While the rice itself is cooking, I saute some onions, then mix them with a little bacon, ham, or sausage, sauteed mushrooms, walnuts, and cranberries or blueberrries. This mixture is then stirred into the wild rice when the rice is cooked. Buy the real wild rice, not the fake blended-with-white-rice stuff. Real wild rice has long grains and a black shell. A day before cooking, dump the grains into a bowl of water and soak in the fridge overnight. Then drain this soaking liquid before cooking. You can also cook without pre-soaking; it just takes longer. Cook wild rice using about 1:2.5 grain to liquid. If it’s too dry, add some more liquid. You have to cook the hell out of wild rice, so be patient and give yourself an hour of prep time if you’re expecting guests.

Red rice, on the left hand side of the photo above, adds nice colour and flavour to meals, and goes especially well with Mexican dishes. For a Central American side dish, flavour the cooking liquid with tomato juice or tomato paste, sprinkle in some coriander, cumin, and salt, and cook with black beans.

In university, I used to room with a guy from Singapore, whom we called Crazy Cho. Crazy Cho used to drive us nuts by stinking up the house cooking shark and octopus, but he redeemed himself by kindly leaving us his rice cooker when he moved out. At first I thought it was a rather silly appliance. Now I love it. It cooks rice absolutely perfectly every time. If you’re looking for a somewhat superfluous yet handy appliance, get a rice cooker. All you do is dump the rice and liquid in, flip the switch, and the machine does the rest.

quinoa

Quinoa is an ancient South American grain that has been cultivated for over 5000 years. Its success as a crop is due in part to its tolerance for harsh conditions, such as those found in the Andes. Quinoa is relatively high in protein and essential minerals such as iron. I love its crunchy yet slightly chewy texture. When cooked, the germ of the grain curls out around the body like a little tail. Quinoa makes a great side dish and addition to salads, or it can be stirred into a ground meat mixture. Rinse the grains before cooking to remove any vestiges of the saponin coating that has protected the grain from its rugged growing conditions. Then cook just like rice by simmering in a covered pot, using about 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water, until the liquid is absorbed. The grains will expand to about three times their size, as you can see in the photo – cooked quinoa is on the left, and raw quinoa on the right. Some folks toast the dry grains first, to add flavour.

spelt

Spelt is one of the oldest cultivated grains, and although it originated in Mesopotamia, was popular in Europe (it’s known as “farro” to Italians and “Dinkel” to the Germans). The grains can be cooked whole, but it’s more typically found in products such as breads, cereals, and pasta.

whole wheat

Most of us know about whole wheat bread, but may not be aware that whole wheat grains (aka wheat berries) make an excellent side dish. The grains have a similar size and texture to barley and can be cooked as a pilaf or thrown into soups and stews. The thing about wheat is that you have to cook the living daylights out of it, and use plenty of water, otherwise it ends up too dry and chewy. Ideally, presoak the grains for a day or so beforehand (just put it into the fridge). Drain before cooking. Use about 2.5 to 3:1 water to grains. For a nice breakfast, warm the grains and stir in some blueberries and chopped walnuts with a pinch of cinnamon and tiny bit of brown sugar or honey.

“How can he be so skinny and yet so phat?”
—Beastie Boys

Fat has become an obsession in North American society.

As a society, we revile fat people, we eat too much fat but profess adherence to low-fat diets, we say some fats are bad but others are good (and this designation changes regularly), and we buy products that are fake fat or supposed to absorb fat (or suck the fat out of our bodies… as if). Many people, especially women, fear and avoid all fat in hopes of staying slim.

In other words, we don’t have a clue about fat. There is so much confusion about fat that I could write 32 volumes of the Encyclopedia Fatannica about it.

Consider this your helpful Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Fat Galaxy. And, just like Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the words “DON’T PANIC” are written on the front.

I’d like to begin this article with some simple rules.

Rule #1: Most of the stuff you read about fat in the mainstream media is crap.

Rule #2: There are good fats and bad fats.

Rule #3: Your body needs fat — and probably more than you think — in order to achieve optimal health.

Rule #4: Thus low fat diets are not necessarily the best thing for health, gaining strength or losing body fat, especially if they are high in carbohydrates.

Rule #5: In fact, eating fat on purpose can help you be healthy, get strong… AND lose fat.

At this point you probably think I’m insane. I too thought the idea of deliberately ingesting fat (to lose bodyfat, of all things!) was cracked when I first heard it. But bear with me.

a glossary of terms

lipid

This is a fancy-pants word for something oil or fat-based.

triglyceride

Another fancy-pants word for a form of fat found in the body. You’ve probably heard this term in relation to heart disease, as in “Your blood triglycerides are elevated. Have you considered not chain-smoking those chocolate-dipped Jack Daniels cigarettes?”

Triglycerides are the storage and transport form of fat. Like an OCD child with a Lego set, your body is always assembling, dis-assembling, and re-assembling triglycerides (TGs) from fatty acids (FAs).

TGs are like suitcases. You use them to hold your stuff when you travel (in this case, around the body in the blood vessels); you open it up for customs inspection at the border or unpack when you arrive (you convert to fatty acids for transport across the cell membrane); but if you aren’t using some clothing in the suitcase, you might keep it in the suitcase (i.e. store it in the cells).

Look behind you. See your ass? That’s made up, in part, of cells stuffed full of TGs. Some of you are lighter travelers than others.

essential fatty acids (EFAs)

This term describes the two kinds of fatty acids that your body cannot manufacture on its own and must get from the diet.

“Essential” obviously refers to the fact that your body requires these substances. “Fatty acid” refers to composition of the fatty acid molecule: a fatty chain, which is a water-insoluble (think of how oil does not mix with water) chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms, attached to an acid group, which is also composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms (but looks more like a fork than a chain). Unlike the fatty acid part, the acid group does dissolve in water.

This mix of different dissolving aspects is one of the things which gives the fatty acid molecule its unique properties. Since fatty acids are such common molecules, they have to be assigned names to differentiate between the many kinds.

The two EFAs with which we are concerned are called omega-3 and omega-6, which refers to the unique configuration of the atoms in each molecule (you don’t really need to know about the ins and outs of molecular structure… all you need to know is the names of the two EFAs).

saturated and unsaturated fats

The next set of terms you need to know involve unsaturated and saturated fats. By and large (though there are exceptions, such as tropical oils), fats derived from plants (such as olive or sunflower oil) are unsaturated, and fats derived from animals (such as butter) are saturated.

Most fat sources are usually a mix of fat types. (More on this below.)

Unsaturated fats differ from saturated fats in terms of molecular shape/structure, physical aspects such as the degree of solidity at room temperature, and chemical properties such as reactivity to light, water, and oxygen. Unsaturated fats are quite chemically dynamic compared to saturated fats, which in chemical terms, are not terribly exciting.

For example, flax seed oil, an unsaturated fat and a source of EFAs, reacts to light, heat, and oxygen, and goes bad very quickly upon exposure to these things (it’s normally kept in the fridge or freezer in an opaque bottle for this reason).

In contrast, you can leave butter, a saturated fat, on the table at room temperature for a day and not have to worry about it going funky.

Saturated fats have no double bonds. They are immune to free radical attack. They are immune to heat damage. You can cook with them, you can hit them with a hammer, you can throw them on the floor and jump up and down on them. And they stay the same. Saturated fats are stable fats.
–Dr. Michael Eades, author of Protein Power

Unsaturated fats (such as olive or flax seed oil) tend to exist in liquid form as oils, while saturated fats (such as butter or lard) tend to exist in solid form. This has to do with their chemical structure, which also determines how stable they are.

hydrogenated

There are several kinds of unsaturated fats, and the degree to which they are described as unsaturated refers to the number of hydrogens in the fatty acid chain part of the molecule. The more hydrogens there are, the more saturated the fat.

You may notice the word “hydrogenated” on the side of your margarine container, which means that hydrogen has been artificially added to the product to make it more like a saturated fat, i.e. nonreactive and solid at room temperature.

mono/polyunsaturated

Monounsaturated fats are the closest to saturated fats (“mono”, meaning one, means that there is only one absent hydrogen). Polyunsaturated fats (which have more missing hydrogens than monounsaturated, since “poly” means many) are the next in line, and this term is generally used to refer to omega-6 fatty acids of the kind found in most vegetable oils. The term superunsaturated fats (which are also polyunsaturated, but to a much greater degree; they have very few hydrogens in the chain) is used to designate omega-3 fatty acids, and to differentiate them from omega-6s.

trans-fatty acids (TFAs)

You may have heard a lot about these lately. Polyunsaturated fatty acids are arranged in a shape rather like a caterpillar with a kink in it, as the molecule sort of bends around the missing hydrogens. The more hydrogens that are missing, the greater the degree of bend. This is a naturally occurring shape, and desirable for its interaction with our cells.

TFAs are not shaped like this. The naturally occurring kink has been straightened out, usually through artificial hydrogenation (like in the case of the margarine) and/or cooking.

Because of the altered shape of the molecule, TFAs can cause problems at the cellular level. The cells cannot interact properly with the TFA molecule, and this has a variety of negative effects, particularly in terms of cardiovascular disease.

Recently, nutritional scientists have suggested strongly that there are no safe levels of TFA ingestion. This is a very dramatic statement.

However, trace amounts of TFAs occur naturally in food. The evidence suggests that our body can handle these just fine, since we evolved along with our food sources over milennia. But we can’t handle the TFAs that are artificially created.

As I mentioned, food sources of fat are actually a mix of fatty acid types. F’rinstance, we might think of butter as being 100% saturated fat. But in fact, its fat composition is only about two-thirds saturated fat types. Just over a quarter is monounsaturated. And there are small amounts of trans fatty acids and polyunsaturated fats. (Butter also contains traces of protein and water.)

Fatty acid composition of butter (Source: USDA)

fat soluble vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are vitamins that can’t dissolve in water. They must be transported to us and stored in fat, and if our dietary fat intake is too low, we risk serious vitamin deficiencies.

why fat?

I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’re a fat-head.

It’s true — your brain is mostly lipid-based. As is much of your nervous system. As are pretty much all your cell membranes. As are many of your hormones. As is a whole lot of other important stuff that you need.

Extreme fat restriction can thus cause things like:

• cognitive problems: thinking, feeling, memory, etc.
• emotional and psychological problems: depression, anxiety, moodiness, etc.
• hormonal problems: suppression of ovulation, lowered libido, decreased anabolic (growing and building) hormones, etc.
• dry skin and hair
• low energy levels, fatigue
• increased hunger and reduced satiety (fullness)

And while it sounds surprising, extreme fat restriction can actually contribute to cardiovascular disease. Yes, ultra low fat can make heart disease worse.

good vs bad fats

It’s important to distinguish between good fats and bad fats. You should aim to get most of your fat intake from a balance of:

• omega-3 fatty acids
• naturally occurring monounsaturated fats
• naturally occurring saturated fats

You should avoid:

• artificially created trans fats
• artificially created, highly processed oils such as sunflower, canola, corn, and safflower
• artificially created oil products like cooking sprays and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter (they should call that crap I Can’t Believe This Gets Sold As Food)
• excessive consumption of omega-6 fatty acids

vegetable oils: the “heart-healthy” scam

Now you’re reading this and thinking, “But what about all those ‘heart-healthy’ cooking oils? Wasn’t I supposed to eat vegetable oils and avoid bacon?”

Well, sure, you were supposed to do that in order to help Big Food Industry sleep on a big pile of cash every night, content in the knowledge that it’s disposed of cheap GMO corn and soy plus other agricultural waste products.

But no, according to Mother Nature and hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution, you were NOT supposed to consume vegetable oils, especially not vegetable oils that have to be artificially created. You were also NOT supposed to avoid saturated fat.

The creation of vegetable oils involves a long industrial process. It involves solvents such as hexane — also used for things like gasoline, industrial glues, roofing, and industrial cleaning. Here is a description from a document that outlines occupational health practices in the production of vegetable oils:

The oils and fats are extracted from a variety of fruits, seeds, and nuts. The preparation of raw materials includes husking, cleaning, crushing, and conditioning. The extraction processes are generally mechanical (boiling for fruits, pressing for seeds and nuts) or involve the use of solvent such as hexane. After boiling, the liquid oil is skimmed; after pressing, the oil is filtered; and after solvent extraction, the crude oil is separated and the solvent is evaporated and recovered. Residues are conditioned (for example, dried) and are reprocessed to yield by-products such as animal feed. Crude oil refining includes degumming [with phosphoric acid], neutralization, bleaching, deodorization, and further refining.
--From World Bank Group Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines, “Vegetable Oil Processing”

Ummm… bleaching? Deodorizing? Yes, because it looks and smells like shit. These safety guidelines, by the way, include guidance on solvent inhalation and the production of sludge ponds. That’s right: sludge ponds.

Hungry yet?

The cruellest irony of course is that after all that work, vegetable oils can be actively harmful to human health. They are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which we do need, but in much smaller amounts. O-6s are involved in inflammation.

how to consume good fats

where do I find good fats?

Start by thinking like a cavewoman. How did Grok get her fats? Well, she got them from:

• fish, shellfish, and other marine sources such as algae, seaweed, and things that live around water (e.g. turtles)
• snails and bugs (yep, and people still eat them, too)
• wild-feeding animals, not animals fattened on industrially produced grain
• consuming all parts of animals, not just a nice tidy prepackaged chicken breast: brain, liver, eyeballs, organs, skin, etc.
• breast milk (as a baby); animal milk
• nuts and seeds

In other words:

Notice something? Grains don’t appear here. Nor do vegetable oils.

We didn’t evolve to eat agricultural products, I’m afraid. We still have hunter-gatherer physiologies. (Evolution is kind of slow and lazy like that. It does stuff when it gets around to it, and it can be a bit of a procrastinator.)

Also notice something else: If you live like a cavewoman, the ratio of your omega-3 to omega-6 fats is something like 1:1. In our modern diets, it’s 1:20. We consume far too much omega-6s from vegetable oils.

What does this mean practically?

• Choose your fat sources from the table above, not fake or industrially produced fats
• Supplement with an omega-3 supplement if you don’t eat a lot of oily fish or wild-feeding game
• If you must fry things, either do it in butter (shock horror! believe it or not butter is a much more natural product than margarine, and much less harmful), coconut oil (which has unfairly gotten a bad rap), or oils such as olive oil, but you should try to minimize the amount of fried foods that you eat, as foods fried at high temperatures can develop potentially carcinogenic levels of acrylamides (try to roast, steam, or broil food instead).

supplementing EFAs

If you don’t eat a lot of the omega-3 foods above you should consider supplementing. Since most folks really don’t live on oily fish and wild game, I suggest that everyone take an o-3 supplement.

Flax seeds were supposedly omega-3 nutritional powerhouses for a while. They’re high in the plant-based form of o-3, alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), which our body then converts into the o-3 form we actually use, either eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

But unfortunately, we don’t convert their form of omega-3s into the form our body actually uses (EPA/DHA) very well. Some folks even lack the enzyme to convert ALA at all. This means that taking flax oil does them no good.

EPA/DHA is best found in marine animal sources such as fish. If you’re a vegetarian looking for omega-3 sources, opt for an algae-based supplement instead of a plant-based one if possible. If you’re OK with eating krill (very tiny shrimpy-plankton-sorta critters), there is also a krill-based omega-3 oil available.

Recommendations:

• When taking EFA supplements you want to get the proper ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s, which is about 1:1. If you must err on one side, err on the side of getting more omega-3s.
• For most people I recommend 2-3 teaspoons of liquid omega-3 oil daily.
• Also, a teaspoon of extra-virgin coconut oil (not refined coconut oil) is often helpful.

Liquid fish oil sounds disgusting but there are some nice-tasting brands out there such as Nutra Sea, which also has thyme and rosemary oil and tastes like lemon. You can also mix it into a smoothie or protein shake, blend it into a vinaigrette, or put it over vegetables.

EFA oils should be kept refrigerated. Don’t buy them if they’re just sitting on a shelf. You cannot cook with them (although you can apply them to warm food after cooking). Buy small quantities and consume them soon after opening. There are EFA supplements sold in capsules, but if you do the math, you have to eat a huge quantity of capsules to get the same dose as 2-3 tsp of liquid oil.

If you are watching your calories, you do not need to worry about EFAs being deposited as fat. The body is actually much more likely to store carbohydrates, especially simple sugars, as fat, than EFAs, because EFAs are so fundamentally important to metabolic activities.

more reading

Run, don’t walk to your local bookstore or library, or head over to the website and pick up a copy of Udo Erasmus’ Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill. This is one of the best books on nutrition and health that I have ever read.

Erasmus has a PhD in nutrition and this is cutting-edge research on fats and their importance for health and fitness. He tested his book content on 14-18 year olds before he published it, so that he was able to produce something readable yet highly informative. I’ve never actually read a book that made me interested in biochemistry before!

This book is extremely comprehensive and includes information on basic biochem, the structure of fatty acids, their place in our diet and in healing, the procedures of oil processing and manufacture (this part will make you want to run screaming through the grocery store and light all the margarine on fire), the adjunct effects of sugar, carbohydrates and protein, and fat’s role in treating and/or causing degenerative diseases. I highly recommend it for everyone.

Another one is Mary Enig’s Know Your Fats.

The Hyperlipid Blog features the adventures of a scientist eating an 80% fat diet.