I only have time for a quick snack today- check out my monstrous laundry pile. Yikes.
Add in a fussy toddler and a four year old with a cough, and that doesn't leave much time for being in the kitchen.
So I decided to make a quick snack that was suggested by a graduate student I've been training in the lab. I've always paired cottage cheese with sweet foods, like preserves and fruit butters. But she suggested a tangy take on cottage cheese, specifically mustard. I was dubious at first, but I love the combo, and even better my kids really like it too.
Cottage cheese is a really great source of calcium and protein, all while being low in fat and calories. To be perfectly honest I don't buy the low-fat or fat free varieties because they just don't taste as good and are supplemented with lots of sugar and salt to make up for the lack of flavor. Full fat cottage cheese has only 5 grams of fat in a 1/2 cup serving, which is a pretty generous amount if you think about it. Typically 1/4 of cottage cheese is enough for small kids.
To make this snack even more appealing to my kids we whipped together cucumber cups to hold our cottage cheese. Cucumbers are low in calories, high in potassium, vitamin K and also have anti-oxidants. They also have tons of water, which makes them really refreshing.
To make these cups I cut off the ends of a large cucumber. Then I trimmed off ~1/4 inch off the bottom so that there was a flat surface to set the cucumbers on. Then I hollowed out the center with a melonballer. With the remaining center of the cucumber I sliced it into straws for dipping. That was the most labor intensive part of this recipe, and it really took very little time. You can just use a bowl if you like, but the kids like the cups more and you can eat them when you're done. And for someone like me, the mama disposal, that makes this snack pretty tasty for me too.
Enjoy!
Cucumber cottage cheese cups
Prep time: 3 minutes
Serves: 2-3
1 large cucumber
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon mustard
Cut off the ends of the cucumbers so that they are roughly 3-4 inches high. Hollow out into cups as described above. Cut the remaining center into straws for dipping.
In a bowl combine cottage cheese and mustard. With a small spoon fill the cucumber cups with the mix, then serve.
So I decided to make a quick snack that was suggested by a graduate student I've been training in the lab. I've always paired cottage cheese with sweet foods, like preserves and fruit butters. But she suggested a tangy take on cottage cheese, specifically mustard. I was dubious at first, but I love the combo, and even better my kids really like it too.
Cottage cheese is a really great source of calcium and protein, all while being low in fat and calories. To be perfectly honest I don't buy the low-fat or fat free varieties because they just don't taste as good and are supplemented with lots of sugar and salt to make up for the lack of flavor. Full fat cottage cheese has only 5 grams of fat in a 1/2 cup serving, which is a pretty generous amount if you think about it. Typically 1/4 of cottage cheese is enough for small kids.
To make this snack even more appealing to my kids we whipped together cucumber cups to hold our cottage cheese. Cucumbers are low in calories, high in potassium, vitamin K and also have anti-oxidants. They also have tons of water, which makes them really refreshing.
To make these cups I cut off the ends of a large cucumber. Then I trimmed off ~1/4 inch off the bottom so that there was a flat surface to set the cucumbers on. Then I hollowed out the center with a melonballer. With the remaining center of the cucumber I sliced it into straws for dipping. That was the most labor intensive part of this recipe, and it really took very little time. You can just use a bowl if you like, but the kids like the cups more and you can eat them when you're done. And for someone like me, the mama disposal, that makes this snack pretty tasty for me too.
Enjoy!
Cucumber cottage cheese cups
Prep time: 3 minutes
Serves: 2-3
1 large cucumber
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon mustard
Cut off the ends of the cucumbers so that they are roughly 3-4 inches high. Hollow out into cups as described above. Cut the remaining center into straws for dipping.
In a bowl combine cottage cheese and mustard. With a small spoon fill the cucumber cups with the mix, then serve.
