Cottage Cheese

Okay, I know. But just read on okay?  I grew up watching my mother eat cottage cheese with pineapple and just about gagged every time I saw her put that stuff into her mouth. But now I've had wls and my tastes have changed. It happens to all of us! Not long after my surgery I started craving cottage cheese. Believe me...I fought that craving! But I finally caved in and tried some with pineapple and sweetener. Oh my goodness...I was in heaven! Cottage cheese is really good for you and is a wonderful, refreshing summer breakfast or snack.

Cottage Cheese

2 ounces cottage cheese (I use Breakstone's 2% small curd)
1 ounce crushed pineapple in juice
sweetener, to taste

Mix it all up together in a small bowl and enjoy!

Spaghetti Sauce Tip

As with the cornbread, I'm not going to post a recipe for spaghetti sauce...my recipe is really simple...Hunt's Traditional Spaghetti Sauce! LOL! I just brown my ground beef with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano then add a can of diced tomatoes and the Hunts spaghetti sauce.

But here's my tip: Get a package of fresh baby portabella mushrooms, clean 'em up, slice 'em up and substitute 1/2 of the package of ground beef with the mushrooms. Add them when you add your sauce to the beef. Many vegetarians use portabella mushrooms as a substitute for meat and they are so delicious and nutritious. You've just saved money, fat, and calories. And you've just added some good, healthy carbs to your dinner. You can add any mushrooms you like; I use baby bellas because they are more meaty and we like the taste so much better than white buttons.

I know the gourmet chefs have a fancy little brush they "dust off" the mushrooms with and they say that you shouldn't use water to wash mushrooms. Well, they're going to get wet when I put them in my spaghetti sauce anyway, so what's the difference? And, oh by the way, mushrooms are grown in d.i.r.t.  I'm gonna wash those little suckers!

Those of us with gastric bypass surgery don't eat pasta so I've found that at my house, we like to have our spaghetti sauce over some cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan or even shredded cheddar or mozarella and nuke for about 15-30 seconds to melt the cheese and you have a wonderful, nutritious dinner!