dessert | The Fit Foodies

Some people dread grocery shopping, and some people love it.

I’ve always been part of the second team.

Even when I was a little kid, I never minded tagging along with my mom to the grocery store. These trips usually came with the promise of picking a fun, impulse snack that never would have been purchased otherwise. I got to fill the cart with iconic snack foods like rainbow-sprinkle Dunkaroos, Nesquik cereal, and chocolate ice cream!

Now that I push the cart solo, I still get excited at the prospect of finding a new favourite food every time. Now,I’m aware that this reaction might be a little bit sad, but I prefer to think of it as fulfilling my foodie detective duties for the blog (it’s all for you lovely people!). In particular, I love Loblaws Superstores – they’re completely overwhelming and I always end up buying more than I intended to, but they also have some pretty cool stuff.

Take, for example, my discovery of Western Creamery Pressed Cottage Cheese. I found this item in the refrigerated dairy section, and I was immediately intrigued. This product is not like wet, creamy cottage cheese – it’s dry, pressed cottage cheese, and the texture is like a cross between cream cheese and feta cheese.

The other notable point about this product is its nutritional value. The ingredients are as follows: organic milk, bacterial culture, microbial enzymes. That’s it! Nothing creepy to decipher on the label. This particular brand is 110 calories for a ½ cup serving, with only 1% of your daily sodium intake (I find this appealing because many wet cottage cheese brands are pretty in high sodium content). The brand I bought was $5.99 for 500g, which isn’t cheap – but I consider it to be a fun ingredient to have around on occasion!

The dry cottage cheese has a nice crumbly texture and a mild taste, making it a versatile ingredient – I like it crumbled on top of salads and pasta, but I also like it in sweet recipes, like my “cream cheese” oatmeal recipe below. Give it a try, you might just like it!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Overnight Oats

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup water or milk of choice

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

½ tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

3-4 tbsp dry pressed cottage cheese (I used this brand)

Sweetener, to taste (I used stevia extract)

1/3 cup strawberries, chopped (or sub other berries or fruit)

Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover bowl and transfer to the fridge. Let sit for at least a few hours or overnight to thicken, and enjoy! Alternatively, you could enjoy this as hot oatmeal.

You could also try some fun variations by adding peanut butter, banana, or cocoa powder. I also like to reserve some of the cottage cheese to crumble on top!