The term “cottage cheese” is believed to have originated because the simple cheese was normally made in cottages from any milk left over after making butter.

It is actually a great source of protein, but it’s often overlooked, with many people disliking it’s taste, or more likely, it’s texture.

However, not only is cottage cheese a fantastic source of calcium, it’s also a form of slow-digesting casein protein, which helps supply amino acids to the muscle tissues.

If you struggle to meet your protein requirements in a healthy way, cottage cheese is a fast and easy choice, which you can eat as a tasty meal or snack at any time of the day.

Here are four of the best ways to add cottage cheese to your diet:

1. Mix it with nut butter
If you love nut butters (I do too!), mixing them with cottage cheese makes for the perfect snack.

Mixing cottage cheese with a natural butter is better than having plain cottage cheese, because the nut butter is digested slowly, and mixing the two further slows the release of amino acids into the blood stream.

Simply stir a tablespoon of natural nut butter such as almond butter, into half a cup of cottage cheese, to give you a delicious snack with around 200-300 calories.

2. Serve it with fruit
My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I really like cottage cheese with fruit.

Fresh fruit is a great option, but if canned fruit is all you have to hand, that will work very well too — just make sure you go for fruit canned in natural juices, rather than syrup or sugar.

Good options include, fruit salad, pineapple chunks, grapes, strawberries, or a sliced banana.

3. Melt it over pasta
For some people, the texture of cottage cheese is a bit of a hindrance. If that’s how you feel about it, try melting some over pasta instead.

All you need to do is cook some whole grain pasta, then top with a tomato-based sauce, and half a cup of cottage cheese.

As the cottage cheese melts slightly it makes a creamier tasting sauce, which is also more nutritious.

4. Add it to smoothies
If all else fails, try adding cottage cheese to your favourite smoothie. This will completely disguise the taste and texture, if you can’t eat it any other way.

Mix it together with some frozen fruit, baby spinach leaves, a small amount of natural yoghurt, and you’ll have a balanced breakfast on the go in a matter of minutes.

I’d love to hear from you too — what are your favourite cottage cheese ideas?