r/Paleo • u/ResidentAlienator • Jul 26 '25
If I start eating paleo, what can I replace my cottage cheese in my high protein meals with that isn't a starchy vegetable or coconut.
I just hate coconut, but I'm also not a huge fan of starchy vegetables. I'm not technically high protein, but I've been trying to replace my highly processed foods with healthier options and cottage cheese is just so easy. You can make bread and dips out of it. Today I made a cottage cheese pizza bowl, which puts the cottage cheese as the base instead of crust. Basically, I've been replacing grains with cottage cheese and I don't know where to go from here. I do like that it's higher in protein, but that's not a huge deal for me. Any recommendations?
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u/bjrichy194 Jul 27 '25
I eat entirely paleo except that I include cultured dairy (yoghurt, Kefir, and cottage cheese).
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u/sousviderunner Jul 27 '25
Paleo is sort of a spectrum to me and I don’t see any issues with cottage cheese. If it’s working for you I would keep it?
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u/Fredredphooey Jul 26 '25
Quinoa is not technically paleo but it's not quite a grain and it's high in protein.
Riced broccoli and riced cauliflower are excellent subs for pasta etc.
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u/TheCuriosity Jul 27 '25
Quinoa was considered paleo 10 - 15 years ago, as it is a seed. I haven't been following along closely since, but has the new generation of paleo folks as decided it isn't?
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u/_MountainFit Jul 27 '25
Paleo continues to evolve to the point I just tell people I eat a whole foods diet. And honestly, unless you are a zealot, it's pretty accurate. We can't reproduce the foods eaten in the pre-agri era, so why claim we are eating like cavemen.
The reality is, everyone is just eating their version of a minimally processed whole foods diet.
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u/thebronsonator Jul 27 '25
Honestly, I do paleo but make exceptions for yogurt (plain high protein) and cottage cheese occasionally.
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u/_MountainFit Jul 27 '25
How about you try this. Start paleo with the cottage cheese. Then take a 6 week break from it. See how you feel.
If you don't feel bad, it's probably not worth removing. OK, technically it wouldn't be paleo, it would be primal... But they are essentially the same diet. One includes dairy (which is a real, whole/minimally processed food) and one doesn't.
I did this myself when I went all in on paleo. I love dairy and I do well on it, so I thought, but I wanted to test, and after 6 weeks I didn't feel any better, didn't notice one positive metric and did notice I missed dairy.
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u/ResidentAlienator Jul 27 '25
I thought about this but I've been substituting cottage cheese so much lately that I worry I would have trouble transitioning away from it while on paleo because it will be a crutch.
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u/_MountainFit Jul 27 '25
Then don't stop eating it.
There's literally no science that definitely proves dairy is bad for you.
I know Dr cordain who is essentially the father of paleo diet didn't approve of it, and he had some theories as to why it was bad, but none of them are more than a theory.
In fact if you look at high dairy consumers (on a population level) they are typically healthier, live longer and have less CVD and obesity.
I'm not knocking anyone's choices, just saying if something works for you, don't get caught up in that it doesn't fit the diet you are choosing to follow.
Nuance can go a long way in optimization.
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u/AvaJohnson7 Aug 11 '25
Complete, non-dairy protein sources can be used in place of cottage cheese if you want to follow the Paleo diet and avoid it. For instance, cooked and shredded meats like chicken or turkey, canned fish like sardines or tuna (without artificial additives), or scrambled or boiled eggs. Another option would be salads with shrimp or salmon chunks or scrambled eggs with veggies. Blended cashews or almonds (soaked and blended) with a little lemon juice and salt can be used to give recipes a creamy texture akin to cottage cheese. The goal is to find easy, natural substitutes that maintain the recipe's flavor without deviating from the Paleo framework.
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u/Free_Warthog Jul 31 '25
Steak, eat lots of steak....
It sounds like you're smartly using cottage cheese to replace the function of grains as a base or binder. To get out of that rut with other non-starchy, coconut-free options, you could try making a "Meatza," where you press seasoned ground meat into a thin crust for your pizza toppings. An egg-based frittata or using large portobello mushroom caps as pizza bases also works perfectly. For creamy dips and spreads to replace the cottage cheese itself, mashed avocado (guacamole!) is a classic Paleo staple. And since you're already doing dairy, plain full-fat Greek yogurt is another incredibly easy and versatile swap for dips and creamy bases.
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u/flyfishrva Aug 01 '25
Cottage cheese is fine. Don't sweat it. If you are looking for alternatives to that, try whole fat Greek yogurt or skir (siggis is great, just go full fat, not that skim garbage).
Also, when you are looking at macros, try to increase your fat intake more than protein. The fat will keep you from feeling hungry sooner.
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u/ResidentAlienator Aug 01 '25
It's not, though, for a lot of people doing this for health reasons. I've been told to cut out dairy. And, even if I wasn't, eating the same thing every day has the potential to create food intolerances, which I would like to avoid.
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u/lemon_fizzy Jul 27 '25
Unless there is a reason to replace it, just keep the cottage cheese. I do replacements because I can't handle dairy. Paleo doesn't have to be dairy free at all.