So I went shopping to start day 1 tommorow. I looked at the ricotta cheese and it was $4.59 for a TINY little container of it. I can NOT afford to spend that much on such a little container. So I bought cottage cheese instead. 2/3 the price and double the size. So would it be the same as ricotta pretty much if I just mashed it up a bit?

Hi Baby Grant!

Did you get the low fat cottage cheese?

It is fine to substitute cottage cheese for ricotta. I think it is a very good alternative for those that do not like the texture for the ricotta cremes, but I don't think I would sub it in a veggie lasagna. The texture might be off...

GL with Phase 1!

Ricotta has a way higher fat content than cottage cheesse. But it would probably work like ricotta, but make sure that if you are using it for baking that you don't buy fat free, it will break down when heated.

I got 1% cottage cheese. I bought it to use for the ricotta creme "desserts".

you can use the cottage cheese in veggie lasagnas, the texture is more clumpy, but its tasty. You can give it a spin in the blender/magicbullet/processor to get it to a creamier consistency if you like for both the lasagne or as a dessert. (I even add some to my fruit smoothies)

AGAIN!!! Babygrant and I share the same Tastebud DNA...
not likin the ricotta either

I eat ricotta cheese every morning I put a half cup in a shake (because I can't eat eggs) I make a shake with 1/4 cup of Ricotta cheese two tbs of cocoa powder, ice, 1 cup skim milk, and 2 tbs of natural peanut butter and 2 tbs of splenda... could this shake be slowing my weight loss or even causing a gain? Should I ween myself off of this shake?????

Well, cottage cheese works too and is much lower in calories and fat. Check it out in Fitday: 1/4 cup of 1-2% cottage cheese has 41 calories while even lf ricotta has 85! Ricotta also has 5 times the fat of cottage cheese. They both are the same for protein. However, calories DO count.

Please run your foods and quantities through www.fitday.com to get an idea of how many calories you are eating. You could also post a whole day's menu WITH quantities and let some of us take a look at it.

I like ricotta a lot better than cottage cheese, but I've exchanged them in a lot of recipes without problems. Sometimes I drain a little of the whey out of the cottage cheese first if I think it might effect the texture. If you read the labels, you can see which cottage cheeses are closest in "stats" (fat, cals, carbs, protein) to ricotta.

If you want to try ricotta, and have a "Super Walmart," in you area, they're prices are so much better than other grocery stores, and the ricotta is good (I use their cheapest brand or Breakstone which is only a few cents more).