"I tried 5 ways to add more protein to my breakfast over 5 days. Here's what I came up with."

My favourite part about waking up is breakfast. 

And thus, my favourite part of working from home is also breakfast.

But not just any breakfast. A home-cooked breakfast. It's such a luxury to carve out time in the morning, that would have otherwise been used for the commute, to whip up some brekky before a day's work. 

Though, it's easy to get into a habit of eating the same thing — and avocado toast was just that. Turns out 8-9 am is not when I peak creatively. 

I usually live by the phrase, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' But when your breakfast stops satiating you and you begin to get the 10 am munchies because your energy levels are yo-yoing, you can officially declare that your go-to brekky is now well and truly broken. 

But an attractive proposition came across my inbox in the name of a culinary challenge. I was asked to try five ways to add more protein to my breakfast for the entire working week. To make it easier, I decided to incorporate Bulla Cottage Cheese.

I love a challenge, so I was eager to roadtest this. I've never really thought about using cottage cheese in breakfast before, so I was keen to see how it was going to make me feel. 

Bulla Cottage Cheese is an easy way to increase protein intake in breakfasts as it's so versatile. It can act as a binder (think fritters and pancakes), as a spread (toasts, crackers) as a cheesy filling for omelettes and even smoothies to add thickness. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bulla Family Dairy (@bullafamilydairy)

What I love most though is that in a 100g serving, you'll get 12.4g of protein. Adding it to your breakfast means you'll be feeling fuller for longer (read: you won't be FAMISHED by 10am).

We also know it's great to get in some protein right after a workout for muscle recovery. I've just joined a new gym called Agoga which — quick backstory — is the Spartan word for the training regime used to create a "class of warrior citizens" so yeah.. this Spartan needs some protein after that workout. 

Not only is cottage cheese super filling, high in protein and versatile, it also tastes great — it's creamy like a yoghurt while still having that distinctive cheese taste. 

Need some breakfast inspo for yourself? Here are the 5 meals I tried. 

Monday

Cottage Cheese, Avocado and Dukkha on Rye Toast

Image: Supplied. 

Ingredients

• 4 thick-cut slices of dark rye sourdough, toasted
• 200g Bulla Cottage Cheese Original 
• 1 avocado, cut into slices
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 2 Tbsp dukkha
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Squeeze lemon juice over the avocado slices.

2. Divide Bulla Cottage Cheese Original evenly over the 4 slices of toast.

3. Layer the avocado slices on top of the cottage cheese.

4. Sprinkle with dukkha and lemon zest.

5. Season to taste.

Image: Supplied. 

Tuesday

Mango and Berry Smoothie

Image: Bulla. 

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Bulla Cottage Cheese Original
• 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh mango
• 1 cup frozen or fresh mixed berries
• 1/2 pomegranate juice
• 1 banana
• 1/3 cup skim milk

Method

1. Combine mixed berries, pomegranate juice, banana, Bulla Cottage Cheese Original and milk in a blender until smooth.

2. Serve immediately.

Wednesday

Cheese Fritters with Corn, Baby Spinach and Zucchini

Image: Supplied. 

Ingredients

• 200g Bulla Cottage Cheese Original
• 1 cup baby spinach, washed and roughly chopped
• 1 cup corn kernels, drained
• 1 cup zucchini, grated
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 spring onion, finely sliced
• 1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp olive oil for cooking
• Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Place Bulla Cottage Cheese Original, corn kernels, baby spinach, zucchini, parmesan cheese and spring onion into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

2. Lightly beat eggs in a separate bowl and then add to a large bowl.

3. Add flour to bowl and mix thoroughly, ensuring there are no clumps of flour in the batter.

4. Heat olive oil in large frying pan over medium heat.

5. Add a heaped tablespoon of the mixture to the frying pan and flatten mixture into a circle shape (approx. 8cm diameter). Repeat to create 4 fritters in the pan.

6. Cook for 2 minutes and flip fritters over. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all the batter is cooked.

8. Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce, and salt and pepper for seasoning.

Thursday

Spring Herb Omelette

Image: Bulla. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Bulla Cottage Cheese Original
• 4 roma tomatoes, halved
• Olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp milk or water
• 1/2 bunch of chives, cut into 3cm lengths
• 1/2 bunch of parsley, leaves only
• 1/2 bunch of coriander, leaves only
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced).

2. Place tomato halves, cut side up on a baking paper lined oven tray, season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

3. Place in oven and cook for 20-30 minutes or until wilted and golden.

4. Combine Bulla Cottage Cheese Original, eggs, milk or water, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk well so that all ingredients are well-incorporated. Toss herbs together in a bowl and set aside.

5. Lightly grease and heat an omelette sized non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Pour in half of the egg mixture. Gently use a spatula to move the cooked egg in from the edge of the pan to the centre.

6. Tilt and rotate the pan to make sure that any uncooked egg fills in empty spaces. (The omelette is almost finished when the surface of the egg looks moist but does not jiggle when the pan is shaken.)

7. Scatter half of the combined herbs over and fold the cooked omelette in half. Carefully transfer to serving plate and repeat. (Each omelette only takes a few minutes to cook.)

8. Serve omelette with roasted tomatoes and bread.

Friday

Rustic Berry Protein Pancakes with Coconut and Cinnamon

Image: Supplied. 

Ingredients

• 200g Bulla Cottage Cheese Original
• 3 extra large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup wholemeal flour
• 2 Tbsp coconut, shredded
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup fresh mixed berries
• Butter or oil for cooking
• Honey and mixed berries to serve

Method

1. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk by hand until well combined.

2. Add Bulla Cottage Cheese Original and vanilla extract to eggs and whisk well.

3. Add wholemeal flour, coconut, cinnamon and salt to the wet mix and whisk until evenly combined. 

4. Fold in the fresh berries until just combined.

5. Heat a large frying pan on medium heat and lightly coat with oil or butter. Spoon 1/6 of the mix into the pan. This should create a pancake of approximately 10cm in diameter and 1cm thick.

6. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side or until the pancakes are golden and firm. Keep warm whilst cooking the remaining batter.

7. Serve pancakes hot with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.

Image: Supplied.

I've loved this breakfast experiment. My energy and satiation were at an all-time high this week. I also noticed that a simple addition of cottage cheese to my breakfast changed all my other food-related choices for the rest of the day.

I felt like I was less snacky and also opted for healthier choices for lunch and dinner too. I feel like when you have an unbalanced breakfast, it trickles through your day in the form of never feeling quite full. That wasn't the case this week at all and I'm keen to integrate some of these recipes into my everyday routine from now on.

Incorporate more protein into your meals by grabbing Bulla Cottage Cheese from your local Woolworths or Coles.

Image: Supplied/Mamamia.