Bodybuilding recipes: Cottage cheese oatmeal cookies
It’s pretty easy to find recipes that make high-protein baked goods. However, what the recipes often won’t emphasize is the fat content. It’s hard to find recipes that are non-fat or very low fat.
As I train for my first bodybuilding show in October, I’m finding the cravings for baked goods is getting stronger and stronger as my diet is being optimized. I find myself wandering around the bakery department in grocery stores wondering if there’s anything at all that I can eat. Of course there isn’t; everything is either full of sugar or fat. Some baked goods—especially those prepared in store—don’t even have macros listed. In either of those cases, I can’t eat them.
I’m not a cook, but I decided I needed to figure out how I can satisfy these cravings in a bodybuilding show-preparatory safe way. Enter cottage cheese oatmeal cookies!
They’re based off a 2-ingredient oatmeal cookie recipe I found all over the internet. One part apple sauce to two parts quick oats. This recipe is my variation, with a boost of protein. Best of all, it’s very low in fat. They take no time to make, and can be air fried or baked. You can have them with your coffee as part of a pre-workout meal to give you that carb-filled energy boost. They’re a tasty alternative to a banana or oatmeal.
I substituted pumpkin and non-fat cottage cheese for applesauce. I also replaced some of the oats with protein powder, which effectively makes it a 4 ingredient oatmeal cookie. There are a ton of other optional ingredients you can add to give it amazing flavor, which I’ll list below. The “recommended” ingredients are mostly for additional protein and flavor. I highly recommend adding the cardamom and pumpkin pie spices for a truly unique flavor.
I decided on pumpkin because it has a better carb profile than unsweetened applesauce per serving and has a tiny bit of protein. Applesauce has more sugar and no protein content. Cottage cheese is really having a moment right now, being featured into a plethora of recipes lately. Non-fat cottage cheese is an excellent protein source with no fat! I personally don’t love the taste of cottage cheese eaten as is, so cooking with it has made it much more palatable and easy to incorporate into my diet. It gives the oatmeal cookies a hint of a baked cream cheese-like flavor, which I actually love, and I hope you do too.
Approximate macronutrient profile
Per 25g cookie:
- Calories: 40
- Fat: 0.45g
- Carbs: 5.45g
- Protein: 3.25g
Ingredients
- Oil spray for parchment paper
- 200g of quick oats
- 400g of pumpkin (or unsweetened applesauce)
- 113g of non-fat cottage cheese (or any % fat if you’re not in show prep)
- 50g whey protein powder
- (Recommended) 3 tbsp pumpkin pie spice and/or 3 pumps of sugar free pumpkin syrup
- (Recommended) 1/4 tbsp cardamom
- (Recommended) 2 tbsp vanilla, vanilla extract or vanilla blend
- (Recommended) 1 or 2 servings of peanut powder or almond powder
- (Recommended) 2/3 cup Stevia (or other sweetener)
- (Recommended) 1/4 or 1/3 cup golden allulose sweetener
- (Optional) 1 serving of collagen protein powder
- (Optional) 1 tbsp sugar-free chocolate chips
- (Optional) 1 tbsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven or air fryer to 350 degrees
- Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet
- Spray cookie sheet with a small amount of oil
- Optional — Blend cottage cheese until smooth
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl
- Scoop onto a baking sheet using a cookie scoop
- Air fry or bake for 13 minutes
- Drizzle with sugar-free chocolate syrup if desired
