Clean Eating on a Budget: Clean Cottage Grilled Cheese

This is one I've contemplated making for awhile. I LOVE grilled cheese, but it's so caloric! That crunchy crusty bread. That gooey creamy cheese. So delicious but so fattening. My best friend & worst enemy all rolled into one. My dietician recently suggested that I add lowfat cream cheese to my diet as an alternative to meat. It's very versatile & adds a lot to many recipes. The best thing about it is that lowfat versions or skim taste very good. I added sharp cheddar cheese to get that satisfying gooeyness, but since the bulk of the cheese is lowfat cottage, the calorie count is still fairly low.

I only made the recipe for a half sandwich. It's pretty high in protein so a half sandwich is all you need for a snack. Just multiply the ingredients to accommodate the amount that you need.

1 slice Ezekiel bread

1/8 cup skim or lowfat cottage cheese

1/2 ounce extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of basil

Dash of salt

1. Mix together basil, salt, and cottage cheese.