When I was a kid, my mother would rely on cottage cheese and canned fruit to drop a few pounds, like so many of her contemporaries.  For some reason, cottage cheese got a reputation for being little more than diet food, and it stuck.  It's an image that this delicious dairy food does not deserve, but can't seem to shake.

Until now, that is.

Hood Cottage Cheese is much more than your mother's, or grandmother's, low-calorie lunch. Sure, Hood Fat Free and Low Fat Cottage Cheese are, as the names imply, relatively low in calories and fat, and that makes them beneficial foods to include in a balanced eating plan for weight control.

Here's what you probably don't know about cottage cheese. Using any of the varieties of Hood Cottage Cheese to make meals and snacks stretches your food dollar, improves nutrition, and reduces calories and fat when cottage cheese subs for higher-fat cheeses, such as whole milk mozzarella, whole milk ricotta, and full-fat cheddar -without sacrificing taste.

And, if you shun cottage cheese because you don't like the consistency, cooking with cottage cheese is the solution. You won't even know that cottage cheese is part of many of Hood's delicious and nutritious recipes .

Speaking of nutrition, a half-cup serving of Hood Cottage Cheese packs more than double the protein of low-fat fruit yogurt (14 grams vs. 5 grams). In fact, one cup of Hood Cottage Cheese supplies nearly half of a woman's daily requirement for protein, and 20% of her calcium quota. It's also a convenient and cost-effective meat substitute that pairs well with other nutritious meatless foods, such as beans. 

Still not convinced that cottage cheese is cool?  Check out Hood.com to find easy-to-use tips  and recipes  for cooking with cottage cheese. Even better, Chef Rick Tarantino shows you how convenient it is to make Spinach Stuffed Shells , Apple Cottage Cheese Pancakes , Eggs Florentine Wrap , Greek Pasta Salad  and Cheesy Cheesecake .

As for my mom? Cottage cheese may have been the diet food of her generation. Nevertheless, she remains a fan of cottage cheese, any way it's served.