Category Archives: Quark Cottage Cheese

Live Culture Kefir Quark

Live Kefir

I found this new live culture kefir quark in Waitrose yesterday.  Johanna Budwig promoted live fermented foods for the Budwig Diet.  Kefir is milk fermented with a special broad spectrum culture.  The bugs in this culture  are good bacteria which promote a healthier gut biome so are believed to benefit the digestion, immune system and the health of the whole body.

Live kefir quark cottage cheese
Live kefir quark cottage cheese

High protein, low fat

This has a lovely fresh flavour, a super texture, very low fat (virtually fat-free) and 12% protein which makes it ideal for the Budwig Diet. The downside is it is only in little tubs with a plastic spoon and is quite pricey but if you want a live cultured quark and don’t want to make it yourself this is a good option.  Hopefully in the future it will become available in larger tubs.

Live kefir quark cottage cheese
Live kefir quark cottage cheese

FOCC muesli

The Budwig diet is often called the Flax Oil Cottage Cheese FOCC diet because the cornerstone of the diet is thoroughly blended flax seed (linseed) oil and cottage cheese which is turned into a muesli with fruit, ground flax, nuts and honey added.

Budwig muesli a rich source of soluble prebiotic fibre
This delicious bowl of Budwig muesli was made with with live kefir quark, it’s  also  a rich source of soluble prebiotic fibre which makes it a very very digestion-friendly breakfast,

In her recipe for this muesli Johanna Budwig gave the recipe for  quark to be used. It is a simple European cottage cheese, made in the home; it is  much smoother and nicer for the Budwig muesli than British cottage cheese.  In many parts of Europe traditional home made quark used to have live cultures which makes it a healthier option.   This Kefir quark made a lovely Budwig Muesli blended with Flax Farm cold-pressed linseed (flaxseed) oil.  I made the Budwig muesli just the same way as normal.

Budwig Muesli Recipe

I blended  the tub of  kefir quark thoroughly  with 45 ml cold-pressed linseed (flax seed) oil, added a few drops vanilla extract, sweetened with stevia extract and added 2 heaped dessert spoons freshly ground linseed, a small tangerine , half a banana , a teaspoon of raw honey  and topped with strawberries and walnuts; yum! See more Budwig recipes 

 

 

Flax farm organic cold-pressed flax linseed oil

Flax farm organic cold-pressed flax (linseed) oil

Dairy-Intolerance, Dairy-Free & Vegan Alternatives

Don’t eat Dairy?

The Budwig diet is completely vegetarian but does include dairy foods in the form of cottage cheese or quark. But dairy is a no go area for some people for health and personal moral standpoint. However the Johanna Budwig offered no alternatives but  for less serious conditions you can still get the benefit of following the Budwig Diet with  these carefully selected alternatives Continue reading Dairy-Intolerance, Dairy-Free & Vegan Alternatives

Christmas Salad with Budwig Mayonnaise

This is really a sort of rough coleslaw made with Brussels Sprouts – as they are in season it’s a pity not to use them.

Ingredients

  • A good  small portion of raw Brussels Sprouts

A smaller portion of each of the following ingredients, 

  • LeekChou_de_Bruxelles_demi-nain_de_la_Halle_Vilmorin-Andrieux_1904
  • Celery
  • Onion
  • Apple
  • Carrot.

Mayonnaise ingredients

  • Quark
  • Cold-pressed linseed oil
  • Mustard
  • Garlic
  • Lemon juice/apple cider vinegar
  • Dill pickles

Topping

Chopped Walnuts

Method

Finely sliced or grate all vegetables and place in a bowl.

Next make the Budwig mayonnaise from a portion of linseed oil quark cream by adding a dollop of your favourite seedy mustard, a crushed clove of garlic, a tablespoon chopped mini dill pickled cucumbers,  a good squeeze of lemon juice/ACV and enough fruit juice for taste (apple, parsnip and carrot is nice) and to make a soft mayonnaise consistency.

Then stir the mayonnaise into the salad and top with chopped herbs, walnuts and/or colourful fruit – pomegranate looks brilliant and is in season.

Top with chopped Walnuts

 

More FOCC Recipes

Budwig muesli with banana and raspberry
Budwig muesli with banana and raspberry

Here are some more suggestions for the Budwig Diet breakfast.  All are rich in omega-3, tummy-friendly fibre, minerals, vitamins and natural antioxidants. It is an essential element of the Budwig diet or a super-nutritious replacement for conventional breakfast cereals and mueslis for anyone trying to improve their health.  You can vary it endlessly with different fruits, nuts, berries and spices.

Budwig Muesli Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons Linseeds (brown/bronze or golden)
  • 1 portion of Quark-Linseed Oil Cream (made from 100 g quark and 45-50g cold-pressed linseed oil thoroughly blended and optionally sweetened with 1 teaspoon honey, )
  • A portion of raw seasonal fruit chopped
  • Spices to taste
  • Nuts, berries, freshly made juice, spices to taste

Method

Grind the linseeds to a fine powder in a dedicated electric coffee grinder and place in a bowl.  Add chopped fruit.  Mix the quark-linseed cream with any spices you fancy – cinnamon, fresh or dried ginger, vanilla extract are all good – add to bowl.  If you would like the cream to be softer simply stir in some skimmed milk or freshly-pressed juice and spoon over the fruit and ground linseed. Top with berries and nuts. JB particularly recommends Brazil nuts, which contain lots of selenium, and walnuts.  She also suggests pine nuts and unsweetened coconut which can be raw or shavings (but not sweetened).

Try making your muesli with these combinations added to your basic Budwig cream:

Autumn Fruits: Bronze linseed ground.  Chopped apple, and add

ground vanilla to the cream and ground cinnamon to the linseed, top with blackberries and hazelnuts.

Multicolour Fruits: Gold linseed ground. Chopped pineapple and mango. Add freshly grated ginger to taste, top with strawberries and blueberries, coconut shavings and Brazil nuts.

Citrus: Golden linseed ground, 1/2 a chopped grapefruit, 1/2 banana, satsuma sections, cinnamon, fresh ginger and raspberries Brazil nuts and sliced almonds.

Eton Mess Use strawberries, raspberries and sliced banana. Add vanilla extract to the FOCC, top with berries and chopped macadamia or walnuts nuts.

Trifle: Use chopped bananas and raspberries as the basic fruit, add a few drops of vanilla extract to the FOCC,  drizzle the ground linseed with a little Amontillado sherry sweetened with stevia to taste,  top with more raspberries, fresh red currants, if available, and chopped pistachios or very lightly toasted almonds nuts.

Chocolate but not really wicked: Fruit chopped banana , add two heaped dessertspoons of cocoa powder to the FOCC and a little stevia powder to taste, top with the raspberries and  lightly toasted almond flakes and chopped Brazils.

Tzatziki with quark/cottage cheese/Greek yoghurt, linseed oil, lemon cucumber and mint.

 

Budwig Quark-Linseed Oil “Muesli” Recipe

Budwig quark and linseed oil (FOCC) muesli with honey, ground linseed, fruit, berries and chopped nuts,
Budwig quark and linseed oil muesli with honey, ground linseed, fruit, berries and chopped nuts,

This is the cornerstone of the whole Budwig diet;it  is used for the breakfast and lunch. It is also called FO/CC, Flax Oil/Cottage Cheese and Budwig Flax Oil Cream. (Linseed is called flax in North America.)

The magic comes from the sulphur-rich milk proteins in the cheese making the omega-3 in the linseed oil more soluble.  Linseed Oil-Quark cream should be made with good-quality fresh ingredients and it will taste creamy, light and delicious. The basic FOCC “cream” is very versatile and can be used as a healthy alternative to cream, crème-fraiche or yoghurt for anyone who is health-conscious.

Budwig Muesli Recipe

Ingredients to make the FOCC Cream:

This makes a standard portion for a woman, men should have up to 25% more and children less

  • Quark and cold-pressed linseed (flax seed ) oil for Budwig diet muesli
    Quark and cold-pressed linseed (flax seed ) oil

    45-50g cold-pressed linseed oil (flax seed oil)

  •  100 g Quark (If you can’t find quark use low fat/fat-free cottage cheese or  unsweetened plain Greek yoghurt (this should be 10-12% protein.)
  •  2 tablespoons milk (optional to help mixing)
  • 1 teaspoon cold-extracted raw honey (optional)
Blending quark cottage cheese with flax oil on Budwig diet
Blend quark cottage cheese with flax oil very thoroughly

Place Linseed Oil and quark in a jug or tall container suitable for using a stick blender.   If you prefer a softer consistency add two or three tablespoons of skimmed milk.  Blend very thoroughly; is very important to continue blending until the oil completely disappears into the emulsion. If required sweeten by mixing in up to 1 tsp honey.

Muesli Ingredients

  • 25g ground linseed
  • 1 tsp Honey
  • Berries (forest fruits)
  • Nuts
  • Fruit chopped

Method

Assemble fruit and freshly ground linseed in a bowl.  Top with creamed linseed oil and cottage cheese, top with berries and chopped nuts. Eat immediately.

Variations

The Budwig diet calls for the Quark – Linseed Oil “cream” to be eaten with ground linseed and fruit as muesli for breakfast,  For lunch you can add it to the first course or pudding.    With imagination the possibilities are almost endless.

Budwig Muesli Smoothie

A modern variation is to incorporate the linseed oil/cottage cheese cream into a smoothie by adding it to blitzed fresh fruits and freshly pressed juice.

Budwig Muesli Smoothie Recipe

Banana, berries, FOCC (flax oil cottage cheese) smoothie  for Budwig diet
Banana, berries, FOCC (flax oil cottage cheese) smoothie for Budwig diet
  1. 100g Quark
  2. 50g Cold-pressed linseed oil
  3. A little milk
  4. 25g ground linseed
  5. 1 tsp Honey
  6. Fruit (any)
  7. Berries (any)
  8. Nuts

Method

Separately blend 1 and 2 thoroughly

Budwig FOCC smoothie
Budwig FOCC smoothie

Place all other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth

Then add blended cottage cheese linseed (flaxseed) oil, pulse gently until incorporate with fruit etc.,  Don’t over-

blend,

 

Other ways for using Budwig creamed linseed oil and cottage cheese

Johanna Budwig’s own savoury recipes include  using the cream as mayonnaise, Indian-style Tzatziki, sauces, sandwich fillers or toast topping.  Use it just as you would any cream or soft cheese (within the rules of the diet). In savoury dishes try “cream” with good seedy mustard, curry powder or herbs.

For dessert you can use it like a mousse flavoured with chocolate or spices; it combines well with cinnamon, cocoa, vanilla, banana, orange and lemon or make the Budwig “cream” into easy ice creams.  There are recipes on the site for several delicious flavours of (Budwig-compatible) ice-cream.

N.B. Always blend the cold-pressed linseed oil and cottage cheese thoroughly before adding other ingredients.

Potato Salad, Budwig Style

Boil a portion of potatoes and when cool enough to handle chop/slice. Mix a portion of quark-linseed oil cream with the juice of a lemon and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Add a a finely sliced onion, chopped chives, parsley and/or dill, black pepper and a pinch of salt and enough skimmed milk to made a creamy consistency.  Mix into the chopped potatoes and sprinkle with paprika and/or a little cayenne pepper and chopped dill pickles.

Waxy potatoes have smooth, dense flesh that holds their shape well when cooked. They work well in salads or simply boiled. Key waxy varieties include Charlotte and Jersey Royals but if you can’t get any of those, don’t worry, it’ll still be great with any potato.

Quark-linseed oil horseradish cream and beetroot salad

The goodness of beetroot and the tang of horseradish combine to create a bright, spicy, pick-me-up salad or sandwich filling: what’s not to love!

  • 400 g beetroot. You can either cook the beets, until soft, peel and slice or dice; or shred/grate/julienne the peeled raw beetroots through a mandolin or food grater/processor.
  • 1 eating apple finely diced or grated
  • One portion of the quark-linseed oil cream 
  • the juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
  • a little extra lemon juice or milk if needed
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh horseradish
  • a pinch of ground caraway and a teaspoon of whole caraway seeds (optional) 
  • a sprinkle of cayenne or paprika
Mix all ingredients and serve with potato or leafy salad. It’s good in a sandwich too.
As an alternative make this with celeriac or carrot.

Mayonnaise – Recipe

 

The quark-linseed oil cream makes an excellent base for a healthy mayonnaise that is every bit as good as the real thing.
This is the basic mayonnaise recipe from Dr Johanna Budwig’s Oil Protein Cookbook.

  • 3 tbsp cold-pressed linseed oil
  • 3 tbsp quark
  • 3 tbsp milk (or 6 yoghurt)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • and/or 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar,
  • tbsp made mustard smooth or seeded,
  • Pinch salt.

Blend oil and quark very thoroughly then stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Use to top raw veggies or any salad, have on top a slice of bread or as a sandwich filling, use as a dip or as a relish or chutney with a bean dish or curry, use with a baked potato or mash – brilliant with salad potatoes.

Variations
Add in individually or any combination of the following:

  • Chopped cornichon/pickled gherkins/dill pickles
  • Chopped capers,
  • Finely chopped herbs; dill, marjoram, chives, thyme, coriander, parsley, mint
  • Chopped chillies
  • Mashed garlic
  • Soaked, chopped dried tomatoes
  • Chopped onions, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, courgette, apple
  • Soy sauce
  • Caraway seeds, ground and/or whole
  • 2 tbs soft cheese, hard cheese, herbed cheese or even blue cheese.
  • Chopped walnut, pine nuts
  • Black pepper, white pepper
  • Olives
  • Green pepper corns
  • Sweet red and/or green peppers, chopped
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Saffron
  • Horseradish