A goal of mine for 2025 is to start cooking and baking more. I rely on meal delivery services like Sakara (still great for salads for lunch) for myself and Amy’s Pizza or organic chicken nuggets for my boys. I want us to all eat together and find meals to enjoy. One summer we did a vegetable-a-day challenge and it was awesome. We were all eating more veggies and the boys loved trying new foods whether they liked them or not. They rated each vegetable and a few have stuck with us (string beans, peas, and broccoli).
Baking and cooking aren’t as time-consuming as I thought, and knowing what is in our food is much healthier. Living in NYC, the boys and I love a good bagel with cream cheese. I recently came upon a recipe that is so easy and nutritious. The added cottage cheese gives these bagels a higher protein content so you can stay fuller longer. Believe me, you can’t tell they are made with cottage cheese. I used regular flour but you can also use almond flour if you need to make these gluten-free.
The best part about this recipe is you can make these bagels in the air fryer! I like to experiment with the different seasonings on top and next time I also want to play around with adding ingredients to the dough itself. It’s fun to experiment with recipes and it gets the boys interested in what goes into their food. I love it when they want to cook or bake with me. For Christmas, my younger sons gave me a cookbook they had compiled at school with various traditional or family recipes. Food can represent so much more than nourishment, it’s also comforting, connecting, exciting, and interesting. I want to keep pushing myself to create more in the kitchen not just on my yoga mat.
RECIPE:
1 cup cottage cheese (you can whip it up in a processor to make it creamier if you wish)
1 cup flour of choice plus extra for rolling out the dough
2-3 tsp baking powder (unless you use self-rising flour)
1 tsp salt
1 egg for egg wash
Seasonings of choice (everything bagel, cinnamon/sugar, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.)
HOW TO:
Sift baking powder, salt, and flour together. Add cottage cheese to the flour mixture. With your hands combine until it forms a dough (add a bit more flour if needed). Form into a ball and cut into four pieces. Roll each piece out and wrap it into a bagel shape. In a small bowl whisk one egg. Coat each bagel with the egg wash and seasonings of choice.
AIR FRYER OPTION:
Transfer the bagels to the air fryer basket in batches without overcrowding and air fry 280F for 15 to 16 minutes, or until golden.
Let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
OVEN OPTION:
Preheat oven to 375F. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray with a little oil to avoid sticking.
Bake on the top rack of the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Enjoy! I’d love to hear from you if you make these.
