A A A A Search :
Toledo Talk  
From jmleong's workspace   

Does your grocery store sell low-sodium cottage cheese?

There's a left-field question for you!

And if you want to get even more left-field about it, it's for my dog!

Some of you may have read about my doggie having recently been diagnosed with a brain tumor. (He's hanging in there, by the way, although we did have a 3-seizure episode two weekends ago that was very scary and landed us in the Animal ER on Central Ave. No seizures since, though.)

Anyway, the Prednisone he's on to shrink his tumor's swelling effects has the side effect of making him ravenously hungry all the time. So we're taking advantage of that and he's getting lots of yummy extra protein, antioxidants that pass the blood-brain barrier, select vitamins and minerals to enhance his immune system, plenty of Omega 3's, and some herb therapy based on a few studies I've read, to prevent tumor growth and help his liver deal with the Prednisone. (And chicken. Just because he loves it. Why not? What the brain-tumor dog wants, the brain-tumor dog gets!)

One of the anecdotal anti-tumor strategies I've read time and time again -- people really swear by this -- is to feed him cottage cheese and flaxseed oil at least once a day. Hey, whatever, I'll try it. He loves it, gobbles it right up and asks for more, so if nothing else, I'm making him happy. The problem is that cottage cheese is VERY high sodium, most brands have 450+ mg of sodium per serving! I wouldn't want to give that much sodium to him even if he were in perfect health, which he's not. And I'm sort of convinced that some extra salty beef we shared with him two weekends ago at least contributed to his seizure event, so unfortunately for Mr. Hungry, we've been giving the cottage cheese a rest the past few days while I look for a low-sodium version. He is not happy about the low-fat plain yogurt substitute I've been giving. Heh.

I'll go anywhere in the city or within a moderate drive to buy some. So far I'm not having luck finding any on my own. Thought I'd ask here for help. Apparently there's a brand called "Friendship" and one called "Lucerne" that are low-sodium, but I've never seen them. Anyone? I'd be very grateful for some tips on this.

Thank you.

created by jmleong on Jul 09, 2009 at 04:47:49 am     Comments: 15

print      source      versions

Comments ... #

I would think that Claudia's, Bassett's or the co-op would have it. Not sure though.

posted by transcom on Jul 09, 2009 at 08:36:50 am     #



yeah i think claudia's is your best bet. give them a call: http://www.claudiasmarket.com/

or if you're willing to drive a little farther and stock up, whole foods in ann arbor would be a good bet: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/annarbor/

posted by upso on Jul 09, 2009 at 11:14:17 am     #



Thsnks guys. I had checked at the Bassett's closest to me but I did not know of this Claudia's place. Will check it out! Thank you.

posted by jmleong on Jul 09, 2009 at 02:05:30 pm     #



claudias has a waaaaaaaay better grocery selection

posted by upso on Jul 09, 2009 at 02:58:11 pm     #



Googled the location and I know exactly where that is, thanks. Can't wait to check the place out.

posted by jmleong on Jul 09, 2009 at 03:22:00 pm     #



Its possible that the Andersons Market might carry it as well. (Sylvania Ave and King Rd in Sylvania)

Next time I'm there, I'll take a look if I remember.

posted by mom2 on Jul 09, 2009 at 08:56:32 pm     #



http://www.hphood.com/products/prodDetail.aspx?id=379 http://www.friendshipdairies.com/products/detail_product_cc_lowfat_1_nosalt.php

posted by ronaldo on Jul 09, 2009 at 10:58:48 pm     #



Yes, Mom2, the Andersons is on my list of places to look, but I haven't made it over there yet. I'm planning a sort of scavenger hunt for the stuff for this weekend!

posted by jmleong on Jul 10, 2009 at 02:51:52 am     #



Well, no luck at Claudia's or at The Anderson's nearby on Monroe St. I can check the one in Maumee but I'm guessing their product lines would be exactly the same.

Shoot. I suppose I may actually have to truck it up to Ann Arbor. If I remember correctly there's a Whole Foods we pass every time we go up to the Big House.

posted by jmleong on Jul 13, 2009 at 01:39:28 am     #



jmleong, check The Fresh Market at Westgate. And if you're over there, check old Churchill's grocery on Central. Churchill's has new, specialty markets in Maumee and Perrysburg. The Andersons has a specialty market in Sylvania.

Bodybuilders apparently like cottage cheese but not the sodium amount.

Cottage cheese is a great source of protein. No arguments from me there. But what's with the insanely high sodium content?

My current favorite brand of cottage cheese is made by Calder Dairy, and I buy it at the Phoenix Earth Food Co-op. Until tonight, I never paid attention to its nutrition facts because I didn't care. I assumed that since it tasted so good, it was probably unhealthy. I consider it a dessert. Well, 1/2 cup of this cottage cheese contains 460mg of sodium and 13g of protein. No matter. I'll continue to consume it. I ate some of it tonight.

Reading about low-sodium cottage cheese, it sounds like it tastes bad. To humans, anyway. It will be interesting to see if your dog likes the low-sodium cottage cheese as much as the normal, good-tasting, high-sodium brands. Maybe you'll have to mix in a little of the "bad" kind.

According to this comment :

no sodium added cottage cheese can be found at whole foods, trader joes, and other stores like that, its made by friendship dairy's.

ronaldo referenced Friendship Dairy above.

Friendship Dairy Cottage Cheese

Friendship 1% Lowfat Cottage Cheese No Salt Added - serving size = 1/2 cup, contains 50mg of sodium and 16g of protein

Where to buy Friendship Dairy - "... predominantly located up and down the Eastern Seaboard with limited distribution in other states." Mentions The Fresh Market and Whole Foods

This post on the Friendship Dairy Web site says: "Now in Ohio! Friendship Cottage Cheese and Sour Cream items are now available in Giant Eagle supermarkets." Is there a Giant Eagle on Route 20 in the Rossford/Perrysburg area?

I'd start with The Fresh Market at Westgate and Giant Eagle in Rossford if one exists.

posted by jr on Jul 13, 2009 at 03:08:16 am     #



Call these places and ask before going over if you can... save gas.

posted by toledolen on Jul 13, 2009 at 11:54:47 am     #



You're not kidding Toledolen!

Thanks for all those suggestions, jr. Cool, my next stop (or call!) will be up at The Fresh Market. Giant Eagle's online store locator says there IS one on Rt. 20 (and also one on West Central?). Heh, my search is not made any easier by the fact that I'm not a native Toledoen.

Yeah, I don't know how the dog will react, but in the meantime I've been rinsing the regular high-sodium stuff out with water through a strainer, so all that's left is the curds. I figure a lot of the sodium is in the milky "sauce" stuff. He's OK with it. Pro-tip: Get your dog to eat ANYTHING by adding some stinky, nasty Omega-3-rich fish oil to it. I read somewhere that the stuff is like "candy" for dogs, and boy is that right! He scarfs it down way better than the flax oil.

Anyway, doggie's been holding steady. No seizures in 15 days now. But I think the tumor might be starting to encroach into the back of his left eye. His night vision has noticeably declined -- he couldn't track a stick we threw at the park last night at dusk-time; and the night before, he face-planted on the front steps after a car ride, also at dusk.

On the plus side, he still enjoys the park and car rides, so that's something. He's still learning new tricks, too. Taught him a new one last night. :) Pictures of the pooch: http://sitekreator.com/jmleong/my_doggie_mojo.html

posted by jmleong on Jul 13, 2009 at 10:50:49 pm     #



jmleong, did you find anything locally?

posted by jr on Jul 18, 2009 at 12:03:48 am     #



Yes, jmleong, there is a Giant Eagle on Central Avenue as well. We shop there from time to time.

Its west (maybe couple of miles) of the US-23 Central Avenue exit. (where all the car dealers are)

Can't miss it if you head west on Central out towards Sylvania. Actually, if you were going to try the Anderson's Market, you could easily combine the 2 in one trip.

If you were going to hit both stores in one trip, I would head out Central to Giant Eagle first. Then west again on Central to King Road. (Meijer is located at Central and King, there is also an elementary school on the corner) Right on King Road to Sylvania Avenue. The Anderson's Market is there near the King Road/Sylvania Avenue intersection, across the street from Kroger.

posted by mom2 on Jul 19, 2009 at 03:54:11 am     #



Thanks guys for asking. This is the first time I've been online since before the weekend, and I've been meaning to come here and thank jr (thanks jr!) for the info on the Fresh Market. That is where I found some low-sodium cottage cheese (the Friendship brand), after striking out with both Giant Eagles. (By the way, it pretty much tastes like absolutely nothing!)

Wow, what a neat place, the Fresh Market. I had not heard of it before, to my great regret. I'll be back there for other stuff in the future.

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions. The pupper is doing OK; he did have another seizure this past weekend after going 19 days since the last one. But it only lasted about two minutes and he bounced right back to his normal self shortly afterwards.

posted by jmleong on Jul 22, 2009 at 03:41:55 pm     #