Friday, May 23, 2014

I made my own yogurt... who am I !?

One of my good friends, Lauren, recently blogged about making your own yogurt.  She promised me that it was SUPER easy and that "anyone" could do it. I can assure you that I am not "Suzy Q Homemaker"-- but Lauren was right, anyone can make their own yogurt!

If I haven't convinced you yet, here are some other things to consider:

1. Many popular commercial yogurts are made with high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, gelatin, artificial flavors, artificial dyes and more. When you make your own yogurt, you can control the ingredients and can choose to adjust the sweetness to your liking.

2. Yogurt is inherently a super food, rich in protein, calcium and probiotics. If you're on a weight-loss mission, the protein in yogurt can help you feel full longer and eat fewer calories. Research suggests that the probiotics (active cultures) that are teeming in yogurt can reduce the risk of colon cancer, improve immune system function, aid in alleviating constipation and diarrhea, prevent yeast infections and promote the absorption of vitamins and minerals.

3. If your family eats a lot of yogurt, you can save money (although it IS more time intensive than picking them up at the store).  One gallon of milk produces 4 quarts of yogurt at essentially 75 cents a quart.

Before I started on my yogurt making adventure this week, I read a few interesting posts about how to do it. I found them to be spot-on and easy to follow.  I will spare the time of posting my how-to pictures and just direct you to the websites below:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/06/243014945/yes-it-s-worth-it-to-make-your-own-yogurt

http://www.makeyourownyogurt.com/

What can you do with all of this yogurt?

Here are some ideas:

1. Make your own frozen yogurt!  This recipe for "Luscious Lemon" looks yummy and easy

2. Some of my St. Louis friends who are apart of a Baby Led Weaning group called "Little Foodies of St. Louis" enjoy making yogurt bites for their babes.  Elizabeth is too young to enjoy these-- but I am sure that she will LOVE them when she is a bit older.



3. There are plenty of yummy meat recipes that use yogurt as an ingredient including this Tikki Masala Recipe.

I hope that you enjoy making yogurt as much as I did!  Please let me know if you get a wild hair and decide to make it.  I would also love to hear your success stories and tips!

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