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Recipe Turns Regular Yogurt into Rich Thick Greek-like Yogurt & Pops the Flavor!

Updated on August 24, 2012
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Yogurt Recipes~ More Pop the Flavor

These are easy recipes to turn regular yogurt into thick Greek-like yogurt and then make healthy low-calorie dips, dressings and spreads. Also, a bit about yogurt.

Yogurt is a staple through-out the world. It is most commonly made from cow’s milk but can be made from sheep, goat, water buffalo, camel, or yak milk.

Although yogurt can be traced as far back as 2000 BCE, it is relatively new in acceptance in the United States. In 1908 yogurt was introduced as a ‘health food.’

In the 1950s it was presented as a health food again. However, it did not become a staple nor receive that much shelf space at the local grocer until the later.

TCBY, This Can’t Be Yogurt, a frozen serve yogurt chain, opened in the early 1980s. The name, This Can’t Be Yogurt, was in part, due to the idea that yogurt was still unfamiliar. The customer thought that yogurt could not taste as good as ice cream. The concept was new to USA citizens. Due to a legal situation TCBY became The Country’s Best Yogurt. Still, this franchise offers some mighty fine tasting yogurt! We consume lots of yogurt today! We owe TCBY for helping Americans understand just how good yogurt can taste.

Yogurt is good for you! It is packed full of protein, calcium riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. Other than that it contains gut-healthy live cultures and can be eaten by those who are lactose-intolerant.

There is a study in the International Journal of Obesity that found consumption of low-fat yogurt can promote weight loss especially due to the calcium in the yogurt. Here is an abstract of that article:

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v29/n4/abs/0802880a.html

Thick luxurious Greek Yogurt has stormed the marketplace big time here. It is also, an average, of twice as expensive as the regular yogurt. It does taste good and rich and is thicker than regular yogurt. However, for those of us who make thickened yogurt (also called yogurt ‘cheese’) we already have access to the thick, rich tasty yogurt much like Greek Yogurt and it does NOT cost twice as much!

Yogurt can be flavored to suit so many uses. Here is the easy-peasy recipe to have the thick Greek-like yogurt. Also, you can make recipes that make healthy low-calorie yogurt into dips, dressings, and spreads.

Use regular store bought yogurt here!

Recipe for Thicker Greek-like Yogurt from Regular Grocery Store Yogurt

Buy a large container of plain low-fat yogurt at the store

Line a colander with cheesecloth or coffee filters

Put the colander over a bowl

Place the yogurt in the cheesecloth lined colander

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night

(The plastic wrap will keep any flavors in the refrigerator from permeating and flavoring the yogurt!)

The next day throw away the water in the bowl and put the yogurt in a container

Be sure to store the yogurt in the refrigerator


Now with this as our base we can make sweet or savory toppings, dips, dressings, and sauces at a fraction of the cost and calorie count!

Recipe for Yogurt Honey Spread

The first picture is about 2 T. of the thicker yogurt mixed with 1-2 teaspoons of local honey. It makes a great spread for breakfast at less of the calories of full-fat spreads with all the added health benefit of yogurt.

The yogurt has 10-12 calories per tablespoon. Butter has 101 calories per tablespoon. Cream cheese has 51 calories per tablespoon.

You will not miss the butter or the cream cheese with this!

HINT: Try substituting jams, jellies, and fresh fruit. You can also mix in a bit dehydrated vegetable flakes as found in the spice area of the store to make veggie spread. Add dehydrated onions to make onion spread. When using dehydrated items, be sure to let the mixture rest so that the dehydrated items can fully hydrate again. You can approximate nearly any cream cheese spread this way!

This is a satisfying breakfast!


Recipe for Yogurt Salad Dressing

Here is how to have the full flavor of a regular dressing at less than half the calories!

4 T. thickened yogurt (12 calories per tablespoon)

4 T. Green Goddess dressing or other dressing! (75 calories per tablespoon)

Mix

You now have 8 tablespoons of dressing at 43/44 calories per tablespoon rather than the 75 calories per tablespoon of the Green Goddess dressing.

This makes a full-flavor too!


Here are some of my favorite yogurt enhancing flavors

~Taco seasoning for tacos and other Mexican food toppings

~Chili powder for tacos and other Mexican foods toppings

~Italian seasoning for dips

~Ranch dressing mix for dips and salad dressing

~Almost any bottled salad dressing may be mixed with the thickened yogurt

~Garlic and onion powder

~Jams

~Honey

~Cinnamon and sugar

~Peanut butter (vegetable tray dip) Think celery sticks filled with peanut butter here!

Not pictured are the many fresh fruits that can be added to the thickened yogurt.

Not pictured is orange juice or other fruit juices that when blended in make great toppings for cakes.

So, you can have your dips, sauces, and dressings with full taste but not full calories count!


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