Custom Made Yogurt Flavors

So if you're a yogurt lover, you know there are literally hundreds of kinds of yogurt and flavors to choose from. You can have Greek or regular; whole fat, cream on top; lowfat or nonfat yogurt. There is artificially sweetened, naturally sweetened and sweetened with a ton of sugar.

But...... can you find the kind of yogurt you want in the flavor you want? For example, you want lowfat and banana, but the only one you can find has artificial sweetener and you don't care for artificial sweetener. How about honey almond flavor? -- whoops, to my knowledge no one makes honey almond in any yogurt.

I am going to kick start your imagination to get you started on getting whatever kind of yogurt you want in your choice of flavors.

....or In The Beginning -- Find your basic plain yogurt

We are not going to be making our own yogurt

We are going to start with plain unflavored yogurt.

If you buy Plain yogurt in the 32 oz size. It's a substantial savings over buying smaller sizes. And.... once you get a handle on doing this, you can adjust the quantities for yourself. You are not limited to the 6 or 8 ounces in a container, nor do you have to feel compelled to always have that much.

Now, decide what type of yogurt you like. Do you prefer the thickness of a Greek yogurt or the somewhat thinner consistency of regular yogurt?

You might even want to narrow it down to brand. If you have been happy with the brand you have been using then most likely you will want to keep with it. I find that Chobani Greek yogurt has a very mild flavor as does Oikos Greek yogurt, at the other end of the spectrum, Dannon has a more tangy flavor. The most tangy are the Icelandic yogurts such as Siggi's. It's now your choice. There are dozens of brands in between.

Most recently there are non-dairy yogurts. Some are made from cashew milk, almond or oat milk. I find these a lot more watery than the other yogurts.

Do you care about fat content? Once you have your brand, decide if you want Nonfat, Lowfat or Whole yogurt.

Think about sweetener choices. You don't necessarily have to be locked in to one type, but maybe you want to be. Do you want sugar free yogurt? Are you a dieter who wants a zero calorie artificial sweetner? A lot of people don't like the taste of one but prefer another. You can pick from Splenda, Nutrasweet or Sweet and Low.

I prefer zero calorie stevia sold under various names, including Truvia. It is a natural zero calorie sweetener made from an herb.

If you are not looking for zero calories you may try regular sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave syrup.

As everyone's taste is different, I am not going to give you exact recipes. In most cases, I will lead you there and let you loose to make it your way.

No One MakesThis Yogurt Flavor Commercially

Honey Almond Yogurt

8 oz Plain Yogurt

1 Tbs Almond Butter

1 Tbs Honey

Also great sweetened with Maple Syrup. If you want to make it diet, choose a diet sweetener. If you want it sweeter add more of whatever sweetener you choose.

Hint: Almond butter comes separated with oil on top and solids on bottom. In order to make the almond butter spreadable the two need to be mixed together. However, if you are going to use the almond butter to mix with yogurt, you may pour the oil off and save the calories and fat. Save the oil in a container in the refrigerator and rub it into your fingernails once a day to make them less apt to split.

Or......There's Almond and Then There's Almond

8 oz Plain yogurt

1 Teaspoon Almond Extract

My sweetener suggestion: Not honey; not maple syrup; not agave. You want a smooth close to real sugar flavor to make it like a Jordan Almond. I recommend real cane sugar, confectioners sugar (great taste!), stevia or artificial sweetener.

Bring Back Your Childhood

8 oz Plain Yogurt

1 Tbs Peanut Butter

1 Tbs Honey

Or, use sweetener of your choice.

Breakfast Treat: Add uncooked oats, granola or your favorite dry cereal

Or.......Orange You Glad You Tried This

Orange

6 oz Plain Yogurt

2 Heaping Tbls of Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

Wait about 30 second for the frozen concentrate to thaw a little and mix. What could be healthier than this? Two simple natural ingredients.

I store the frozen concentrate by covering the open end with aluminum foil and then turning it upside down on that end.

Orange Supreme

Same as above

Add 1 Tbs honey

You won't believe how good this tastes.

This may be the best of all --

I just discovered this one and it is now my favorite. Super rich flavor.

6 oz plain yogurt

1 Heaping tablespoon sunflower butter

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

Mix all ingredients.

No Special Equipment Needed

My significant other is Armenian. His parents were immigrants to this country in the early 1900s. His mom, used to make yogurt by culturing it in a crockery bowl under their stove. It was warm under the stove which was just the right temperature for making yogurt. She would save a little from each batch to use as the yogurt culture for the next batch.

His mother would use it to make an Armenian soup called Tanabour

Spice Up Your Life

8 oz Plain Yogurt

1 teas Cinnamon

Sweeten to taste

This is one that I like sweetened with real granulated white sugar. It brings back memories of cinnamon toast. Or, try Xylitol, a non glycemic sweetener found in health stores. The granules of Xylitol kind of pop in your mouth. It is equally good with maple syrup, honey or sweetener of your choice.

Breakfast? Add your favorite cereal to this.

Matcha is finely powdered green tea

Matcha is so healthful. Mix it with yogurt and you have antioxidents and probiotics. What a combo.

1 teaspoon matcha

6 oz plain yogurt

1 packet Stevia

Mix all ingredients. I suggest sugar or artificial sweetener with this. To me, honey doesn't taste right.

A word of caution here, matcha contains caffeine. Some people say that it doesn't bother them when it's in matcha, but I find it does affect me. I don't eat this as a late night snack.

Great Yogurt for Breakfast Too!

Banana Yogurt

4 oz Plain Yogurt

1 small banana or 1/2 a large banana (soft)

Mash banana and yogurt together. If you desire a sweeter yogurt add the sweetener of your choice.

Variation: A dash of cinnamon

Breakfast idea: Add uncooked oatmeal or granola

For all you chocoholics!

Chocolate Yogurt

(My Choice is Bitter Chocolate)

8 oz Plain Yogurt

1 Tbs Unsweeted Cocoa Powder

1 Envelope Stevia sweetner

This is very bitter. Your choice might be to use some sweeted hot cocoa mix or use extra sweetener.

(See also the recipe below for adding pudding to yogurt. You could add chocolate pudding)

Variation: Add 1 drop of peppermint extract - to make a mint chocolate

For Syrup Lovers

8oz Plain Yogurt

1 teas Maple Extract

1 Tbs Maple Syrup

I found that adding just maple syrup didn't give the yogurt enough of a maple flavor. As most of the maple flavor comes from the extract, you can use the sweetener of your choice instead of the maple syrup.

Variation: Add some chopped walnuts (yum!

If you are not afraid of sugar or artificial sweetener .........

These are soooo good you can serve them as dessert.

This opens up a whole world of flavors -- it's simple add Jello or Pudding powder straight from the package, not prepared.

To flavor yogurt with Jello:

8 oz Plain Yogurt

2 Tbs Jello powder (any flavor you like)

As always you may modify the recipe. If you want a heartier flavor add a little more powder. Sweeter? add a little more sweetener.

Keep in mind, this doesn't have to be the only addition. Shown in the photo is yogurt flavored with Jello Black Cherry. If you want to knock it out of the park, add 3 drops of almond extract. Somehow, almond pumps up the flavor of cherry.

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To Flavor Yogurt with Pudding:

8 oz of Plain Yogurt

3 TBS pudding powder

Pudding flavors are milder than Jello flavors. I suggest for pudding you start with 3 Tablespoons. You can get some really great flavors -- how about using pudding to make your chocolate flavor or make pistachio and top it with chopped pistachio. Try strawberry with real strawberries cut into it or lemon with blueberries.

Non- alcoholic

6 oz Plain Yogurt

2 Tbs Pelican Bay Mojito Mix (Powder)

Sprig of Mint to garnish (optional)

Mix 2 Tbs of Mojito mix with 2 Tbs yogurt until smooth and the granules disappear. Add in the rest of the yogurt and stir until blended.

I used Flamingo Bay brand, but you could use any powdered cocktail mix.

My favorite is a toss up betweeen matcha and sunflower.