Homemade Greek Yogurt

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I really like greek yogurt.  It is a great way for me to incorporate non-meat protein into my diet.  It is also incredibly versatile and tasty and keeps me from eating a lot of otherwise super fatty creamy alternatives (like mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese).  What I don't love about greek yogurt is how much it costs.  I recently purchased some organic greek yogurt from Whole Foods for a whopping eight bucks.  That is two dollars a cup!

"Riiiiiiiidiculous!" I said to myself.  "I bet it wouldn't be that hard to make it myself."  This thought prompted me to do a web search into the process of making greek yogurt and guess what, I found out that it is actually incredibly easy and inexpensive to make.  So I headed on down to the market, bought a gallon of organic skim milk and got started.

Ingredients:
6-8 cups of organic skim milk (depending on the size of your yogurt maker)

Euro Cuisine yogurt maker
Don't forget to use the lid :)

1 T. of fresh plain yogurt with active cultures
cheesecloth

So here's what you do.....
Place the milk in a pyrex bowl and microwave on high for 16 minutes (stirring every 4 minutes) until the milk reaches a temperature of 175-200 degrees.  Then let the milk cool down to 110 degrees (about half an hour).  I use a thermometer that has an alert built in so it just yells at me when the yogurt has dropped down to the right temperature.  If any skin has formed on the top of the batch, make sure to skim it off at this time this will make sure that your final product is nice and creamy.  Whisk in the fresh plain yogurt and place the mixture into a yogurt maker for 8-12 hours.

While I highly recommend owning a yogurt maker, some people don't, so you can also put the yogurt in an oven at 100 degrees (covered) or just outside (also covered) if it is a hot day.  The main goal is to keep the yogurt at a steady temperature of about 100 degrees.  If your oven doesn't go down to a hundred degrees or it is the middle of the winter, you can use the technique on this blog.

The way I test to see if the yogurt is done is to take a scoop out with a spoon.  If it holds up on the spoon pretty good then it is done.  It will kind of have the consistency of flan.  You can let the yogurt ferment longer if you like it to be a little more sour.

When the yogurt is done, line a mesh strainer with a thick blanket of cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Then scoop the yogurt into the strainer and allow to drain for about 20-30 minutes depending on how thick you like your yogurt.

Once your yogurt has reached the desired consistency, scoop it back into the original bowl and whisk until smooth.  There you have it, greek yogurt at a fraction of the cost :)



Note: If you let the yogurt drain overnight, the next morning you will have yogurt cheese which you can use to replace cream cheese in just about any recipe.  Do I hear a low-fat cheesecake experiment coming on?

Double Note: Make sure to save the liquid (whey) that strains out.  It is full of wonderful nutrients and lots of protein and also has many other uses such as:

• Substitute for buttermilk

• Substitute for water or milk in baking and cooking (I am going to use this instead of water the next time I make multigrain bread)
• Stir it back into the yogurt to thin up the consistency and add tang
• Instead of protein powder, use yogurt whey to make protein shakes
• Boil it down to make ricotta (best if you are making whole milk yogurt)
• Use it to soak your beans or steel cut oats before cooking

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Spinach Omelet, You Say?

Lately, I have been getting a little sick of my typical breakfast food items.  Sometimes oatmeal just doesn't cut it for me.  So I had eggs and spinach in my refrigerator and I said to myself, "Self, you should tots (pronounced "totes" as in totally) make a spinach omelet for breakfast!"  So I did:

1 egg plus 2 egg whites beaten
1 big handful of fresh spinach
2 T. red onion, small dice
1/4 c. greek yogurt
salt and pepper

1 heat resistant rubber spatula

Heat a 6-inch non-stick pan on medium-high heat.  Spray in some cooking spray and sauté onion until translucent.  Rinse the spinach and place it in a microwave safe bowl.  Heat on high for 30 seconds, take it out of the microwave, and allow to cool.  Once the spinach is cool, squeeze out all the water.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and add eggs.  Using the tip of the spatula, pull in the sides of the omelet slightly and and tip the pan so that the runny part of the egg fills in the gap made by the spatula.  Work your This will make your omelet fluffy and will also help to cook faster.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Once the omelet is no longer runny on top, add the spinach and flip in half.  Cook on each side until the inside of the omelet is fully cooked.  About a minute before cooking is complete, spread the yogurt on top of the omelet to warm up a little bit.

And that's it.  Super tasty omelet action and only 170 calories, yes!!!!!

Why I Love Yogurt of the Greek Variety

I love the versatility of greek yogurt; plain nonfat yogurt too.  I use them to replace sour cream and mayonnaise a lot.  And I also love to eat them as intended :)  Here are three recipes that show great ways to use yogurt to replace fattier ingredients.  These are staples in my diet and I know you'll love them.

Baked Potatoes:
Russet potato clean and poked with a fork
Plain nonfat yogurt
Your favorite salsa verde

Place the baked potato in a microwave safe glass bowl with a couple teaspoons of water.  PLace a plate over the bowl and cook on the baked potato setting or for about 5-6 mins.

Top the potato with a couple tablespoons of yogurt and salsa verde, salt and pepper to taste.

This was my favorite meal in college and a great quick goto for dinner or lunch.  Depending on the size of the potato, this meal clocks in around 240 calories.  I don't recommend trying this out with sweet potatoes.  Sweet potatoes and yogurt are not friends as far as I can tell.

Chicken Salad Melt Open-Faced Sandwiches:
1x can of chicken or 1 chicken breast chopped into small pieces or tuna if that's your thing
1 T. dijon mustard
1/4 c. greek yogurt
1 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1 stalk of celery (chopped into small pieces)
Pepper to taste
4 slices of whole wheat bread (plain or toasted)

Mix chicken, mustard, yogurt, cheese, celery, and pepper in a bowl until well combined.  Spoon over slices of bread.  If you have a toaster oven, you can toast these on the highest setting until they get all melty.  I like them cold.  This recipe makes four open-faced sandwiches.

I made this for lunch today, soooo good.  It is a great way to use those packages of canned chicken you buy from Costco for food storage and only costs about 200 calories per sandwich :)  Eat them with your favorite soup or a salad and you have yourself a very fulfilling and super nummy meal.

Yogurt with Granola and Sugar-Free Jam:
1/2 c. Greek Yogurt
1/3 c. granola
1 T. sugar free jam

Use your favorite granola and sugar free jam.  We really like the mango-passion granola from Trader Joe's and pear jam.

The protein in the yogurt makes a great breakfast that will sustain you all the way to lunch for only 189 calories :)

Other Uses:
Replace sour cream with greek/plain yogurt in tacos
Use greek yogurt in mashed potatoes instead of butter and milk