DSC00890I did it!!! I made yogurt! I had homemade yogurt, smoothie and granola for breakfast most mornings last week. Some mornings I just had the granola and yogurt and I did not get hungry until lunch time. On the mornings I just had a smoothie I was looking for a snack before lunch. All the kids enjoyed this breakfast some mornings too and without complaints!!! The baby loves the smoothies. I tried making both smoothies and yogurt last year but wasn’t happy with the taste. I used the exact same recipes this time and relished the flavors.

The reason I could not enjoy these foods last year was due to my “sugar addiction”. All of last year I gradually reduced my intake of sugar…and it was hard, really hard. I would look at my husband’s Dr Peppers  and want to cry. Now, it isn’t so bad but it took about six months to quit craving sweets. After a while I noticed that I could taste the natural sweetness in fruits, vegetables and plain yogurt. I remember being stunned at the goodness of plain yogurt. That moment was the beginning of my new desire to learn to eat foods in a more natural way. I try to make as much as possible homemade these days.

Smoothie

1/2 frozen banana, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup frozen pineapples, 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I use Fage Greek) and 1/2 cup plain almond milk. Blend together and enjoy! Sometimes I add other fruits and I do not add the yogurt if I am having something else with the smoothie. Samuel loves smoothies and will drink it all if I leave the table for a moment.

Homemade Yogurt

There really are several good tutorials on the internet for making homemade yogurt. Here are a few I like: Kitchen Stewardship and Food In Jars.  I have a yogurt maker already because I felt so guilty constantly throwing those little plastic cups away. But no matter how hard I tried I could not make mine taste as good as the store-bought yogurt. It was never sweet enough. However, now that I am able to enjoy the natural sweetness in foods I am able to enjoy homemade yogurt and say goodbye to all the little plastic containers. Yeah!

My kids are not as fond of plain yogurt: Honey Vanilla Yogurt

Bring 4&1/2 cups whole milk to 180 degrees. (I use a candy thermometer). Remove the pot from heat and allow to cool to 110 degrees. While it is cooling I whisk in 1/3 cup honey and 1 teaspoon on vanilla extract. Once the milk has cooled I mix 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (I use Fage Greek) with one cup of the cooled milk. Whisk these together and then pour into the pot of milk and whisk again until slightly foamy. I then pour this into my little jars and put in the yogurt maker for about five hours.

For chocolate yogurt whisk 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa and 3 tablespoons sugar to the milk as it cools.

For coffee yogurt whisk 2 teaspoons instant coffee powder and 3 tablespoons sugar into the milk as it cools.

Honestly, it is harder to explain how to make yogurt than it is to just make it.

Linking up with Wellness Wednesday.