Delicious Homemade Yogurt

Details: Homemade yogurt using yogurt with live cultures and milk. A very cost effective way to get pro-biotics into your diet.

Review:  I like yogurt! These days I just pass it by at the grocery store because it is so expensive. I happened upon a very easy, cost effective way of making yogurt at home, without all that fancy equipment.

What you need: An insulated cooler, glass jars, a thermometer (candy type), milk, plain yogurt with live cultures, pan, spoons.

For every quart of yogurt you make, you will need a quart of milk and 2 tablespoons of yogurt with live cultures.

Directions: Heat milk in a pan to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. I did this on medium heat to prevent milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.  While milk is cooling down to 115 degrees, place 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt with live cultures into each jar.

I used Greek yogurt for this, and whole milk. I wanted creamy yogurt.  I got what I wanted.

Once the milk has cooled down, pour a little into the jars. Stir with the yogurt. Then add remaining milk and stir completely again. Place the lids on the jars loosely. Place the jars in an insulated cooler, surrounded by towels. Wait 8-10 hours. I liked the results better after 10 hours. Refrigerate.

The yogurt turned out nice and thick, creamy and almost as good as the original starter that I used. This was the best yogurt I have ever made. My dh couldn't believe it tasted so good on his baked potato.  He actually thought it was sour cream.

If you want to sweeten your yogurt, you can add sugar to taste up to 3/4 cup per quart with 1 tsp. vanilla. Add this at the same time you do your yogurt starter. After the yogurt has cultured, then you can add your fruit toppings.

Pros: Best homemade yogurt ever. Easy to make, tastes delicious.

Cons: From start of heating up milk, to placing jars in the cooler took 1 hour. You could speed up the process by heating your milk at a higher temperature.  The second batch I made, I placed a lid over my pan, and the milk heated up in about 30 minutes on medium heat.

My Rating:  Thumbs UP!!!

The Greek's Favorite Yogurt ~ FAGE

Details:  FAGE yogurt (pronounced fa-yeh) is a very traditional Greek Yogurt.  Any true Greek Yogurt is plain yogurt, no fruit nor sweeteners added.  FAGE is Greece's most popular brand of yogurt.  It started being exported in 1998.  You can find FAGE in natural and health stores, as well as a few grocery stores across the US.  "When you eat FAGE Total, you’re part of the ancient Greek tradition of “good living.” Cook with it, and you’re bringing the healthy Mediterranean lifestyle into your diet."

Review:  I had never tried Greek yogurt before.  I was skeptical at trying it at all for a variety of reasons.  First and foremost was the price of Greek yogurt.  Plain and simple.  I'm frugal at heart, and since I've made my own  yogurt in the past, I couldn't see paying the price.  

I was fortunate enough to be able to try the FAGE yogurt free.  Good thing too, as I'm not sure I would want to dish out $4.00 for a 17 ounce container otherwise.  The yogurt is very smooth and creamy tasting.  I love sour cream, but this yogurt beats out the flavor of sour cream by far.  I was impressed by that.

In the meantime, I made a veggie dip with FAGE that was enjoyed by all, and a big surprise when I mentioned it was made with yogurt and not sour cream.  However, those in the group are like me, the cost of healthy eating is a bit steep.

FAGE has many delicious recipes to try on their website.  You can see those here. 

Overall, this #1 Greek yogurt is excellent in taste and texture.  If you are already eating Greek yogurt and haven't tried FAGE, then put this on your shopping list and give it a go.

Pros:  Once again, this is a very smooth and creamy yogurt that I would be willing to eat again.

Cons:  Very pricey, just like any Greek Yogurt.

My Rating:  Thumbs up on flavor and texture.  Thumbs down on price.  

Disclaimer:  (#GotItFree) I received a coupon to try FAGE yogurt free from BzzAgent to initiate a review.  My review and opinions are my own. Yours may differ from mine.

Diarrhea Tips

Everyone has issues with Diarrhea at some point in their lives, and usually its during the winter because of the cold weather where colds and the flu in who knows how many different strands is going rampant around your city, town, school, church and probably your home as well.

Tips I have learned over the years:

1. Acidophilus: is a natural product that you can get in capsule form.  I've seen it as a white powder.  I buy this at Target.  My pediatrician told me to get this for my 1 year old who had diarrhea for 6 weeks due to an allergy that we couldn't figure out.  It was the worst ever, blow outs from his diaper like a new born, stinky, burned skin, and so sore that half the time he wouldn't let me wipe with anything because he was in such pain.  As adults you can swallow this pill form, but for children just pull apart the capsule and dump the contents into any liquid except water.  Milk works best: at the time we put it in Almond milk, and have even done juice.  Directions on the bottle, but because this is natural the doctor said if its really bad you can use it more often.

2.  Eat Yogurt: which has Lactobacillus acidophilus which is friendly bacteria that aids in getting rid of diarrhea.  Any yogurt will work, but for quicker results and faster relief eat plain sugarless yogurt (Greek, Goat, and the Mountain Land brand of yogurt are all recommended by Naturalists).  You can add honey if you need a sweetener.

3. You can lose a lot of liquid in diarrhea, but you also lose electrolytes, minerals such as sodium and potassium that are critical in the running of your body. Here's how to replace what you're losing:

• Drink plenty of fluids. Consume two quarts (eight cups) of fluids a day, three quarts (12 cups) if you're running a fever. With the fever drink Gatorade to give you the eletrolytes, and to reduce the fever. Plain water lacks electrolytes, but it's a good, gentle-on-the-tummy option that can help you replace some of the fluid that you've lost. Other choices include weak tea with a little sugar, sports drinks such as Gatorade, flat soda pop (decaffeinated flavors such as ginger ale are best), and fruit juices other than apple and prune, which have a laxative effect.
• Buy an over-the-counter electrolyte replacement formula. Pedialyte, Rehydralyte, and Ricelyte are available without a prescription from your local drugstore. These formulas contain fluids and minerals in the proper proportion.

Whatever you choose to drink, keep it cool; it will be less irritating that way. Sip, don't guzzle; it will be easier on your insides if you take frequent sips of liquid instead of guzzling down a glass at a time.

4. Primadophilus Children: My Aunt bought this to help my 1 year old stabilize his stomach and bowel movements.  Its a powder with FOS: or bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.  This is for children ages 0-5 years of age.  The potency is 3 billion CFUs per teaspoon for the entire shelf life.  It also contains NutraFlora scFOS- the preferred probiotic food source.  Once serving is given daily until child is feeling better.  This mixes easily into any liquid, but I put it in my son's Almond milk when he first woke up in the morning because he can't have anything in his stomach before taking this.  And mornings were the only time this would work.

Other Tips: Chamomile & Peppermint tea sometimes help, but does help soothe the stomach whenever you are sick.  Potatoes, rice, carrots, tapioca, and other starchy foods are all good foods to eat when you have diarrhea.  Blueberries are another good natural remedy.

                                                                     My Rating