love of local in Utah
Raising Kids on Real Food–Yogurt
Most kids love yogurt & most ADULTS love yogurt. Yogurt is perfect for snack time, breakfast and even dessert. While growing up, yogurt was seriously as exciting as ice cream. Boy, did we love that stuff! My girls can’t get enough of it either, which is fantastic! Yogurt helps your immunity, is an excellent source of protein, is rich in calcium, helps your body absorb other nutrients and much much more. Yogurt is good, so eat up (but AFTER you take a look at the kind you are buying on the back of the container)!
What to look for on the back of your Yogurt Container (recommendations provided by AskDrSears.com)
| Yummy Yogurt | Yucky Yogurt |
| Calories: 90 Calories from fat: 0 Total Carbs: 9 grams Sugars: 9 grams Protein: 22 grams No added fillers, sweeteners, or colorings. |
Calories: 130-200 Calories from fat: 0 Total Carbs: 24-40 grams Sugars: 17-32 grams Protein: 7 grams Fillers: high fructose corn syrup, colorings and other fillers |
What I want you to try is to MAKE or BUY PLAIN yogurt based on the facts above and Mix In some really great stuff for you and your kiddos. Some good ‘ole REAL food. Why? Because plain yogurt contains around one-half of the calories of the same amount of fruit-added yogurt, has almost twice the amount of proteins, fewer fillers, more calcium and NO added sugar.
My personal favorites? Sonyfield Farms or Mountain High.
Yes, these cost a bit more because they are organic, all natural and much higher quality. So did you know you can make the yogurt in the container stretch…I mean really s-t-r-e-c-h it and use it to make Homemade Yogurt?
Yes, homemade. And don’t let that scare you. It’s fun, it’s easy and it makes things a whole lot cheaper. Plus, it shows your kiddos how yogurt is made!
Supplies:
2 cups of Whole Milk
2-3 Tablespoons of Nonfat Dried Milk
2-3 Tablespoons of Plain Yogurt (that says live cultures on the package)
Whisk
Candy Thermometer
Large Bowl with Lid
Towels
Directions:
1. Everything needs to be very clean when making yogurt. Place the whisk, tablespoon, etc. in the boiling water to clean very well. Then dry.
2. Pour the milk into the pan and whisk in the milk powder. Place the pan on the stove on medium heat and clip in candy thermometer. BE CAREFUL! You only need the mixture to get to 114 degrees Fahrenheit and that happens FAST.
3. When it does, take the saucepan off the stove and whisk in the yogurt till it blends.
4. Put the lid on the pan and wrap up the pan with some towels. Keep it somewhere pretty warm, like in your oven overnight. I even had my oven preheated to 170 degrees, then turned it off and put in the pan so it would stay a bit warm all night (since it is still freezing here in Utah).
5. Check the yogurt after 6-8 hours. If it is still too runny, give it a couple more hours. Mine did take about 12 hours, but everyone’s will be different. It if is thick enough for you, put it in a nice container and store it in the fridge! It will expire when the milk and yogurt you used expires.
Now we need to spruce up that plain yogurt! Here are some ideas that you can do, depending on your budget:
~Fresh berries
~Frozen berries that you thaw out ahead of time
~Cut up bananas
~Honey
~Granola
~Nuts
~Raisins
~Jam
Just be careful that your mix-ins don’t take away from your work of providing your kiddos with a healthy breakfast/snack/desserts.
This is my girl’s FAVORITE breakfast and they feel so special that they get to choose what they “make” their yogurt into with the mix-ins.
Yummy, Easy, Cheap, Fresh and REAL Food for your Family!
