Homemade Greek Yogurt

Although this may be an old trick for many bloggers, making Greek yogurt at home might just be the opening of Pandora’s box for a few.

Greek yogurt is thicker, creamier and richer than regular yogurt. Depending on how long the yogurt is strained, Greek yogurt can have a consistency anywhere between yogurt and cheese.

I promise there’s Greek yogurt somewhere under there!

What is Greek Yogurt?

Simply regular yogurt which has had the whey strained off.

High in protein and calcium and much more healthy than artificially sweetened “fruit” yogurt, Greek yogurt is a natural choice for healthy eating.

Unfortunately, the benefits of Greek yogurt come at a high cost on the grocery store shelves.

Want all the goodness at a lower cost?

Make it yourself.

So, let’s get started on making your own homemade Greek yogurt.

You will need:

• a large tub of plain, unsweetened yogurt, 1.5% fat
• paper towel
• bowl
• fine mesh strainer
• spatula

Method:

1. Run a bit of water over your strainer and place 3 paper towels inside. The moisture helps the paper towels stick so it’s easier to scoop the yogurt in.
2. Pour the yogurt over the paper towel into the strainer.
3. Wait anywhere between 1-6 hours, depending on how thick you want your yogurt. I usually let it drip for 1-2 hours.
4. Once the yogurt has reached the desired consistency, spoon it back into the cleaned yogurt container.
5. Discard the liquid and paper towels.

Getting started.

Create a well.

Pour in the yogurt.

The whey will begin to drip off immediately.

Let the yogurt sit and drip.

Then spoon into your cleaned yogurt container.

The volume will reduce by about half. Don’t worry, it’s worth it!

Throw out the liquid whey.

That’s it! Now you’re ready to enjoy!

To enjoy your new yogurt, top with granola, fruit, nuts,  nut butter or any combination there of. Or, be like the Greeks and enjoy it simply with honey and walnuts. Be creative, the possibilities are endless!

To see some of the ways I enjoy Greek yogurt, click here, or here, or here.

Let me know if you give it a try!

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Vegan Lentil Pasta

Don’t worry Dad, I’ve not converted to ‘veganism.’ Lately, I have enjoyed the extra challenges and rewards of cooking more vegan food. I love some of my new-found foods and won’t be trading them in for their vegetarian counterparts.

Breakfast was not vegan. It was rich, creamy, and delicious though!

Greek yogurt topped with carrot cake granola, half a banana and almond butter. The remaining banana half spread with more almond butter and a coffee with milk.

Morning snack consisted of an Earl Gray tea and a homemade Banana Apricot Oatmeal Cookie.

Lunch was leftover vegan mac and cheese with peas.

I wouldn’t recommend this one for leftovers. It just wasn’t as creamy the second time around.

Class fruit snack was delicious strawberries picked just down the road from us.

After school I tutored, bought groceries, made homemade Greek yogurt, then started on dinner- spaghetti with vegan vegetable lentil sauce.

Spaghetti with Vegan Vegetable Lentil Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups green lentils (I used up the remains of my green and red lentils)
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. vegetable bouillon
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1/3 red pepper, chopped
• 4 mushrooms, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jar cheap prepared tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• whole wheat noodles

Method

1. Rinse the lentils and pick out any stones or debris.
2. Add the lentils and water to a large pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
3. Add in the vegetables and spices.
4. Cook, uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables and lentils are tender.
5. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and tomato paste, stir well.
6. Heat the sauce through and serve over prepared noodles.
7. Top with vegan parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 servings.

With this batch, I made 1 serving for dinner, 2 for lunches, and 3 servings frozen for future use… maybe lasagna?

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Method

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium heat until they begin to golden. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Add the toasted sesame seeds and nutritional yeast to a blender.
3. Blend for 30 seconds.
4. Sprinkle over anything and everything!

Dishes are done, cat’s have been played with and all things here are peaceful and quiet. It’s time for bed. Have a nice day!

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Pasta with Asparagus Peas and Herbs

Happy Saturday!

After a long and exhausting week, I spent last night cooking and relaxing with Sebastian. Let’s go back in time to the highlights of yesterday!

Breakfast

Celery ends, carrots, apples and ginger went into the juicer…..

and this beautiful juice came out!

I also ate a slice of bread toasted and topped with almond butter, 1/2 banana and cinnamon.

Lunch

When it comes to my colleagues, I keep my secret-blogger-life just that… a secret. Only two colleagues know about it, and those two happen to also be people I call friends. Every day, I prepare my lunch in the empty school kitchen, take my plate back to my classroom to snap a photo, then meet up with the rest in the staff room. No one notices my moment of absence. Yesterday, after just returning from the mini-photo shoot, the Year 5 teacher took one look at my lunch and said how it “looked good enough to teach with.” He mentioned that his class is currently learning about nutrition and healthy eating. He then nervously asked if I wouldn’t mind if he could take a photo of my plate before I began eating. He was VERY UNCOMFORTABLE and mentioned how he knew that it was a strange request and all. I wanted to say “Don’t worry, I’ll just e-mail you the photo I took for my blog.” I didn’t though. I let him leave his own lunch, walk to his classroom, get his camera, come back, and take a photo.

I return to my internal debate: why do I feel like I must keep this part of me a secret? Any who, here’s the salad.

Lettuce, carrots, cucumber, celery, orange, strawberries, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and balsamic glaze.

Class Fruit Snack

Apples, pears, and bananas- oh my!

After school, I went to the Big Edeka with the Aussies. Going to the big grocery store is a big deal for me! The variety rivals a small grocery store in the US. Unfortunately, you need a car to get there so I wait it out until the Aussies go then I stock up on naan bread, soy products, and hard to find produce. While shopping, I picked up a bag of beets on sale for 99 cents. I’ve been wanting to try beets in my juice!

We had quite a bit of fruit left over after class fruit snack today, so I brought the remains home and added then to my beet juice. I love how having a juicer allows me to produce less waste.

The frog prince concurs- beautiful and tasty!

Dinner

Sebastian lost a bet which required him to make dinner last night. I helped out a little, but this delicious dish was of his doing!

Pretend Paneer Masala

Made with tofu rather than paneer- hence the pretend.

Ingredients

• 200 grams firm tofu – pressed to drain
• 2 large onions (pureed, I use a food processor)
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 3 large ripe tomatoes (blanch , de-skin and puree)
• 3 tbsps cashew nut paste or cashew butter
• ½ tsp coriander pwd
• pinch of haldi (turmeric pwd)
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsps butter
• 1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt

Directions

1. Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a large pan over medium heat, add the pureed onion and sauté until brown.
2. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes. Add chilli pwd and combine, followed by the cashew paste, stirring well.
3. Add tomato puree, bay leaves, coriander pwd, haldi, garam masala and salt. Stir and let it simmer for 4-5 mts.
4. Cut the tofu into smallish cubes and add to the mixture, simmer for 4-5 minutes.
5. The mixture will become a bit thick and dry, add a small cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until you get the desired curry consistency.
6. Remove from heat, stir in remaining butter and yogurt.
7. Let the curry sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis, naan , or simple steamed rice.

Dinner was awesome. I ate way too much and could barely move. Luckily, I had no where to go but to bed!

After sleeping for 10 hours (yikes, I must have been exhausted!) I woke up this morning with a bit of a headache. Too much sleep, perhaps? The intro and kick off to the new Body Balance class was happening at 1 so I got myself up and moving in order to make it to the gym on time.

Breakfast

Greek yogurt topped with 1/2 banana, strawberries, berry granola, and almond butter.

I have mixed feelings about the new Body Balance set. The moves are challenging at parts, but too easy at other times. I’m also not to excited about the music, hopefully it will grow on me. Today was a beautiful day in Germany! The sky was blue without a cloud of volcanic ash in the sky! Before class, I rode the stationary bike and watched the happy and bustling pedestrian street below. Everyone was out today enjoying the beautiful weather. There is a clown school in town for children. Today, the clowns were out making balloon animals, doing tricks, kids were on unicycles and stilts, it was a wonderful sight to be seen!

After the gym, Sebastian met me for a trip into town. We were out of ginger garlic paste so needed to visit the Asian grocery store. We were both hungry so went to our favorite bagel store for a quick sandwich. Like I said, everyone was out today!

Because it was such a lovely day, we decided to take a long walk along the Rhine.

It was great walking along and just chatting about life.

Sebastian was such a gentleman, carrying my huge gym bag in the hot sun for the two-hour walk.

This is the kind of day that makes me so thankful for the blessing to be happy right where I am in my life.

Today also marked the first flea market of the season! We walked through the park as the vendors were beginning to take down their stands. Isn’t this the most beautiful flea market setting?

Dinner

The beautiful spring weather inspired a fresh spring dinner!

Pasta with Asparagus, Peas and Herbs

Ingredients

• 8 stems asparagus
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 200 grams whole wheat pasta
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
• 20 basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Boil a large pot of salted water and add the pasta, cooking according to package directions. Meanwhile, break off the woody ends of the asparagus, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 2 inch lengths.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the red onion, peas and asparagus. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are bright green and have softened.
3. A few minutes before the pasta is ready, add the creme fraiche to the vegetables, raise the heat and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Drain the pasta and return to the saucepan. Pour over the vegetable sauce and stir in the herbs and zest. Serve immediately, sprinkled with Parmesan, if you wish.

As if a beautiful day weren’t enough, when I went onto the balcony to take my dinner photo, this is the sight I was met by. God is good.

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