Sunday, January 23, 2011

5 Things to do with Yogurt

I'm sort of a yogurt fanatic. I can't get enough of it, especially the Greek kind. All those little cups can get expensive though (not to mention the ecological side effects), so I've come up with a few ways to make the big plain (or vanilla) containers a little more fun.

1. Add in jam! Exotic jam!
I have a weakness for collecting odd little jars of the stuff. Ginger spread? Apple cinnamon? Quince? Drop in a spoonful, swirl it around, and it's usually delicious. After all, that fruit-on-the-bottom kind isn't really that far removed from jam, is it?

2. Add spices.
Not a fan of putting in extra sugar? No worries. Try a little bit of cinnamon, or cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice. If you've got the plain sort of yogurt, try going savory. A little kick of cayenne and cumin, and you've got a whole different sort of treat. (Or dill! Or black pepper! Or...we could keep going. Experiment!)

3. Onion dip.
If I have one weakness (ha ha, only one!), it's onion dip. But holy cow, is that stuff ever bad for you. Try making it with lowfat or non fat plain Greek yogurt instead. It's still tangy and awesome, but a bit less likely to kill you. Of course, there's still the issue of chips. I guess you could always use raw veggies instead (ha! ha ha ha!), but let's not go nuts.

4. Oh, and speaking of nuts...
Yogurt + Peanut/Almond butter = delicious.
It's a freaking protein powerhouse. You will be UNSTOPPABLE!!

5. Yogurt face mask.
Okay, so we've run out of food ideas. A yogurt face mask is a traditional way to soothe dry skin and acne. It's antibacterial properties make it a great cleanser for troubled skin, and the lactic acid soothes irritation and softens skin.
To use it, wash your face like normal. Pat dry, and then apply yogurt to your face. Leave it on for 15 minutes, and then wash off with warm water.
Be sure to use plain, silly. And organic if you can - there tend to be more live active cultures in the stuff.

Your turn. How do you like your yogurt? Assuming, of course, that you like yogurt in the first place.

3 comments:

Juli said...

I usually eat my organic, nonfat yogurt plain. It's so good I swear you can taste the grass the cows cavorted on. My three pugs get a tablespoon of (a less expensive) nonfat yogurt daily. It keeps their tummies happy. And every day I laugh when my puppy finishes what's in his bowl and looks up at me expectantly, with yogurt smeared from his chin up to his eyebrows. Hysterical!

Dana said...

I'm a big fan of adding spices to yogourt, specifically cumin and mild curry powder to plain yogourt and using it as a dip for french fries, or better yet, carrot or sweet potato fries.
In a restaurant the curry dip is all mayonaise but switch to yogourt and it's better for you and, I think, actually tastes better.

Claire said...

Oh my gosh, that's brilliant! I love the idea of a curry/yogurt dip for fries.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

Let Feedburner tell you when Absolutely Small updates