I’ve kind of given up on being a mostly-full-time vegan. As I started paying attention to how much protein I should be getting in order to support my weightlifting, I started realizing that it was just too difficult for me to do it with only plant sources unless I consumed far more soy protein powder than my intestines would really like me to consume. It’s not impossible, mind you, but it requires a level of attention to detail and planning that I just can’t really handle while juggling all the stuff I’m juggling.
I began casting around for protein sources that didn’t cost an arm and a leg and were tasty and easy to prepare. Which led me to yogurt. Greek yogurt, and specifically nonfat Greek yogurt. I had bought some full-fat Fage yogurt for dessert (with honey and almonds) when some friends came over, and by damn, it was good. But it had a lot of fat, so I didn’t eat all that much of it. Then when I went to pick up some more, I started reading labels.
And — holy hell! — I discovered that the nonfat version has 22 grams of protein per cup. And only 120 calories. So a pint has 44 grams of protein. Which is almost a third of what I should be taking in per day.
I snatched up several quart containers. Highest price I found was $10 at a gourmet market; lowest was $6.69 at Fairway. Since blueberries are in season, I’ve been having the yogurt for breakfast with some honey and vast quantities of blueberries (you eat vast quantities when you buy two-pound containers and have no more room in the freezer for more).
Fabulous! Delicious! Nutritious! But still a little pricey, and the containers were piling up. They don’t have a top that makes them reusable for storage, so they had to be recycled. This was becoming an issue, since I’m trying to cut down on my waste.
Then I saw this post over at Hullabaloo, and knew it was time to start making my own yogurt. I scaled up since I eat so much of the stuff (I used a gallon and a half of milk rather than one quart), but it worked! I have yogurt. And it was dead easy, even if I don’t have a microwave and it took over two hours for the milk to boil, and had to heat the oven up again because I had so much that it didn’t set within a few hours. It’s chilling now, and I’ll start straining the first batch with a strainer lined with coffee filters (or a cheesecloth if I can find mine) once it’s cooled. I’d like to have a sense of how much milk is required to make a quart of strained Greek-style yogurt.
Hilariously, I also saw that post and have been scoping out yogurt machines. (Not that I wasn’t going to try it on my own, but these things have a way of not working out for me).
It wasn’t the fat in store-bought yogurt that started bothering me, but the sugar!
Yeah, they load the flavored stuff with sugar. Or HFCS.
Mine turned out well! I strained it, and it reduced about half, but the resulting product was a little *too* thick, so I’m going to dial it back a little. Need cheesecloth, though.
Give this method a try before you buy anything, though. It’s really, really easy.
I eat yogurt almost every day for breakfast. I put in blueberries (or some other berry), walnuts, a little sugar (I buy the plain unsweetened kind) and mix it all up. It’s very good.
Oh, I do plan to try it out. Good tip on the straining. I was just taken with the idea of flavoring it with some of my high-end (from Cost Plus) jams instead of the boring overly sweet stuff I usually get.
Also, I’ve been to the Netherlands. What passes for yogurt here would horrify them. They have the best dairy products in the world and it’s really hard to put up with our crap after trying theirs.
Mmm. I LOVE Greek Yogurt (Fage, 2% with Cherries or Honey, especially). You are ambitious to make your own. I take mine with me and have it as a mid-morning snack at work. It’s a little dollop of heaven.
Yum.
What kind of starter do you use? Are you getting the maximum beneficial bacteria for your buck?
I’m always partial to the yogurts containing L. Bulgaricus and/or Acidophilus.
Also have you tried making Ayran? (Drinking yogurt (THE BEST drink on a summer’s day, with a pinch of salt and / or mint.) My soul and perhaps my dehydrated body has been saved on a number of occasions by this drink.
Also Also: Tarator- Bulgarian cold yogurt & Cucumber soup. I like it best when you cube the cukes and add smashed walnuts and garlic. Endless variations throughout the Mediterranean, Balkans, Caususes, Near East & Middle East, all the way to the Subcontinent and beyond!
Yay Yogurt! And go you for experimenting with it in your kitchen.
You can use yogurt to substitute for sour cream in one of my favorite dishes: mizeria, which is a Polish dish of cucumbers in sour cream, with sugar, salt, dill, and vinegar. Yum.