Cooking with yogurt!

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I started cooking with yogurt a few years ago.  It was an effort to boost nutrition and cut back on unhealthy fats.   Yogurt is loaded with healthy stuff - protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin b6 and b12 as well as the added bonus of beneficial bacteria such as L. acidophilus, S. Thermophilus, L. Bulgaricus, B. Lactis!  Yum - Bugs!! :-)

When buying yogurt for cooking, make sure to buy plain yogurt (not vanilla or other flavors) and also check the package to be sure it says somewhere that it contains live active yogurt cultures (that's the bacteria).

So... how do I cook with yogurt? 

I use yogurt in place of sour cream and mayonnaise in recipes.  Sometimes I only replace a portion of the sour cream or mayo with yogurt - especially if it's a recipe that needs the mayo or sour cream taste.  Like my Ultimate Grilled Cheese sandwich recipe - I replace only 1/2 of the mayo with yogurt because it needs of a bit the mayo taste.

I use plain yogurt when scrambling eggs for omelets, frittatas,and plain scrambled eggs.  I got this idea from a Paula Deen article I came across a few years ago.  She mentioned that she uses a dollop of sour cream in her scrambled eggs.  I use yogurt instead, and it's really delicious!  (Look at the bright yellow yolks of those farm eggs - yum!)

My sons and I make lots of smoothies.  We make them with fruit, plain yogurt, and milk.  That's all!  It's so easy and good for you.

We also eat lots of plain yogurt with fruit mixed in.  I freeze lots of strawberries when they are in season.  During the year, we thaw a bag and mix the thawed berries into the yogurt.  Same with blueberries, raspberries, and more.  Chopped bananas are great mixed into yogurt.  We sometimes call these creations "yogurt sundays", as opposed to ice cream sundays.

I use yogurt in place on sour cream in all my Mexican cooking as well - on top of nachos, tacos, enchiladas, and mixed with avocado for guacamole.

It's great to replace the sour cream and part of the mayo in your favorite dip recipes, too.

Try it, it's a great health boost and you may enjoy it!

Thanks for visiting the All-Natural Mama blog, home to Wishful Acres Organic Farm!