Fluffy Chocolate Yogurt with Chocolate Granola

I’m always on the lookout for healthy-yet-yummy snacks or desserts for us.  I don’t usually buy packaged items at the grocery store, but whenever we pass the Jell-O section at the grocery store Josiah says “jelly! jelly!” (he can’t seem to get the “o” on the end).  I sometimes let them pick one of the sugar-free varieties, and last week we picked one out and I got some whipping cream to make fresh whipped cream (though I almost got lazy and bought Cool Whip). 

We had some leftover whipped cream after using up the Jell-O and then I remembered a recipe for Chocolate Delight Yogurt that I had pinned a while ago while on the lookout for yogurt ideas.  It’s just one recipe among a slew of other yummy yogurt concoctions like Red Grapes with Nut Butter Yogurt Dip, Banana Nut Butter Honey Yogurt, Banana Split Yogurt and Mint Chocolate Chip Yogurt. 

So I mixed some homemade yogurt with homemade chocolate syrup then folded in the leftover whipped cream (in a 1:1 ratio with the yogurt – probably a cup or so of each).  The night before I made a batch of chocolate granola (using the greater amount of oats and less sweetener), which I sprinkled on top of the yogurt – soooo goooo!  The kiddos and I gobbed it all up. 

*See my Snacks and Dessert Pinterest boards for more inspiration.   

Homemade Yogurt

I never really liked plain yogurt, opting instead for yummy store-bought varieties like black cherry, strawberry banana, coffee, caramel, key lime pie, anything that sounded yummy and un-yogurty.  When I  had Gwendolyn, I knew I wanted to make homemade baby food, and got excited when I discovered you can actually make your own yogurt! 

Of course there are many resources out there on the world wide web, but the few recipes I  bookmarked mentioned sterilizing your equipment, heating the milk to a certain temperature (making sure it doesn’t burn in the process), cooling it to a certain temperature, adding your starter, and then maintaining a specific temperature in order to incubate the active cultures.  Needless to say, I wasn’t too thrilled with all these steps – but decided to undergo them nonetheless.  Having to babysit the yogurt and add more hot water so it maintained the optimum temperature was my undoing, and I finally decided to purchase a yogurt maker.

Following the steps that came with the yogurt maker was a no-brainer, and the little glass jars provided the perfect portions, especially for feeding the little ones.  I still bought my own flavored yogurt. 

When making some healthy changes last year, I decided to eliminate milk and milk products from my family’s diet (except for cheese, of course, which is its own essential food group).  Each step along the way has been a learning process, and when I learned about the benefits of cultured dairy products – specifically from reading Nourishing Traditions –  I slowly started adding some of these items back in.  We still don’t drink plain milk or use it in recipes, opting instead of almond or coconut milk, but I buy whole milk for making yogurt (and buttermilk!). 

Rachel over at Clean. recently posted a recipe for homemade yogurt, and I implemented her suggestion for using a small amount of starter (either from a store-bought carton or some left over from a previous batch) for the best results.  I always added a carton of yogurt, and was pleasantly surprised when the smaller amount yielded a better yogurt.

As much as I enjoy the ease of making yogurt in my yogurt maker, I’m limited by the amount I get – especially since one of the glass containers broke and I haven’t bought any replacements.  Now that both the kiddos and I often have yogurt for breakfast, use it in smoothies and baked goods, I go through yogurt much more quickly these days.  I was really excited when I came across another recipe for yogurt, and in discussing the directions with the author and some of her readers, learned that maintaining a temperature isn’t key to keeping the cultures alive.  I was all set to get out my canning jars and try a batch, when someone mentioned that her favorite way of making yogurt was in her crock pot.  Yogurt in a crock pot?  I have a crock pot!       

I already had a half gallon of milk and some yogurt in the fridge to use for a starter, so I decided to whip up my first batch of crock pot yogurt.  I was a bit nervous because I started it earlier in the day, which meant it sat on the counter for half a day and overnight… but in the morning when I removed the towel wrapped around the crock pot, opened the lid and peeked inside… it was filled with yogurt! 

I filled a couple containers, and strained the remainder to ake Greek yogurt/cream cheese.  

When you strain yogurt, the liquid that comes out is called whey.  I’ve used it in pancakes and baked goods for part of the liquid, for soaking beans and grains, but I’ve learned there are lots of different uses for this precious liquid which is packed with vitamins and minerals.  I would love to try making Ricotta cheese.   Don’t throw it out!  Just the other day I used some of it in the cooking water for pasta and again for cooking rice.       

Our favorite way of eating yogurt for breakfast is topped with frozen blueberries, ground flaxseed, walnuts, and honey.  And let’s not forget smoothies!  This morning, Gwendolyn comes out of her room and says, “My tummy’s sick because it’s hungry.  I want blueberries in my smoothie and blueberry pancakes and blueberries in yogurt.”  I reply, “So you want blueberries?”

I’ve got another batch of crock pot yogurt brewing right now.

In the Kitchen, Out & About

Though I’m eating probably as healthy as I ever have these days, I realize there is always room for improvement.  I’ve lost the baby weight I gained with the kiddos, but now I’m just hovering.  Stagnant.  I have no desire to add an exercise routine other than getting out and about when the weather is nice.  When I stop and think about it, I realize I get a lot of exercise just going up and downstairs, vacuuming, lifting Josiah, carrying bags and baby, bending over to clean food off the floor and retrieve the same toys over and over again.     

I like to browse magazines and websites for new and interesting recipes to try, though I tend to stick to familiar favorites.  I bookmark awesome craft ideas, thinking one day I’ll get around to making that.  In just the same way, I earmark healthy tips and resources for making changes; save an article here, bookmark a blog there.  And the more I find out, the more I realize, not only are these changes beneficial, but necessary.  It scares me, how much crap we as society are literally fed from the Higher Ups; there’s always an agenda, and it’s not in our best interest.

I’ve been especially concerned with the amount of carbs we take in, even in the form of whole grains – pancakes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta for dinner.  I’ve been trying to find a way to improve upon this, at times substituting ground nuts for flour, as in the case with the fluffy flatbread (though I didn’t know I was supposed to add the egg yolks back in – oops!). 

I frequent a number of blogs, one of them being Passionate Homemaking, where I originally found a recipe for homemade toothpaste when I was on a quest for healthy toothpaste.  I got to browsing, and discovered her section on soaking grains.  Initially, I was overwhelmed just reading about it – I don’t always know what we’re having for dinner at dinnertime, how would I plan ahead and soak my grains hours in advance?  But I decided to try… and have been excited at the results.  I already use wheat flour, and often grind oats and brown rice for flour, so I was already a step ahead in the game.  

Somewhere along the line – I don’t know if it was related content on one of the websites I was browsing or just leafing through my cookbook – I decided to make a sourdough starter for bread, which is basically building on the idea of soaking. 

I used the simple recipe in my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, something like this one, though I used wheat flour instead of white.  It’s been brewing for over a week now, and I’ve already made a plethora of goodies – pancakes, muffins, pizza dough, and finally… bread.   

In Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (love the title!), I was excited to read the many benefits of fermented foods, the traditional method of preparing things such breads, yogurt and other dairy, vegetables, beverages (beer, anyone?).  Though we don’t drink milk anymore, I’ve started making yogurt again from whole milk, straining it to make what basically amounts to Greek yogurt or homemade cream cheese – yum.

I’ve been leafing through Nourishing Traditions, taking note of the fact that saturated animal fats (as well as tropical sources – coconut and palm oils) such as butter are actually healthy for the body (in moderation of course), especially when compared to all the popular fat sources we have today, namely vegetable oils, margarine, shortening, fake spreads.  Grass-fed beef and eggs from free-range chickens are also one of the healthiest protein sources, whereas the kind you get in the store is missing so many essential components.  I’ve known that milk from the store is basically crap - but more than that, it’s actually harmful, in the it leaches nutrients from the body while trying to process it.  On the other hand, raw milk is ”white gold” – and I’ve been disappointed to learn that buying raw milk is illegal in my state.  Discover the truth about milk at Real Milk.

For dinner, I decided to try one of the recipes in Nourishing Traditions.  Sourdough bread fresh from the oven accompanied the brown rice that had been cooking on the stove with a lovely aroma of spices, carrots and chicken broth.  The kiddos and I devoured the rice – it was so good!  It will be my new staple rice recipe, and I’m already thinking of ways to tweak it. 

The family has been excitedly awaiting some green to appear in our garden after planting lettuce, spinach and peas.  Just the other day we finally saw some green poking out of the ground.  And in the kitchen, I’ve been experimenting with microgreens and sprouts, which I’ve been researching here and there.

I always forget that we have a year-round, indoor farmer’s market, but I get excited about going when the weather is nice and plants and produce are plentiful.  We’ve already been to the markets a few weekends now, and last weekend the kiddos and I were delighted to see baby bunnies and a baby goat. 

We had to get a bag of kettlecorn for Gwen and Josiah to fight over… er, share… and I picked some carrots and a big ol’ parsnip.  We kept going back to the baby animals.  I had rabbits growing up, and we’re considering getting ‘em for the kiddos. 

I take Gwen to storytime at our library every week, and last week we were fortunate to have it at local farm.  Gwen got to plant some seeds and flowers…

we looked at the horseys…

then peeked in the greenhouses at the gorgeous flowers.  It feels so good to get out! 

Healthy foods, sunshine, the promise of a self-sustaining crop in the future – invigorating!  Looking forward to the weekend, even though Phil will be working Easter Sunday (boo).  Continuing to read Benjamin’s Box leading up to Sunday, and Gwen has a little wooden box where she keeps the treasures from the Resurrection Eggs. 

What have you been up to?

i blew it

i blew it, i blew it, i blew it. doing so well, having a treat here and there so i would be satisfied… and today i just couldn’t stop craving sugar. i think because i’ve been reading cookbooks. i’ve been desperate for low-cal dessert ideas, but of course all the good stuff isn’t low-cal! i was doing fine… but i think because i kept going over it in my head, i just got used to the idea and set myself up for failure.

i don’t even want to begin adding up all the calories. i had had a couple pieces of german chocolate, which brough me to about 1,300. i should have stopped there – i would have been fine, if not somewhat overindulgent. then i had to go and pack my brother’s lunch for tomorrow – i eyed the four no-bake chocolate peanut butter cookies i had been saving for him, and popped ‘em one by one into my mouth.

that’s alright – i still had the chocolate cake left over from a couple days ago. i made a really yummy peanut butter topping (tastes like reeses – sooo good!), and while wrapping that up for him indulged in three pieces for myself! plus some peanut brittle, complements of my grandmother. it was supposed to be for philip, but he hasn’t been eating any – can’t let it go to waste!

debating whether or not to stay up all night and exercise. (pause) telling myself that as long as i start fresh tomorrow, not much damage is done. good thing i don’t own a scale! i know how fast i gain weight, so now i’m a might scared.

i know i tend to be an emotional eater – being by myself all the time and having to contend with negative thoughts and emotions can be a real bummer, and just making my mouth happy with yummy flavors momentarily fools my mind. ah, what fleeting pleasure.

on another note: i did have a couple yummy, healthy, snacks that i would like to share.  1 cup dannon light ‘n’ fit vanilla yogurt with a serving (1/3 cup?) of mandarin orange segments canned in juice, plus some chopped walnuts (a tablespoon or so). you could use different fruits, omit the nuts, whatever. i also made a waldorf-type salad with chopped cabbage, some more of that vanilla yogurt, chopped celery, chopped walnuts, and dried fruit bits.

for dinner last night i tried something different: polenta. i made a single serving, which consisted of mixing 1/4 cup of yellow cornmeal with about 3/4 cup cold water; bring that to a boil on the stove, stirring constantly. since i wanted a savory meal, i added some jane’s crazy (my favorite salt mix), paprika, and italian blend. after cooking for a few minutes, i spooned it into a bowl, topped with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese, and – voila! pretty good. oh! i also sauteed some spinach in some balsamic vinaigrette and put that in the bowl before spooning in the polenta. mighty tasty. it was suggested to have polenta for breakfast, topped with ricotta cheese and maple syrup – but i don’t think i like ricotta cheese by itself. the maple part sounds good, though. :)