ome strange reason. Yogurt is rich in iodine, calcium, and Vitamins B2 and B12 to name a few, and high in protein and friendly bacteria. It’s a great way to get more dairy into your diet with out the milk sugar lactose. Here is my freshly cultured yogurt, which I later strained through a muslin shirt, (clean of course) to make my favorite greek-style yogurt, (in the bottom picture see how the spoon is standing up, now that’s thick!). Trust me, you will not get such a sweet, creamy yogurt from the store. You honestly don’t even need to use honey, it’s so smooth and rich tasting!
All you need is about a 
quart of fresh milk, preferably not ultra-pasteurized and from organic, grass-fed cows, (your call!) and 1 Tbsp of full-fat powdered milk. Whisk the powdered milk with 1/2 cup of the milk until smooth, and then combine with the remaining milk in a thick-bottomed saucepan and bring to just a boil. Remove from the heat and bring the temperature down to about 43 C or 110 F. I just use my clean pinky finger to test it, (you should be able to leave your finger dipped in the scalded milk for a few seconds). Add about 2 Tbsp of starter, (I used some active store yogurt brought to room temperature) and whisk it into the milk, cover and let sit for about 6 hours in a warm place. In India, my kitchen is pretty warm, but if you’re somewhere cooler you’ll have to put it into something like an oven to stay warm, (I’ve heard of people putting it into a crockpot as well). To make it greek-styled, simply line a sieve with clean muslin, place o
ver a bowl and slide the yogurt in. Wrap it up like a sack, twisting the neck to force the liquid out, or let it all sit for 2 hours. (The liquid is the whey and is actually quite nutritious. You can use it in a shake or to make your oatmeal with, as it’s full of vitamins and minerals, as well as protein).
I like to make meuslix with my yogurt, and I have that after my workout with some nuts and fresh fruit, and just a drizzle of honey. You can also make it into a savoury spread by adding olive oil, some zaatar spice blend and sea salt, or some tahini, lemon and fresh herbs.
Amazing. I gotta try it out asap!
Hey Michelle! I have to say that i’m a big fan of your blog! YOu are an inspiration to me for all the things you do. A lot of your main interests are similar to mine! So when I get confused about ma life choices as for career, i think about you and how far you’ve made it and specialy how happy you seem to be while doing what you do!
OK! 🙂 so I just wanted your opinion on fat free yogourt. I use on a regular basis greek yogourt (0% fat) from Liberty. It has 20g of protein for a portion of 175g and 110 cals. fat content is close to none. I also use a 5% fat Ewe (brebis en francais) yogourt sold at Marché jean-talon. protein content is 8g for 128 g and 137 cals. What is wrong with fat free yogourt?
thx Michelle!! Keep up your hard work!! I’m talking about you to as many people as I can!!
Good luck with your training!
Tania
Hi Tania, I know that I replied to your question via email, but the rest of the peeps cruising this blog, I will say again that it is always best to eat foods with all their edible parts intact as nature intended. As long as you are choosing high quality animal products free of hormones and anti-biotics, the fat in those products is actually very beneficial to you, in terms of vitamin absorption, hormone regulation and in promoting the feeling of satiety. Science seems to be playing a serious game of “catch-up” with mother nature in the sense that food scientists like to play around with food, break it down, repackage it and sell it to us as “enriched” and “improved”, but inevitable mother nature wins, and the original, whole food product is proved to be the better choice. Take whole grains versus refined grains as an easy example. Good luck!
This recipe sounds amazing but can you substitute cows milk for almond? I have been doing research on diary and what I’ve found out is that its not good for you which is why we have almond milk, veggie and almond cheese,etc.
What is your your opinion on diary? Im working to get it out of my diet but if it isnt harmful and all these other alternatives arent neccessarily better then i would like to get as much knowledge on this as i can.
Im new to your site so you may have an article on this already but if you dont i’d love it if you made one
Hi Ashley, there is a ton of research as well as empirical evidence supporting the consumption of dairy, especially hormone/antibiotic-free dairy…If you are concerned about your digestive system I HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting an ALLERGY TEST…If you’re not allergic, skip the processed nut and grain milks and go for the real stuff!!