Thursday, April 7, 2011

Going Greek


I have joined the ranks of those who love greek yogurt. The creaminess is divine. But the price...well, not so much.

I decided to look into making it at home. There is a good amount of information out there on the internet with some variations, but the basics seemed pretty consistent. Off to the store I went today to buy milk and a small container of plain greek yogurt.

Here is the recipe I followed. Homemade Greek Yogurt from Tasty Kitchen. I love Tasty Kitchen's website. Everything I have tried has come out amazing.

I did divert and use greek plain yogurt rather than regular yogurt for my starter. A few posts I found seemed to claim that it made for a creamier texture. Regardless it would work, so I went for the good stuff. I also chose to incubate the little cultures in a bowl set in my crockpot on warm rather than in the oven (in case the girls wanted to make cookies). This worked perfectly. We even left the house to go to a wedding reception and came home to yogurt.

It took about 5 hours to set up in the crockpot. I currently have it draining off the whey to take it up from regular yogurt to the high protein creamy yummyness.

I can't wait for breakfast in the morning!

Update...Through the night I over drained the yogurt and it made a cream cheese like constancy. When this happens, there are two things you can do...add a bit of the whey liquid back in (which makes it more tart) or add some milk. The whey is high in carbs as they drain out from the yogurt leaving the protein. I chose to add more milk in, more protein and even creamier texture. Win, win. I then scooped some out and added a bit of honey. Yummy! It is a bit chalky though. I'll have to research and revise. It might take adding some dry milk to the milk along with the yogurt start.

Another breakfast I really like uses the "extra drained" yogurt as cream cheese on a bagel. It's much better for you than cream cheese. My most favorite uses some "yogurt cheese"(protien, calcium, live cultures), sliced banana (potassium), and chopped nuts (healthy fats), all mixed up and piled on a toasted wheat bagel (fiber) sprinkled with flax seed (protien, fiber) and cinnamon (helps regulate blood sugar levels). This is another example of simple food, yummy, without the extras you don't need (fat, cream, etc.).

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Wrapping It Up and Moving On

I have now completed the last herceptin and Jared went with me to my final visit with the oncologist to complete the cancer treatments. Now I go in every three months for marker tests that will then go to every six months till I reach the five year mark. Now I'm on my own. Now I make the choices of my lifestyle and do what I can to keep this cancer from returning.

So what am I doing? Running, running, and running (Jared registered me for the Top of Utah half marathon in August). Drinking lots of water, water, and water. (I LOVE water) And changing our diet. I'm working toward a more plant based diet. Not vegan or vegetarian. Just more plant based. More nutrient based.

And that is what this blog is evolving into. I want to share my food and healthy lifestyle tips and tricks. Share what works for me. I'll still continue to share my spiritual journey as well. It's all about the healthy and not the sicky now. Come join me. Let me know what you are doing to live healthy.

I have a growing interest in food and how it helps the body. I love to get down to the science of it. In my mind, food should be really yummy and enjoyable. So much of our lifestyle is based around eating, eating together and enjoying it. For so long healthy and enjoyment have not gone together. But over the years I have watched food show after food show with gourmet chefs talking about the simplicity of good food. Fresh, simple, flavorful ingredients and the cooking techniques that bring out those flavors . That is what I have been exploring. And it's what I want to share. Food where you taste the good on their own, not covered up by creams and sauces. Real food. Low fat, low calories. Yes it's possible. If I can get my family to fight over brussel sprouts...and I have...it's possible!

So here it goes with my first recipe. It's a curried carrot soup full of beta carotene...lots of orange colored veggies in this one and yummy, yummy, yummy and easy,easy, easy soup.

Curried Carrot Soup With Cornbread Croutons

By The Gluten Free Goddess
WebMD Recipe from Foodily.com

Picture of Curried Carrot Soup Slow cookers are just the best when the weather turns warm and breezy. It frees you up from kitchen duty just when you need it most -- supper time. Enjoy the time with your friends and family, and let the crock pot do all the heavy work!

Ingredients

Olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 to 2 teaspoons mild gluten-free curry powder, or to taste (can substitute with regular curry powder)
1 leek
4 large carrots
1 sweet potato
Half a banana squash {butternut will do in a pinch}
Fresh water, as needed
Sea salt, to taste

Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix (can substitute with regular cornbread mix)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos

Instructions

For the soup:

Plug in your slow cooker and turn it on to high. Pour a drizzle of olive oil into the bottom. Add in the chopped garlic and curry powder. Stir and cover. Let the curry infuse the oil as you chop the vegetables. Wash the leek, trim, and slice the white section. Peel, trim, and chop the carrots. Peel and chop the sweet potato and squash. Place all the chopped veggies into the warm crock and stir. Add just enough fresh water to cover them. Season the soup with sea salt to taste and cover.

If you keep the soup on high it will cook faster -- say, four hours or so, depending on your make and model. If you need to stretch out the cooking time, turn the slow cooker on to low. It will be ready in perhaps six hours. If you need to stretch it a bit longer I don't think it would hurt, as long as you've put enough water in the crock. The soup is ready when the carrots are tender and split easily using a fork.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender until the soup is silky smooth. Taste test. If it cooked down too much and is a tad thick, add some liquid {for extra creaminess use a dash of coconut milk, although I didn't add any extra "milk" and we loved the fresh, clean taste} and gently heat through for another 10 minutes. Serve with pan toasted cornbread croutons.

For the easy cornbread croutons:

Started with Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix. Follow the directions on the package, substituting the eggs, and using water and olive oil to keep it vegan.

Add the following ingredients to the mix:

1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos {skip if you need it less spicy}

Baked the mix in a 9-inch cake pan and cooled it on a rack. Slice the cornbread into eight wedges; then wrap each one in recycled foil, and bag for freezing. Use one thawed piece of cornbread for two people. Cut the cornbread into cubes. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle in some olive oil. Add the cubes of cornbread. Gently toss them from time to time as they sizzle and get golden. Remove with soft-tip tongs. Serve hot sizzling croutons on top of the soup.

Total Servings: 4


I chose not to make the bread crumbs and just make cornbread. I also doubled the recipe to make enough for my gang and have some leftovers. It freezes well in small containers and was great for lunches. To bump up the protein a bit I added a 1/4 cup of low fat cottage cheese to the warm bowl of soup. I wish I had some now as look out and see the snow falling yet again.