Homemade Greek Yogurt: Cheap, Simple, Delicious!

I was excited when I found Susie E's recipe for "Foolproof Crock Pot Greek Yogurt" on the "one good thing by Jillee" site.  I didn't think it could get any easier than that but
IT DID!
                                                                                                  
As I read her instructions I got hung up on the stated precise temperatures apparently necessary for the perfect finished product.  I got frustrated when testing my crock pots' temperatures to find they varied greatly.  I was afraid to continue but wanted to succeed so I returned to the Internet.

In my search I found what the "official" difference was between pricey regular yogurt and very pricey Greek yogurt! And several suggestions from others. Hopefully my efforts will save you effort.

After looking at other sites and their methods and reading the zillion suggestions and comments that accompanied them I found the comment that was right for me when one responded that her grandmother was from the old country, where yogurt has been made forever, and her grandmother's temperature directions were "stinging" when you put your finger in the pot for the 180-190 degree range and "comfortable" when it had dropped to the 95-115 degree range.

Using "Grandma's" temperatures ---- (and comments I found on further simplifying from others) you can make Greek Yogurt in simple steps

• Milk 
• 6 ounces approximately(a small tub) commercial Greek yogurt that contains live cultures
• Powdered milk, if desired

1. Pour 8 cups of 2 percent milk and almost 2 cups of powdered milk (I don't think you need to use that much) into a large heavy pot, whisking until the dry milk was thoroughly combined.

2. Heat, over low heat, it until it "stings" your finger (which when measured with my old candy thermometer was about 185 degrees)

3. Remove pot from stove and let cool until it feels "comfortable" to your finger. (Again, as a first time precaution, I checked it with the thermometer and it was in the right range)

4. Thoroughly whisk in the commercial yogurt.

5. Pour into sterilized* jars (whatever sizes you wish, but always one small jar to hold for the "starter" for the next batch so you only have to buy the commercial product once.) *I don't have a dishwasher so I dip them in boiling water and swish them around to sterilize) and put on lids.

6. Put the jars in a small hard plastic cooler*, fill the container about half way up the jars with hot tap water, close the lid, wrap a towel around the whole thing, and let it sit for about 8 hours.  (*Others used Styrofoam or soft-sided coolers. Some put the jars in the  crock pot, others in the oven with the light on, some on heating pads, some wrapped them in blankets, and others used a combination.)

Once again, they did it simply in the old world, showing us the process is very forgiving.


I discovered :

• Greek yogurt has greater protein than regular yogurt --- thus making it healthier.
• The increased protein is the result of draining regular yogurt.
• Adding powdered milk to the liquid milk further increases the protein content of the finished product.
• The drained liquid (whey) is good to use in baking, enriching soups, etc.
• This basic yogurt, without sweeteners or flavorings, is a good sour cream substitute, and if drained for a longer period of time---cream cheese.

I also learned:

• It is easy to adjust the ingredients to make smaller or larger amounts.
• It will keep in the refrigerator for about a month.
• You keep some yogurt from each batch to use in making the next batch.
• Any "percentage" of milk may be used -- skim, 1 or 2 percent, or whole milk, even powdered.
• There were disagreements on the outcome when using soy, almond, goat, etc. milks. Some said ultra pasteurized milk worked while others said it didn't.  
• If you add powdered milk the protein is increased and the product is thicker. 
• A variety of sweeteners, natural and artificial, can be successfully used.
• Most individuals preferred making the plain basic recipe and adding any extras to individual servings just before eating, allowing for more versatility. 

Once again, they did it simply in the old world? Apparently the actual process is very forgiving.

Most of the "quick" recipes I found call for straining the yogurt to separate the whey making the yogurt very thick. Adding powdered milk eliminates that need.  Where some indicated they poured off a lot of whey, reducing the amount of finished product, I only had about one teaspoon of whey.

When I tipped the jars I could tell the mixture had set up, so I moved them to the refrigerator to chill. Apparently different batches may not thickened/set up the same, and will continue to thicken in the frig. If, for some reason, a batch doesn't thicken, you can use it in smoothies!

I love it when I am able to recreate---usually significantly healthier and cheaper---a commercial product. Even if I don't continue to make it on  a regular basis (which is rare for me) I know I can do it when I want to -- or need to!  

I strongly feel that it is wise to learn how to be as self-sustaining as possible as insurance against a time of need. Learning how to do now, when supplies are readily available, can save experimenting and frustration when the need is there and abundance is not.

'till we eat again,
            Simply, Gail

Everything We Need to Know We Learn From . . . our Canine Friends

• When loved ones come home, always run to greet them 
• Never pass up the opportunity to go for a ride in the car
• Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy
• When it's in your best interest --- practice obedience

• Let others know when they've invaded your territory
• Take naps and stretch before rising
• Run, romp, and play daily
• Thrive on attention and let people touch you

• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do
• On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass
• On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree

• When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body

• No matter how often you're scolded don't buy into the guilt thing and pout --- run right back and make friends

• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk
• Eat with gusto and enthusiasm and stop when you have        had enough
• Be loyal
• Never pretend to be something you're not

• If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it
• When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently

Doing as the doggies do will make life a little less Ruff!!!

                              Author, while unknown, knows exactly what he/she is talking about.

About 1999 - February 26, 2013

                                                             

In tribute to our wonderful rescued puppy "Puppy" who 

watched over us and blessed our lives for 11 years.

Still More of What is Real in Food Claims and Labels

In the children's classic book The Velveteen Rabbit, the rabbit  asks this simple question, What is Real?

In regards to the processed food we eat, it is getting harder and harder to answer that question.

Very little of the food we eat is "Natural" or "Real."  

Do you realize that 90 percent of the money that Americans spend on food is used to buy processed food? While the first purchase of a food item may be because of  its attractive packaging or appearance, subsequent purchases are determined mainly by taste.

Do you know that the canning, freezing, and dehydrating techniques used to process food destroys most of its flavor?

Do you prefer to purchase/eat foods that contain natural flavor rather than artificial flavor?

Most commercial mass food production began after World War II. At that time a highly secretive flavor industry arose in the United States to make these new processed food palatable. Dozens of highly secured flavor manufacturers --- actually refineries and chemical plants --- are located in an industrial section along the New Jersey Turnpike.  The largest is International Flavors and Fragrances which is the world's largest flavor company.

Eric Schlosser, investigative journalist and author of Fast Food Nation, visiting IFF as part of his research, was required to sign a nondisclosure form, promising not to reveal the brand names of products that contain IFF flavors.

The book is a fascinating, enlightening (and sometimes disturbing) read. Here is a section on the "natural flavors" that consumers prefer, believing they are healthier. Terry Acree, a professor of food science technology at Cornell University writes that the distinction between artificial and natural flavors can be somewhat arbitrary and absurd. He states that "a natural flavor is a flavor that's been derived with an out-of-date technology." Natural flavors and artificial flavors sometimes contain exactly the same chemicals, produced through different methods. Acree uses banana flavor as an example:

• Amyl acetate provides the dominant note of banana flavor. When you distill it from bananas with a solvent, amyl acetate is a natural flavor. When you produce it by mixing vinegar with amyl alcohol, adding sulfuric acid as a catalyst, amyl acetate is an artificial flavor --- either way it smells and tastes the same. 

During his tour, Schlosser was invited to sample some of IFF's flavors. He said it was an unusual taste test because there wasn't any food to taste. The test consisted of a dozen unmarked small glass bottles from the lab, and long white strips of paper.  With his eyes closed, Schlosser  sniffed each strip of paper, inhaling deeply. His report: 

• "One food after another was conjured from the glass bottles. I smelled fresh cherries, black olives, sauteed onions, and shrimp and...a grilled hamburger. . . the aroma was uncanny, almost miraculous. It smelled like someone in the room was flipping burgers on a hot grill."  

Speaking of burgers, Schlosser has a large section on the beefy subject of fast food hamburgers and their rise from a tainted and unsafe to eat food for the poor, sold at lunch carts parked near factories, circuses, carnivals and state fairs in the early 1900s to our "national dish."  A 1996 United States Department of Agriculture study found 78.6 percent of the ground beef tested contained microbes that are spread primarily by fecal material.  And that, folks, is why we are told to never eat rare meat. Note: The subtitle of Fast Food Nation is "The Dark Side of the All-American Meal."

Fast Food Condiment Packets

The following eye-opening information comes from Michael DeGroote, a reporter for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah, following his scrutiny (and the scrutiny of others) of the small print on these squeezy plastic packets.

Kentucky Fried Chicken -- Honey Packets, when reading the fine print you will discover that the honey packets are actually honey sauce packets  The blog "Playing in the Dirt" analyzed the ingredients of KFC's honey sauce: "If we look closely at the printing on the back of each packet, we find that the honey sauce contains the following ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, sugar, corn syrup, honey (only 7 percent), caramel color. Notice that honey is the fourth ingredient, after HFCS, sugar, and corn syrup. HFCS, of course, is unnatural; sugar is fine. Corn syrup — I'm not too sure about how it differs from HFCS, although I have read it is not as bad for you. Caramel color — why would you need caramel color for honey? Isn't it already that color?

                  The customer was offered honey or butter with her order.

                  She said "both" and this is what she was given. Later,

                  after looking up KFC's nutrition list, neither were listed.

 

To determine what ingredients honey contains, I took a look at one of the jars of honey I purchased at (the) market. 

Here's the ingredients list: honey."

"Food Safety News … food scientists say that over three quarters of the honey sold in American supermarkets and drug stores may not be what the bees created, but a watered down, reconstituted hodge-podge of the real deal mixed with other cheaper, less savory, and often less safe, ingredients."

Real honey contains pollen — which, in addition to being good for health, also makes it easy to track where it was made. So companies strain out the pollen so consumers can't tell that it came from, most likely, China.

"It is for this reason that U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules state that any product that contains no pollen cannot be called honey," Schiffman said.

So Food Safety News sent 60 store-bought containers of honey in for testing. Seventy-six percent of the honey had zero pollen in it, and so it wasn't really honey.

A similar test was made of honey bought at farmers markets, health food stores and the like. They all had pollen.

Subway -- Olive Oil Packets - The Consumer Reports' Consumerist website looked at how Subway's "olive oil" packet used different-sized fonts to deceive customers: Everything...is right on the packet. "But it helps to occasionally point out the ways companies play with design to trick your eyes into seeing what the company wants you to,"

The real master stroke is in the text that fills the appropriately olive-green background, located above the image of olives and to the right of the drawing of the corked container that presumably contains olive oil. In tightly spaced  italics, it reads “A Master Chef Blend of Canola Oil and 10%” before bursting into larger, all caps, “EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.”

 "The most prominent words on the packet being 'OLIVE OIL' in large type in the center of the arced ribbon. Below these words, in significantly smaller but still noticeable type, is 'BLEND,' which may cause some to wonder what the rest of the stuff is. But it's in the tiny type squeezed above 'OLIVE OIL' that you get the truth with 'CANOLA & 10% EXTRA VIRGIN.'"

The iconic Twinkie was originally a very popular sponge cake with a creamy filling and ... a shelf life of two to three days. That was the problem.  Modern food technology (aka the chemical industry) was Twinkies' salvation. Today the Twinkie is made up of 39 ingredients, most of them not even food (or even food-like substances). I guess it is suppose to comfort us to learn that the FDA classifies over 700 hundred items of food additives as GRAS (generally regarded as safe)! And many of them are in Twinkies -- increasing their shelf life to ----- forever!

And Then There's  Dessert!

Check out Steve Ettlinger's interesting and easy read of his "journey to discover how the ingredients found in processed foods are grown, mined (Yes, mined), and manipulated into what America eats" in his book Twinkie, Deconstructed.





 --- “a fascinating exploration into the curious world of packaged foods. . . takes us from phosphate mines in Idaho to cornfields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to oil fields in China, to demystify some of American’s most common processed food ingredients—where they came from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: the ingredients are often more closely linked to rocks and petroleum than any of the four food groups), Ettlinger reveals how each Twinkie ingredient goes through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and /or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.”

If this makes you want to boycott commercial Twinkies but still crave them, go to your search engine and type in “twinkie recipe.”  There are several. The filling I use is from my recipe for Ho Ho cake — a copy cat of another multi- (mostly unnecessary) ingredient snack cake.     

Ho-Ho Filling
1 cup milk
3 T cornstarch
1 cup sugar
½ cup margarine (1 cube)
½ cup shortening
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
Combine milk and cornstarch and cook until creamy, stirring constantly. In separate bowl, beat sugar, margarine, shortening, salt and vanilla until creamy. Combine the two mixtures, beating  until fluffy.

'til we eat again,
            I am Simply, Gail

More Food Labels: What Do They Really Mean

It is not safe to assume that all claims on all product labels are entirely accurate ---
many are intentionally misleading and unfortunately, some are downright false!

In my last post I used two different government guidelines to help us distinguish between a variety of terms --- including free, light, low, reduced and less.

Today I am continuing with more ambiguous terms and how our government defines them. 

Hopefully they give us some general guidelines but, after reading the terms and their USDA and FDA definitions, I looked up ambiguous* in Webster's Dictionary. I think the word I chose to use is, for the most part, the correct one:  

               *not clear, indefinite, uncertain and vague. 

FRESH: Raw of unprocessed, has never been frozen or cooked, and contains no preservatives. "Fresh frozen," "frozen fresh" and "freshly frozen" can be used for foods that are quickly frozen while still fresh. Foods that have been blanched briefly in scalding water to prevent nutrient breakdown are allowed to be called fresh.

ORGANIC (also CERTIFIED ORGANIC or  USDA ORGANIC): Regulated by the USDA, contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients --- meaning grown or produced without using most conventional pesticides---not counting added water and salt. Does not contain added sulfites.

LEAN & EXTRA-LEAN: Both refer to the fat content of meat, poultry, seafood, and game. Per serving (100 g), "lean" foods contain less than 10 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, and 95 mg cholesterol. "Extra-lean" foods contain less than 5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, and 95 mg cholesterol.

HEALTHY: Low in fat and saturated fat, with limited cholesterol and sodium; can also mean a food contains 10 percent or more of vitamins A or C, iron, calcium, protein, or fiber.

WHOLE GRAIN: For some reason this is not regulated by the FDA. Whole-grain products are made with the entire grain, including the fiber-rich bran and nutrient-rich germ. For example bread labeled "wheat bread" or even "100% wheat bread" (see the tricky difference) is different from WHOLE-GRAIN wheat bread.

DIET: Another term not recognized by the FDA as a general food term. In regard to soft drinks, it is defined as something low in calories. (usually contains a lot of artificial chemical additives in the place of calories)

NATURAL: Defined by the USDA as meat or poultry containing no artificial ingredients or added color and that is only minimally processed. (Nothing is said about "natural" as it is used in many other food products!)

FREE RANGE or FREE-ROAMING: Defined by the USDA as meat or poultry that comes from animals that have been given significant access to the outdoors.

If you think I am overly critical or skeptical, Friday's post will cover additional reports that make me this way.  In the meantime check out my posts on Burger King Strawberry Milkshakes and McDonald Chicken Nuggets.

 http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/05/scary-news-about-fake-foods-we-eat.html

http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2012/05/secret-life-of-chicken-nuggets.html

Food Labels: What do the Bold Claims Really Mean

Food labels are descriptive guides----Right? 
Less?  Reduced? Low? Light? 

What do these adjectives specifically mean? 
Are their definitions easy to glean?

The FDA is here to help---with what we need to know,
Issuing specific meanings to the general terms below

(Sorry for the corny attempt at rhyming!)

Dietary Dictionary

(familiar one- or two-word phrases on labels  monitored by the 

Food and Drug Administration

 and their very specific definitions.)

FREE as in without, no, zero: Contains no consequential amount of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, or calories. If this is true in a food's natural state, the label will say so (for example, "cider vinegar, a calorie-free food.")

LIGHT or LITE: These are products that have one-third fewer calories, half the fat, or half the sodium of the regular version.

LOW or LITTLE as in a low source of, or contains a small amount of:
Foods low in
fat contain a maximum 3 g per serving
low in saturated fat - 1 g
low in sodium - 140 mg
very low in sodium - 35 mg
low in cholesterol - 20 mg and less than 2 g saturated fat
low in calories - 40 calories

REDUCED (only applies to altered foods): A nutritionally altered
product with at least 25 percent fewer calories or of a nutrient
than the regular product. This claim can't be made on a product
if, in its original state, can be considered "low" (see above)

LESS or FEWER: If a food is said to have "less" or "fewer" of
something, it has not necessarily been altered but is being compared
 with other foods in a similar category. (for example, pretzels could
be said to contain less fat and fewer calories than other snacks, such
as potato chips.)

What does "Nutrition Facts" on a label mean?
Many people monitor their calories; some watch their fat, cholesterol, or sodium intake. The "Nutrition Facts" chart lists how much of each of these, as well as protein, carbohydrates, and other components, the food inside the package contains.

It is important to watch the serving size number. Many are not realistic (i.e. a 12-ounce-can of soda may list its figures based on two servings per can, thus appearing to lower the levels).

Additionally, the labels  have a %DV (percent daily value) column based on, usually, a 2,000 calorie daily diet.

MORE or fortified, enriched, added, extra, plus:A serving of food that has at least 10%DV more of a certain nutrient than a food with which is compared.

GOOD SOURCE or contains, provides: A serving of a food with 10 to 19%DV of a particular nutrient (which means it's slightly less than "high" (see below)

HIGH or excellent source of, rich: A serving of a food that contains 20%DV or more of a particular nutrient.

Manufacturer's go to great lengths to make their products more appealing and marketable. Hopefully the above has helpful in discerning the different meanings of similar words.

My next post will cover (or uncover) the specific government definitions for FRESH, ORGANIC, HEALTHY, NATURAL and more.

How You Treat Your Spouse is the Greatest Tool for . .

teaching your children to respect the opposite sex.

It's Thursday and I have been struggling with the post  that was suppose to be posted two days ago. I've had several ideas and some unsuccessful starts but nothing felt right.

As I sat down once again this morning, an item in our inbox really "spoke" to me.  I feel impressed to share it with you.

Daily, on almost all media fronts we are bombarded with inaccurate and inappropriate images, programs, and advertising---skewing  how men and women interact---making the abhorrent appear commonplace and acceptable.

What follows is the first five paragraphs from an article in a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper --- the Deseret News.  I hope you will make the time to go to the link at the bottom of the post to read the entire article.

Teaching children by how you treat your spouse by journalist Trent Toone

Geoff Steurer and 8-year-old Andy were standing in a grocery store checkout line one day when the father noticed his son had been hypnotized by a collection of magazine covers featuring immodestly dressed women.

Steurer had seen that look before with his other boys. He bent down, put his arm around his son and gently turned him toward the shelves of candy as a teaching opportunity unfolded.

“You notice those women don’t have many clothes on and it kind of gets your attention, doesn’t it?” Steurer said to his son. “We probably ought to give them some privacy like we give mom when she is changing her clothes.”

It was an educational moment for young Andy. Steurer, a licensed marriage and family therapist, explained in simple terms that magazine covers are designed to grab a person’s attention and he didn’t know why the girls allowed themselves to be photographed as they undressed. He wanted his son to understand it’s natural for males to be attracted to females, but only in an honorable, appropriate context and manner.

“It’s a tricky balance because you want to set boundaries, but at the same time validate and allow our boys to understand that this is a God-given reaction they are having,” Steurer said. “If we do it gently, respectfully and honestly, I think they get a clear message that, yes, this feels good, but no, not in this way, not here, not right now, not with this person.”

Steurer’s experience is just one example of many methods that parents can use to teach their children how to respect the opposite sex. Parents, especially fathers, can set a standard of respect through their behavior, language, media choices and a number of other actions.


From Gail: I  can't seem to make the web address something to just click on. Please copy and paste it  and continue reading. 


http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865573075/Teaching-children-by-how-you-treat-your-spouse.html?pg=1

Make Crunchy Healthy Chips from Root Vegetable or . . .

How to get Finicky Children (and husbands and me) to Eat their Veggies

 especially unusual ones, and even ask for more!

Have you ever eaten Terra Chips?  The colorful crispy chips made from root vegetables? They are very good - - - and they are expensive!  And, while they claim they are cooked in "good" oil they are still cooked in oil.

My challenge is, the same as always --- to make them myself. 

Yesterday I scouted out the produce section of our market, checking out the veggies that come from underneath the ground.  This was one of the very rare times I have bought anything without checking the price first. I purchased one of each. Some, I have to admit I had never tasted, while others I had never tasted raw. 

I came home with 

one large sweet potato - $1.58

one yam -  84 cents

one parsnip - 54 cents

one turnip - 87 cents

one beet -   40 cents

one yucca root - $1.00

and went to work.

I scrubbed them well, peeled the ones I felt needed peeling (yucca, yam and sweet potato), and thinly sliced all of them using my mandolin. 

I very lightly drizzled olive oil on each batch,  using my (clean) hand to stir them up so each slice would get some oil, and placed each kind on it's own dehydrating tray. 

The sweet potato and the yam slices each filled two trays. Since this venture was mainly an experiment, and I had an extra tray of each,  I lightly sprinkled one tray of sweet potatoes with cinnamon/sugar and cumin. I did one tray of yam slices without oil.  

I dehydrated them at 135 degrees for 5 to 6 hours. Times vary with different dehydrators.

Results:  Love the sweet potatoes, yams and turnips!  I wasn't very excited about the parsnip to begin with, and even less so after tasting it raw, but it was good. Dave hates beets in any form and thinks they taste like dirt. He didn't like dried ones either but I didn't mind the earthy taste. The jury is still out on the yucca.  The texture is kinda strange and the taste is pretty bland; it will probably grow on me. Or maybe, I'll pass on that one.

None of the above were on sale so the experiment cost $5.23. Still a bargain compared to the price of  a (very-few-ounces) bag of the exotic commercial chips. 

Additionally, 

homemade is healthier 

and

self-sufficiency is satisfying

I didn't think about trying carrots and the market didn't have taro plus there may be other root veggies I don't know about. I do know I will be watching for sales on root vegetable!!!

I like my regular potato chips made in the microwave.  See post below

http://thecreativecheapskate.blogspot.com/2013/01/easy-crunchy-and-fat-free-potato-chips.html

'til we eat again,

          Simply, Gail