July 6, 2011: Good Morning Fruit Smoothie Recipe

I’ve been on a real fitness kick lately so I can tone up and shed a few pounds (could my upcoming 30 years high school reunion have anything to do with it?). Every morning I get up and wake up my niece and we go for a brisk walk in the park or around the house (OK, she jogs and I do spurts of walking/running). When we get back home, sweaty and tired, I whip up a fruit smoothie for a delicious way to start the day.

Although I often mix up the specific ingredients, the basic recipe is as follows:

Fruit Smoothie

1 cup diced fruit*
1 cup ice
1 container light Activia yogurt
½ cup fruit juice* (or fruit juice concentrate for a thicker, icier concoction)
½ cup 2 % milk or coconut or almond milk

Throw the fruit in your blender and pulse until pureed (add the juice at this time, if necessary). Add ice and blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue to blend until there are no more chunks of ice.

*Try a variety of fruits and juices. Some of our favorites are pineapple or mango with orange-pineapple-mango juice or coconut milk, peaches with apple strawberry juice, bananas and strawberry with apple strawberry or orange juice. Since there’s so little yogurt, the flavor doesn’t really matter but we enjoy peach or raspberry. You could also use plain yogurt with a bit of vanilla extract to reduce calories.

June 6, 2011: Super Food Yogurt Recipe

Yogurt is one of nature’s super foods. It is lower in fat than its alternative, sour cream, and many of the yogurts you find on the grocery store shelves contain live bacteria cultures, or probiotics, which are very healthful. A recent study from Washington University suggests that people who eat yogurt on a regular basis actually lose more weight due to the presence of Bacteroidetes. For some reason, an increase in Bacteroidetes causes you to consumer fewer calories. Pretty nifty, eh?

You can substitute yogurt for sour cream in nearly any recipe (Greek yogurt, although more expensive, is creamier and has a better texture for cooking). Labneh, a cheese made from yogurt, can be used in the place of higher fat cream cheese, although it’s hard to find (try your local natural foods store). Try either of these as a replacement in your favorite dip recipe.

You may also have heard that yogurt helps reduce the incidence of yeast infections. Some studies have also shown that it could reduce cholesterol. There’s no doubt about it – yogurt does a body good.

Here’s a simple yogurt salad dressing recipe I got from the book, A Year of Health and Beauty by Vidal and Beverly Sassoon (it’s an oldie - published in 1976 - but a goodie I’ve had for over 30 years!).

Yogurt Salad Dressing

Yolk of one hard-cooked egg
1 raw egg yolk (make sure it’s very fresh and from a pasteurized egg)
1 t. dry mustard
2 cups yogurt
2 t. lemon juice
Sea salt, to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender and use immediately (don’t store any mixture with raw eggs for more than a day).

Tip: Add fresh herbs, such as dill, rosemary, parsley, chives, oregano, or thyme for flavor variations.