Homemade Yogurt

I have three recipes I've pulled from and need somewhere to write this one down!

Homemade Yogurt in the Crock Pot

1/2 gallon (8 cups) milk
1 Tbsp yogurt (must have listed in the ingredients active live cultures-I used Fage Total 2%)

1. Pour the half gallon of milk into your crock pot and turn it on low. Cook for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
2. After it cooks, turn crock pot off and let cool for 3 hours or until the temperature drops between 110 and 120 degrees.
3. Spoon a small amount of milk into a small bowl and add 1 Tbsp of yogurt to it. Mix together.
4. Pour mixture back into milk in the crock pot and stir once or twice.
5. Put the lid back on your crock pot and wrap the crock pot with a large beach towel or blanket (make sure the crock pot is unplugged and turned off--this helps keep the heat in the crock pot and allows it to cool more slowly).
6. Let sit for 8-12 hours. 
7. Spoon into jars or plastic containers and refrigerate a few hours before eating.

This will keep for 1-2 weeks in your fridge. Be sure to save 1 Tbsp to use as your starter for your next batch of homemade yogurt.

Yields: 2 quarts

Serve with honey and fruit! (This is plain yogurt.)

Oprah's Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

I have discovered the benefit of adding green smoothies to my diet to sneak in extra fruits and
veggies. And while my kids have enjoyed them as well, sometimes they are hesitant about the green color. I found this recipe in my book. Not sure how I discovered Oprah's favorite smoothie recipe--but she gets the credit nonetheless. My kids love this one and so do I. It's healthy, refreshing, creamy, and yummy. Plus it uses chocolate milk. Yum!

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie

2 cups chocolate milk (I do milk and 1/3 cup Nesquik)
2 medium bananas, cut up
2 cups frozen or hulled fresh strawberries

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve very cold (can add ice).


In case you're wondering what I put in my green smoothies--I feel like I've found the perfect combination.

1 banana -- a must for sweetness
1 carrot peeled & cut into chunks
1 cup spinach, rinsed
1 cup frozen or fresh fruit (pineapple, apples, berries)
1 cup orange juice

Do not try tomatoes. :)

Happy blending!!

Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Babies

I can't claim discovering this recipe or the blog. Kristi found it and shared them with me. And I love them for many reasons.

1. They are yummy.
2. They are healthy.
3. In my old age I am really enjoying the flavor of dried fruit.
4. They have chocolate.

And, you can mix things up with them. Try different nuts, add peanut butter, different dried fruits. They're fantastic. And, I get to use my food processor. I feel all granola-ish when I make them. And I feel good eating them.

Give them a go--especially if you need digestive help like some of us *me* need. :)

Cookie Dough Babies
(a.k.a. Raw Cookie Dough Balls)

Scant 2/3 cup pitted dates (80g) (I highly recommend Sunmaid dates, found in regular grocery stores near the raisins. They’re softer and easier to blend.)
handful of chocolate chips or Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips
1/4 cup cashews (30g) (or another nut, like almonds.)
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
tiny pinch of salt (can be omitted)

Blend the dates, cashews, salt, and vanilla in a food processor. (You can use a blender, but they’re much harder to blend and they can get very sticky.) You can either blend the chocolate with the other ingredients or chop it separately, then mix the pieces into the dough. Make bars, balls, or shapes of whatever size you want.

I used prunes (I need some serious help!) and they turned out really moist so I added extra nuts. Also, refrigerating them helps with the stickiness. 

Nutritional Info for the Homemade Larabar Recipes:
The homemade larabar nutritional info is based upon the girl-scout cookie larabars; however I think all the flavors are probably pretty similar. Each Larabar-sized bar (45 grams) will have around 175 calories, 8 grams healthy fat, 2 grams protein, 25 grams carbs, 5 grams fiber, and zero grams of added sugar.