I hope you all had a great weekend, I had a pretty good one. I got a lot of spinning and dying done that I can't wait to share later this week. But for now, MIY Monday time!
My MIY Mondays's Mission is share creative, innovative, fun and (hopefully) cheap ideas and projects for you home and life, as well as healthy and (hopefully) cheaper alternatives to everyday cooking, shopping and eating out. I hope you will join in my on my mission!
Today I am going to share with you some healthier ideas for things you would normally buy at the store for breakfast. Starting with my yogurt.
I absolutely love Greek Yogurt. It's healthier and has more protein than normal yogurt and there is something about it that I just love. I have (and still do depending on price/budget) been buying the Yoplait Strawberry kind, but it isn't the healthiest kind you can get. I've actually heard the best options are Fage and Chobani -- but those are out of my price range.
So I wanted to try and get away from all the added sugar of the Yoplait fruited yogurt. I was at Dillons in the dairy aisle when I remembered the berries I had bought at Aldis and decided to try just mixing them into plain Vanilla Greek Yogurt (I wasn't sure if I would like Plain flavor, so I went with Vanilla because I knew I'd like that).
Homemade Fruited Greek Yogurt!
Ingredients:
Tub of Greek Yogurt, either in Vanilla or Plain
Fruits of choice. I used strawberries and blackberries, but you could probably use anything.
Container(s) to put yogurt in (I made ind. portions by putting them in little cups)
Sugar (optional).
The first thing I did was divide my yogurt into my cups. I had these 'child size' juice cups in my cabinet that were from my Grandma's house that I adopted and they are perfect for ind yogurt cups!
So next I cut up my berries. I didn't even need the whole tub of either to completely fill the cups, just an FYI if you try this. I also discovered, after mixing, that I probably should have put the fruit in first and then the yogurt, to get the fruit more evenly covered. Maybe next time. Also, if you want to add sugar/honey/any other flavorings, now is a good time.
Mix the yogurt and fruit in each cup (or if you wanted you could even mix IN the original yogurt tub, then divide, or not divide at all. It's really up to you) and then cover with lids/cellophane. Keep in the fridge until ready for breakfast!
Another thing I discovered was that they tasted better the longer they had to sit in the fridge. The last one I ate over a week later was probably the best because the berries had a chance to juice up a bit and mix the flavor more with the yogurt.
Serving suggestion: Yogurt with buttered toast, oatmeal, banana and orange juice!
If I do this again, I will let them sit longer before eating and maybe try plain, or just a different brand, of yogurt. The Kroger brand wasn't as thick as I liked and (maybe because it was vanilla) tasted a bit weird with the fruit.
Also, for those interested, these 6 cups totaled about $7 when I did the math, and even then that is because I got my fruit cheaper at Aldi. So is this a cheaper option to the pre-mixed cartons? It depends on the brand you buy. Is it healthier than the cartons? Very much so, yes.
Buy a can of the basic instant oatmeal. Pour the amount for a single serving into a bowl. Add desired amount of sugar. Next add your other ingredients. In my case, this was cinnamon. Here's where the issue came. I could never figure out how to get enough cinnamon/sugar into the mix to make it taste good without overpowering it with sugar. Some days it would be fine, others it would be nasty. Finally, add water or milk and follow directions for cooking. If you want to do this with fruit, you should probably add that after it's cooked.
Overall, if you can get it tasting right, this is healthier (less sugar!) than instant oatmeal packets and also cheaper per serving (8 packets in a box compared to about 10-12 servings in a can).
Anybody have anything they LOVE to add to their yogurt or oatmeal? I'd love to hear, I'm always looking for new ideas!
And, if you want to join in, fill out Mr. Linky below :)
Happy Monday!
~Lisa
Those are both really good ideas!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips about fruity greek yogurt!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea about the yogurt, Lisa: I especially love the pre-portioning! Sometimes when I get up (5am for me), the last thing I want to do is prepare any kind of breakfast: it feels like too much of a hassle. Having everything ready in the fridge sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteWe have oatmeal for breakfast almost every day. I'm old fashioned so I buy the traditional big container of rolled oats. It really only takes a few more minutes than instant and is much healthier. Favorite mix ins? raisins, craisins (dried cranberries), chopped walnuts, chopped dates, diced apple, cinnamon and brown sugar. Not all at once, but usually more than one. For 2 servings (one cup uncooked oats) I use 2 Tbs. brown sugar (and it's always just right!)
ReplyDeleteHere's a tip to make your (inexpensive plain)yogurt thicker - drain it in cheese cloth for several hours or overnight. You'll be surprised at the difference!