Tangy Vegetable Dip

Serves: about 6 (makes one cup of dip)
Time: 15 min

*1/2 cup non-fat mayonnaise
*1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
*1 tbsp chopped onion
*1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
*1/2 tsp seasoning salt
*1/2 tsp Worcestershire
*1 to 4 drops hot sauce

1. Combine the ingredients.
2. Chill until ready to serve with vegetables (such as baby carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, etc).


Note: This is also good with dinner, served instead of a salad!

Homemade Yogurt

~special thanks to Taryn and Brendan for this recipe~

Apparently this is really easy to make. The recipe is for plain yogurt, but it can be sweetened with honey or maple syrup after the yogurt is made. The recipe is called "Effie's Mom's Incredibly Easy Recipe for Homemade Yogurt"; it originally comes from the website No Impact Man & has been only slightly modified below.


Prep time: wont be ready until the next day

*milk (use your containers as your guide for how much milk to use)
*1 tbsp live yogurt (to get the culture going)
*you'll also need glass or plastic containers & 2 or 3 towels

1. Boil milk (Taryn and Brendan use 1% and say that you can use soy or almond milk; No Impact Man recommends whole milk) in a large pot until it boils and foams at the top. Shut it off before it spills over.
2. Let the milk cool off until you can keep your pinky finger in the milk for 10 seconds without burning it (No Impact Man says: "a temperature reading would have been great for this step but I don't think they had these back in Greece 70 years ago"... apparently Effie's mom is Greek and quite old).
3. In a small bowl that holds about 2 cups, beat one tablespoon of live yogurt until smooth. Slowly add one cup of the milk from the pot, stirring slowly until combined.
4. Transfer this mixture from step #3 to the pot of boiled milk, slowly pouring it into the pot while mixing the pot of milk (with a spatula or long spoon) the whole time in order to combine thoroughly.
5. Pour into glass or plastic containers and seal them.
6. Arrange the containers together and cover with 2 to 3 towels keeping them in a warm place of the house (No Impact Man says: "and no, you don't need some sort of a yogurt maker gadget to keep them warm"). Let them sit overnight.
7. In the morning place them in the refrigerator and they will get cold. Yogurt is done.
8. Do a dance!

Pear with Vanilla Almond Dip

Prep time: less than 5 min!
Servings: 1

*1/8 tsp almond extract
*1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
*dash of nutmeg
*pear, sliced

1. Stir the almond extract & the nutmeg into the yogurt.
2. Serve with the sliced pear.


Note: This is unbelievably delicious. I can't explain it.

Chilled Strawberry Soup

This soup is quick to make and tastes like really yummy, fruity yogurt. My little sister loves it-- I first made it for her when she was still in middle school. It's a very light soup and makes me think of summertime. I always make it with sandwiches and serve it as part of a light lunch.
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Time: 15 min!
Servings: 8

* 1 peach, peeled & sliced
* 1 nectarine, peeled & sliced
* 2 cups strawberries, sliced
* 2 (8 oz) cartons strawberry yogurt
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* fresh mint leaves

1. Put peach, nectarine, strawberry slices, yogurt, sugar, and lemon juice in blender. Process until smooth.

2. Cover and refrigerate. Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with mint.

Note: to make this recipe vegan, use soy yogurt!