Yogurt Fruit Dip or Fruit Salad

This recipe combines the natural sweetness and vitamins of fresh fruit with the health benefits of yogurt.

Yogurt Fruit Dip or Fruit Salad

Combine 1 cup plain low-fat regular yogurt or Greek yogurt with 1 tablespoon brown sugar, honey, or jam. Mix well. Chill for 30 minutes.

For variety, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or vanilla.

Eat with bite-sized pieces or apples, strawberries, grapes, or other fruit, or mix it with chopped fruit to make a fruit salad.

Makes about 6 servings.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: Eat this fruit dip or salad as a side with any meal, or as a snack instead of high calorie foods like chips or candy.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.

Healthy Yogurt Parfait

As the most important meal of the day, breakfast should always be balanced and include different food groups. This delicious parfait has fruit, whole grains, and yogurt.

Yogurt Parfait

Take a cup of plain low-fat yogurt, add a few drops of vanilla and a little sugar or honey if desired. Mix well. Top or layer with fruit, chopped or sliced nuts, grated coconut, and granola or whole grain breakfast cereal.

Makes 1 or 2 servings.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: Eat this parfait for breakfast, as a snack, or as a dessert.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.

Light and Crunchy Granola

Most granola recipes call for oil or syrup instead of yogurt. Yogurt gives the granola a lighter taste and fewer calories.

Light and Crunchy Granola

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine 1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well. Add 2 cups rolled oats and 1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds. Pecans, cashews, walnuts, slivered almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds all work well. Stir until all of the rolled oats are moistened. Spread the mixture 1/2 inch deep on a cookie sheet. Bake until some of the granola begins to brown (about 20-30 minutes). Allow to cool before eating. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: For variety, add some shredded coconut to the mix, or use different nuts. To make lighter granola, substitute puffed wheat for some of the rolled oats. Enjoy the granola in low-fat milk or yogurt, topped with raisins or fresh fruit.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.

Healthy Yogurt Chicken Stroganoff

This easy dinner recipe has both healthy chicken breast and low-fat yogurt. Eat it on pasta, rice, or other grains, and with lots of vegetables.

Yogurt Chicken Stroganoff

Add 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped skinless chicken breast or ground turkey, 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a little pepper to a skillet. Add a pinch of dill weed, parsley, or garlic. Stir over medium heat until the meat is cooked. Stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water and add it to the mixture in the skillet. Stir until thickened, then remove from the heat. Stir in 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt just before eating over pasta, brown basmati rice, bulgur, or hulled millet.

Makes 6 servings.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: This easy yogurt chicken stroganoff can help you feel satisfied longer, especially if you eat it with whole grains and lots of green vegetables like broccoli, spinach, or salad.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.

Quick Mango Lassi (Mango Yogurt Drink)

Mango lassi is a delicious way to take advantage of the weight loss benefits of yogurt. Here’s a very simple recipe.

Quick Mango Lassi (Mango Yogurt Drink)

In a blender, combine 2½ cups plain low-fat yogurt, ¾ cup frozen peeled mango, and ¼ cup sugar. Blend until smooth.

Makes 3 servings.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: To take full advantage of mango lassi’s weight loss potential, take small sips and savor each one. Whether you drink it as a snack or in a meal, taking several minutes to enjoy this drink will give your stomach time to register satisfaction, and will make eating anything else seem boring in comparison.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.

Greek Dip (Tzatziki) for Weight Loss

Tzatziki is a delicious and versatile low-calorie dip. Use it to provide some counter-temptation to all of that holiday junk food. Here’s a very simple recipe.

Tzatziki (Cucumber Yogurt Dip or Sauce)

Peel a cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds by scraping out the center portion of the cucumber with a spoon. Grate the cucumber and press it with a paper towel to remove the extra liquid. Mix the grated cucumber with 2 cups plain Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon fresh dill or mint (or 1/3 tablespoon dry dill weed or mint), 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional), and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Serves 6.

Serve generously alongside almost any hot dish or use as a spread or vegetable dip. You can make this recipe even more flavorful by adding a finely minced or crushed clove of garlic. To make a salad dressing, use regular yogurt instead of Greek yogurt.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: This recipe is so good you will just want to keep eating. Eat away! Eat it as a snack or as half a meal, or use it as a low-calorie substitute for other dips and toppings.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.

Easy Greek (Strained) Yogurt Recipe

Greek or strained yogurt is a thick, rich, creamy yogurt that can be eaten alone or used in recipes as a low-calorie, high-protein substitute for sour cream or cream cheese. Use it to make dips, spreads, cheesecake, sauces, etc. It’s easy to make Greek yogurt using plain low-fat yogurt.

Easy Greek Yogurt

Line a strainer or colander with a layer of cheesecloth or coffee filters. Add plain home made low-fat yogurt (or any plain low-fat yogurt without added stabilizers). Let the liquid drain for at least two hours.

That’s it! You have now Greek yogurt. You can also use the drained liquid (whey) as a nutritious substitute for water in many recipes.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: Use Greek yogurt as a low-calorie substitute in recipes that call for cream cheese or sour cream.

Easy Home Made Yogurt Recipe

Researchers at Harvard University conducted a study in which they tracked the weight and eating habits of 120,877 adults over a 20-year period. They found that study participants who increased their consumption of yogurt tended to lose weight, while those who decreased their consumption of yogurt tended to gain weight. Although the reason for yogurt’s association with weight loss is not entirely clear, it is likely that people who increase their yogurt consumption use yogurt to replace higher-calorie foods or foods that are less satisfying. Read more about the diet and weight loss study on Harvard’s website.

You can make rich low-fat yogurt yourself. It’s really quite simple. Try the recipe below.

Easy Home Made Yogurt Recipe

This recipe has five short steps:

1. Stir ¾ cup non-fat dry milk into 2 quarts 1% milk.
2. Heat it to 180°F.
3. Let it cool to 120°F.
4. Stir ¼ cup plain low-fat yogurt into the milk as a starter.
5. Keep the milk warm for at least 3 hours.

It’s probably easiest to heat the milk in a double boiler or in a glass bowl in a microwave. If you prefer, you can heat the milk in a heavy pan over medium heat, but you will need to stir it constantly to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Any brand of plain yogurt should work for the starter as long as it has “live, active cultures” in the list of ingredients. Use a container of yogurt that hasn’t been previously opened, and check its expiration date. Also make sure that anything that touches the cooled milk or yogurt starter has been freshly washed so as not to introduce foreign bacteria or enzymes that might interfere with the yogurt-making process.

To keep the milk warm (Step 5), put it in a container with a lid and place it in a picnic cooler. Add hot tap water (110-120°) to the cooler to surround the milk and help keep it warm. To become yogurt, the milk must stay above 100° for about 3 hours. The longer it’s kept warm, the tangier and firmer the yogurt will be.

When the yogurt is done, you may see whey, a yellowish liquid, separating out. That’s normal for yogurt that doesn’t have added stabilizers.

Save ¼ cup of the newly made yogurt to use as a starter for the next batch. For best results, use the starter within a couple of weeks. If you don’t like the texture of your first batch of yogurt, try it again using a different brand of yogurt as a starter.

Makes about 12 servings.

Relevance to Natural Weight Loss:

Weight Loss Tip: Eat lots of yogurt. Make your own to save money and avoid the added ingredients in commercial yogurt.

Find more simple weight loss tips and recipes in this top-rated ebook at Amazon.