Let's Be Accountable

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Do you have any good recipies for making greek yogurt? I would love to get it, if You;re willing to give it out.

A lot of people make regular yogurt and strain it in butter cloth or a similar fabric. It thickens up this way, but I have been thinking of trying this culture to see if it will start out thicker. So far, I'm very pleased by the cultures I have gotten from this company.

In the beginning the fruits and vegatables were a challange for me also. Three things have helped. The first was the realization that I could have two servings of the same item. So 7-9 became 4-5 and the pressure was reduced, not to mention the waste. The second big help was to use vegatables in place of starches. Instead of a bed of rice or pasta I use cooked greens. I also make macaroni and cheese using broccoli. Finally side dishes have become main dishes in our house. We are slowly moving away from meat as the central focus in our meals.

Congrats! I think lifestyle changes can be difficult, so kudos to you and your family!

You can use skim, though, I like 2% milk. It will be creamier with more milk fat in it.

Oh and be sure to cool the milk down to 90-110 degrees F, before adding the yogurt culture, then hold it warm, not hot. (I should have put that in the original instructions.)
I've heard some people get the milk warm, then wrap in a towel and put in a warm cooler to hold the heat, overnight.

I do not have a yogurt-maker. Add a few other jars of every warm water to the cooler to keep the milk warm. I read that a heating pad wrapped around the jar is also good, but have not tried it.


 
I am also facing the same challenge. I didn't use to be a fruit or a vegetable eater. But now I am following a diet that depends on eating a lot of fruits and veggies. I start my dinner with a large salad bowl with a lot of fat free salad dressing. It makes me almost full. And during lunch time I make a large bowl of fruit salad with any fruits available and I share with my kids. I have lost now about 10 pounds during 6 weeks. I don't have any medical problems but eating healthy and walking in the morning have made me in a better mood.
 
I am also facing the same challenge. I didn't use to be a fruit or a vegetable eater. But now I am following a diet that depends on eating a lot of fruits and veggies. I start my dinner with a large salad bowl with a lot of fat free salad dressing. It makes me almost full. And during lunch time I make a large bowl of fruit salad with any fruits available and I share with my kids. I have lost now about 10 pounds during 6 weeks. I don't have any medical problems but eating healthy and walking in the morning have made me in a better mood.

One of the things I do is add strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, fresh pineapple, melon, or blackberries to a tossed salad and make an oil and vinegar dressing for the salad, toss on some chia or raw sunflower seeds or pepitas. I do this for my parents when I'm there and do that for us when we have fresh fruit available from the garden or it is on special. I also juice veggies and fruits. My favorite is a couple of beets, cucumber, celery, apple, carrots, maybe a tomato or two, and pineapple (but I love beet juice). You get lots of veggie/fruit portions in an 8-oz glass of juice. I love blueberry juice (when blueberries are in season). I save the pulp for soup when I juice. I usually add pulp that has fruit in it to pork stock.

I'll add some fresh parsley as well. If you find the veggie flavours too much, go for fruit. Watermelon is amazing when juiced. You can usually p/up a juicer at a local thrift store for next to nothing. And, you can get all your veggie/fruit daily portions in one glass of juice.

If it isn't sweet enough, add more apples or pineapple. You can add a tsp of honey or maple syrup if need be or make a smoothie from the juice and yogurt.
 
Last edited:
I absolutely love smoothies.

Green smoothies, or fruit smoothies.

My favorite is baby spinach, lime, apples, parsley, celery. When I have it, I also add silken tofu for protein and have a mason jar of smoothie for lunch with half a tuna sandwich, or something. You get SO many fruits and veggies this way.

My other favorite is a blueberry spinach smoothie with cocoa for breakfast. Yummmm!

I don't juice, just puree. I prefer to get the whole veggie/fruit and all of it's yummy nutrients!
 
I did ok today. Fruit for bfast, then more fruit for morning and afternoon snack. Baked potato and chili for lunch. Grilled pork chop, pasta side, and salad. Oh yeah when I got home from work I had a brownie. And doing the Wii Fit now, maybe some Just Dance later!
 
I've been off the board for a while and just noticed this thread. I would have loved to report my giant salad I had packed for lunch at work today....if someone hadn't thrown it out!:mad: I was so mad, I was literally shaking. I did have my oatmeal, banana and cottage cheese. Then we went out for supper and besides the chips and salsa and a couple of tortillas, I did well with my fav shrimp cocktail.
 
I do not have a yogurt-maker. Add a few other jars of every warm water to the cooler to keep the milk warm. I read that a heating pad wrapped around the jar is also good, but have not tried it.

I use he heating pad wrapped around the jar. I have used other methods, but this is the easiest.

First figure out the right setting. I put plastic wrap over a jar of water and inserted a thermometer through the plastic wrap. Then I wrapped the jar in the heating pad and turned it on to medium and left it for a couple of hours. I did the same with high and low.

Now my heating pad has strings tied around it all the time so I can just slip the jar in. :chef:
 
Yoghurt paradiso:

Put some nice, plain yoghurt in a bowl. Add some canned fruit with a little bit of the liquid. Sprinkle liberally with a nice nutty granola. Old fashioned, hippy dessert.
 
I love, love, love Greek yogurt and have it nearly every day! Since I have been Bento-boxing, I always pack a half-cup of Greek yogurt and then add something to it: Some dried pomogranet seeds and/or a spoon of lemon curd. 1/4 cup of blueberries, etc. It's wonderful! I am going to try to make my own because I go through it so quickly.

As for being more healthy, I strive to "eat the color wheel" every day. It's been working well for me. Instead of saying, "I need to eat string beans, an apple, etc., I will say, I need something blue (get blueberries). I need something red (get tomatoes.) As I chomp the banana, I make note that something yellow is now off the list. It's worked pretty well for me.

My groupings are: purple/blue, green, yellow/orange, orange/red, beige/white. Today, I've had blueberries, green chilies as part of lunch, a banana, [am currently missing something orange or red, but if I get hungry, I know what I need and have some oranges), and shallots in the fritatta.

That is such a great idea!!

I find that one of the keys to getting fruits and veggies in every day is to prepare ahead of time! Make sure you have them cut up the night before and stored in sealed bags or containers. This makes it easy to grab them and go in the morning!
 
I have been doing well with my fruits, veggies & greek yougurts. But, this weekend I really blew it. We attended a church dinnner with alot of family, food & fun. It sure makes me feel guilty & not so good inside.
Back to eating right & exercising tomorrow.
 
I have been doing well with my fruits, veggies & greek yougurts. But, this weekend I really blew it. We attended a church dinnner with alot of family, food & fun. It sure makes me feel guilty & not so good inside.
Back to eating right & exercising tomorrow.

The guilt of "falling off the wagon" is a killer.

I hope that some day you can get past that. Having functions like this are part of life, and you cannot always eat according to a diet. For me as long as I hit that 80% mark (of eating well), I don't beat myself up over the 20%, because life happens and if you don't allow yourself to live, this new eating lifestyle will never work for the long term!

But I'll tell you, even after over a year, I catch myself feeling guilty once in a while, but I am getting better at "snapping out of it"!
 
The guilt of "falling off the wagon" is a killer.

I hope that some day you can get past that. Having functions like this are part of life, and you cannot always eat according to a diet. For me as long as I hit that 80% mark (of eating well), I don't beat myself up over the 20%, because life happens and if you don't allow yourself to live, this new eating lifestyle will never work for the long term!

But I'll tell you, even after over a year, I catch myself feeling guilty once in a while, but I am getting better at "snapping out of it"!
Thank you I appreciate your support. I am determined to get back on the elipticcal machine tomorrow. Life just gets so busy sometimes there is a milliion excuses not to. i am determined to get healthy,
 
Thank you I appreciate your support. I am determined to get back on the elipticcal machine tomorrow. Life just gets so busy sometimes there is a milliion excuses not to. i am determined to get healthy,

You're on the right track!

In a little over 2 weeks I am heading to Las Vegas and their famous buffets:ohmy:

I am giving myself some slack, but am going to walk as much as possible and take stairs when I can. If I gain a few pounds, oh well, I'll take care of them when I get back!
 
Have a great trip. Safe travels. Let me know how it went with all the wonderfull food & food art.
 
I hate cold fruit...I like my fruit at room temperature. But, I make a veggie salad (similar to a fruit salad). In the summer I have this in the summer from the time the tomatoes start until the end of the fall--tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, cucumbers, carrots, parsley, basil, EVOO, and white basalmic vinegar.
 
I hate cold fruit...I like my fruit at room temperature. But, I make a veggie salad (similar to a fruit salad). In the summer I have this in the summer from the time the tomatoes start until the end of the fall--tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, cucumbers, carrots, parsley, basil, EVOO, and white basalmic vinegar.

You put raw garlic in a salad? I've always been afraid to since I thought it would be too strong.
 
We were so busy in the cafe today I was so tired & not motivated after work but I sucked it up & put in 25 mn. on the eliptical anyway. Glad I did I feel better now.Another busy day tomorrrow.I still have a hard time getting in my protein.
 
The Mad Monks of Athos live very long and mainly cancer free lives, the head monk says it is down to their diets and the fact that they are a closed order and women are not allowed inside the monastery:)
 
You put raw garlic in a salad? I've always been afraid to since I thought it would be too strong.
My DH likes garlic in everything, so yes, we put raw garlic in this. You could leave it out or put roasted garlic in. I also put sweet and hot peppers in when they are available from the garden.
 
Back
Top Bottom