I made some really good yogurt last week and I thought I'd put the recipe in here. I used a low carb 2% milk because that was the only kind of Carb Countdown my store had. (*You can use any pasteurized milk.) And on second thought, next time I'll probably use a fat free milk. This was good but I could have done better on the fat percentage.

Items you'll need:

1.) A candy thermometer.
2.) A container for yogurt that holds at least 5 cups. Like something that's glass, crockery, food-grade plastic or stainless steel.
3.) A double broiler is suggested, but I didn't have one so I just used a big pot and kept an eye on it as it heated.
4.) A warm place for the yogurt to incubate. I used a small cooler, 2 hand towels, and a heating pad.

Ingredients:

1 quart of Hood's Carb Countdown 2% milk
1/3 c. non fat dry powdered milk
1/2 a pkg. (or 1 t.) unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. commercial, unflavored, cultured yogurt (starter)

Place cold, pasteurized milk in the top of a double boiler and stir in nonfat dry milk powder. Sprinkle gelatin over the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften gelatin. Heat milk to 200 degrees and hold for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring gently to dissolve gelatin.

Place the pan with the mixture in cold water to cool milk to 112 degrees to 115 degrees. Watch the temperature carefully as it falls rapidly once it reaches 125 degrees F. Remove pan from cold water. Add the 1/2 c. of yogurt starter to the pan and stir. Pour immediately into the clean container, cover and place in prepared incubator. Close incubator.

Note: I took the small cooler, put in the heating pad and turned it on medium heat, laid one hand towel on top of the heating pad, put in the quart jar of liquid, laid another hand towel on top of that, and closed the lid.

You can incubate your yogurt for 4 hours. I let mine sit for almost 8 hours. The longer you incubate, the more tart or acidic the flavor will be. Refrigerate immediately. Yogurt will keep for about 10 days.

You can use this as a starter to make more yogurt from. It's recommended that eventually you start off with fresh starter, but this is good for quite a while.

Serving suggestions for home-prepared yogurt from here: http://chetday.com/howtomakeyogurt.htm This web site has useful information and other suggestions for what to use as an incubator.

• Serve on fruit or vegetables as a low calorie substitute for sour cream.
  
  
• For dip or salad dressing, add chopped onion, chives, curry powder, dried onion soup mix or other flavorings.
  
  
• To make fruit-flavored yogurt, stir sliced or crushed fruit into plain yogurt. Nuts or raisins can also be added. Add sweetener to taste if needed. Plain yogurt mixed with applesauce is a quick and delicious treat.
  
  
• Custard-flavored yogurt can be made by adding 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to 1 cup of yogurt. Sweeten to taste.
  
  
• Frozen yogurt on a stick: Add 2 tablespoons frozen fruit juice concentrate, or 1/2-cup sliced or crushed fruit to 2 cups plain yogurt. Freeze in Popsicle molds or cups with plastic spoons or wooden sticks for handles.
  
  
• Plain or fruit-flavored yogurt can be frozen in small containers and added to "brown bag" lunches to keep other items cold until lunchtime.

I entered my home made yogurt in the data base at Fitday.com and this are the totals that it came up with. And, like I mentioned earlier, I can save on the fat content next time by using milk with a lower fat content.

Total: 492
Fat: 18 163 33%
Sat: 12 109 22%
Poly: 0 0 0%
Mono: 0 0 0%
Carbs: 24 94 19%
Fiber: 0 0 0%
Protein: 59 236 48%

I figure that's about 123 calories per cup. Enjoy!

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Sounds good, but I'm much to lazy to make my own!

LOL You're missing out then!

I know you're more into spending your time out in the garden and stuff like that. I'm not into gardening ....... so I make my own delicious yogurt. Hey, if we lived closer, I could trade you home made yogurt for your home grown vegetables!

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That would be cool!

Funny thing is, I love to cook and spend quite a lot of time in the kitchen too!

I like some of the ideas you posted for ways to enjoy the yogurt! As a matter of fact, I'm having some this afternoon (not homemade) with some blackberries! I'm trying to learn to do the snack thing!

That sounds wonderful! Just remember that Dr. Agatson says it's best not to eat in the mornings when you first get up. It will cause a spike in your insulin. And if you do, eat a protein or fat with it.

I'm going to address that further as we discuss the book chapter by chapter. I'll try to get back to that thread tonight.

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