Editor’s note
The following abstract describes a publication that is available for purchase or as a downloadable PDF.
Susan Mills-Gray
Easy-to-prepare recipes and tips for using yogurt are displayed in this eight-page flier. Additional seasonal recipes, ingredients, tips, and safety measures are also included.
Topics
- Yogurt
- SNAP
- Recipes
- Healthy eating
- Food preparation
- Cooking tips
Recipes
- Shepherd’s Pie
- Turkey Stew
- Waldorf Salad
- Herb Yogurt Dip
- Deep Dish Apple Cranberry Pie
- Yogurt Freezer Pops
- Egg Salad with Greek Yogurt
- Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Pages
- 8
Yogurt Tips
- Yogurt is a nutrient-rich food that fuels your body with protein, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12, and some key fatty acids that your body needs to stay healthy.
- Choose yogurt with few (5 or fewer) ingredients, including milk, the bacterial cultures used to turn milk into yogurt, and not much else. Remember that all yogurts contain some natural sugar in the form of lactose (milk sugar). Some manufacturers add sugar to give it a sweeter taste. Avoid all yogurts that have any added sugar on the ingredient list. Added sugar has many different names, including:
- sucrose
- high fructose corn syrup
- fruit juice
- cane sugar
- agave nectar
- When choosing yogurt, the better option is to pick brands with the least sugar per serving. Typically, the best choice is plain, unflavored yogurt. If you don’t like plain yogurt, sweeten it with fresh fruit.
- While low-fat or fat-free dairy may be lower in calories, reduced-fat yogurt typically contains more added sugar to compensate for losing flavor from fat.
- Making yogurt requires Healthy bacteria. They turn the milk sugar (lactose) into lactic acid, which causes the yogurt to taste sour. These probiotic bacteria, often called “live cultures” in yogurt, can offer many health benefits. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) provides a “Live and Active cultures” seal for yogurts that contain 100 million cultures (bacteria) per gram at the time of testing. The most important thing is to avoid yogurts that have been heat-treated or pasteurized after adding the probiotics. Pasteurization kills the bacteria, which must be alive to benefit you. These yogurt labels should say “heat treated after culturing.”
- Greek yogurt provides about twice as much protein as traditional yogurt and around half the carbs. However, this means Greek yogurt is also typically higher in calories and fat and contains less calcium than traditional yogurt making it a good choice for those who are lactose intolerant.
- Dairy-free yogurts, such as soy- or coconut milk yogurt, are much lower in fat than traditional yogurt and do not contain lactose.
Shepherd’s Pie
This Shepherd’s pie recipe is a twist on the classic comfort food. Using frozen veggies helps you get it on the dinner table quickly.
Yield: 6 Servings
Time: 50 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes, large with skin, diced
- 1/3 cup milk, skim
- 1/2 pound ground turkey, 85% lean
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 package frozen mixed vegetables (10 ounces)
- 1 can vegetable stock, low sodium (14.5 ounces) shredded cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Place diced potatoes in saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (about 15 minutes).
- Drain potatoes and mash. Stir in milk and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Brown ground turkey in a large skillet. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add vegetables and broth. Bring to slow boil.
- Spoon vegetable/meat mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish. Spread potatoes over mixture. Bake 25 minutes.
- Serve hot. Garnish with shredded cheese (optional).
Turkey Stew
This hearty stew of turkey, potatoes, and vegetables will warm up a cold winter night. You can replace the cooked turkey with cooked chicken.
Yield: 4 Servings
Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup onion (chopped)
- 1 garlic clove (finely chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 4 carrot (chopped)
- 2 celery stalk (chopped)
- 2 potatoes (chopped)
- 1 can tomatoes, diced
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups turkey (cooked, chopped)
- salt and pepper (optional, to taste)
- Italian seasoning or oregano, basil or thyme (to taste, optional)
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Heat oil in medium saucepan. Add onion, garlic, carrots and celery and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add potatoes, tomatoes, and water to pan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add turkey and cook another five minutes or until heated.
- Season to taste before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.
Source:
https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/nutrition-education/snap-ed-recipes/winter-recipes#recipe-2545
Herb Yogurt Dip
Yield: 5 Servings
Time: 5 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt or dairy-free yogurt alternative
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice Optional: add 1 teaspoon thyme, chives, or parsley
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together.
- Try dip and adjust seasoning based on flavor preference.
Source:
https://extension.umaine.edu/food-health/recipes/herb-yogurt-dip/
Waldorf Salad
Extra apples from the market? Try this Waldorf Salad with walnuts and crunchy fall apples.
Yield: 6 Servings
Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)
- 2 apples (cored and diced)
- 1 cup celery (diced)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt, non-fat
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place chopped walnuts on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. Stir occasionally until they are evenly toasted.
- Combine apples, celery, nuts, and raisins.
- Stir together yogurt, sugar, and lemon juice. Pour over apple mixture and toss lightly.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Deep Dish Apple Cranberry Pie
Cranberries and apples are the perfect combination for this delicious homemade dessert.
Yield: 10 Servings
Time: 75 Minutes
Ingredients
- 4 apples (large, peeled, cored, and sliced)
- 2 1/2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup flour (all purpose)
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- 1 pie crust (prepared)
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Stir all ingredients (except for the pie crust) together in a medium sized mixing bowl and place in a 10-inch deep dish pie pan.
- Place one pie crust on top of the fruits. Cut 3 or 4 slits to allow the steam to escape.
- Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour. Serve warm. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Yogurt Freezer Pops
Dairy foods like milk, cheese, and yogurt are rich in calcium, protein, and vitamins to help build strong bones and teeth. Calcium keeps your nerves, heart, and muscles healthy, and may help regulate your blood pressure.
Yield: 12 Servings
Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients
- 6 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate*, thawed
- 2 cups yogurt, low-fat vanilla*
- 12 (3 ounce) paper cups
- Aluminum foil
- 12 wooden sticks
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- In a medium bowl, combine thawed juice concentrate and yogurt. Stir until smooth.
- Place paper cups close together on a baking sheet.
- Pour juice/yogurt mixture into paper cups.
- Cover the cups with a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Insert stick for each freezer pop by making a slit in foil over the center of each cup. The aluminum foil serves to keep the sticks in place as the juice/yogurt mixture freezes.
- Freeze freezer pops until firm.
- To serve, run warm water on the outside of each cup to loosen each freezer pop from the cup.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the freezer.
Source:
https://food.unl.edu/recipe/yogurt-freezer-pops
Banana Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
No one will know that these tasty cookies don’t have any added sugar.
Yield: 15 Servings
Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- 3 bananas (ripe)
- 1/3 cup margarine
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats (uncooked)
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Put the margarine in a small saucepan. Melt it on low heat.
- Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix really well.
- Let the mix stand for about 5 minutes, until the oats are wet.
- Lightly grease the cookie sheet.
- For each cookie, spoon out about 1 tablespoon of dough and drop it onto the greased cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 1 minute.
- Move the cookies to wire racks or a towel. Let them cool completely.
Egg Salad with Greek Yogurt
Yield: 4 Servings
Time: 10 Minutes
Ingredients
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion or 1 Tablespoon fresh green onion
- 1/2 cup celery, diced (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper (optional) 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Using a potato masher or fork, breakdown hard boiled eggs into small pieces.
- Add Greek yogurt, lemon juice, onion, celery, pepper, salt, and mix together.
- Serve with crackers or on your favorite whole wheat bread.
Source:
https://extension.umaine.edu/food-health/recipes/egg-salad-with-greek-yogurt/
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Leftover chicken and frozen veggies help this chicken pot pie come together quickly.
Yield: 6 Servings
Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (thawed)
- 1 cup cooked chicken (cut-up)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, low-fat (10-3/4 ounce, condensed)
- 1 cup baking mix, reduced-fat (example: Bisquick)
- 1/2 cup milk (non-fat)
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Wash hands with soap and water.
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
- Mix vegetables, chicken and soup in ungreased, 9-inch pie plate
- Stir remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl with fork until blended. Pour over vegetables and chicken in pie plate.
- Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and serve.
Source:
https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/nutrition-education/snap-ed-recipes/winter-recipes#recipe-2544