Easy homemade yoghurt is providing snacks and dessert and breakfasts this week. I found a super simple recipe which I’ll share below. I use UHT milk as we can’t get fresh milk here and it works just fine. I really love being able to turn out yoghurt every few days which saves a fortune and keeps everyone happy, shame I don’t like it myself!
The good thing about this easy homemade yoghurt recipe is that it doesn’t need any fancy equipment or ingredients although there are lots of really detailed, complicated recipes you can try if you like.
I like having it in the fridge for snacks because everyone is always starving obviously and Mac and Nico like it for dessert after dinner with lots of fruit and honey or for breakfast with granola and fruit. For a constant supply of yoghurt, the trick is to keep a little of what you make to use in the next batch it’s just a case of being organised which as you have worked out by now, I am not!
As well as yoghurt, we also ate some other stuff which you can see here!
Saturday
- Breakfast – Mixed fruit (kiwi, banana, apple, nectarine) and easy homemade yoghurt
- Lunch – Bread and tomatoes
- Dinner –Spicy roast chicken with salad & beans
Sunday
- Breakfast – Overnight oats with banana and nuts (ate in the woods)
- Lunch – Leftover salad with omelette
- Dinner – Lentils with green peppers, potatoes, onion and carrots
Monday
- Breakfast – Overnight oats with fruit and nuts
- Lunch –Tomatoes and goats cheese with cucumber and bread
- Dinner – Hummus with carrots and cucumber for dipping + savoury rice and mixed veggies
Tuesday
- Breakfast – Proper porridge with frozen berries and the boys had yoghurt too
- Lunch – hummus with rice and veggies
- Dinner – Herby roast chicken with salad and rice
Wednesday
- Breakfast – Overnight oats with fruit and nuts (again, eaten in the woods)
- Lunch – bread and tomatoes
- Dinner – Leftover chicken and salad
Thursday
- Breakfast – Overnight oats with fruit and honey and nuts
- Lunch – Bread and tomatoes with cheese and cucumber
- Dinner – Lentil chilli with rice
Friday
- Breakfast – Tomatoes on toast
- Lunch – Omelette and salad
- Dinner – Leftover chilli
Things to note
Slightly over budget this week at 124 Euros as we stocked up on extra beans, lentils, chickpeas, tinned tomatoes and milk. Next week sees our village treble in size and the start of the month-long party that is the August fiestas in our village so we’re trying to be prepared to avoid the stress of shopping in August as much as we can.
The nut lady was at the market this week and I spent a whopping 20 Euros but that will last us two weeks, even with making a flapjack. Since the stroke and our change in diet I really like having a constant supply of nuts. A bit like yoghurt it just feels safe and comforting to know that there is always something healthy to eat so we’re less likely to starve!
Mac had dental work done on Friday so I tried to make things that didn’t require much chewing!
I forgot to soak the oats a couple of times but if I put them in the fridge at 5 in the morning when I get up they are fine by 8 am. I did make proper warm porridge on Tuesday which was really comforting and perhaps a strange choice given we’re still sitting on 20 degrees at 6 am, but it was lovely.
I’ve been making my own yoghurt for a few weeks now following the recipe below which needs no special equipment at all, just clean containers and a warm spot.
I wish I liked yoghurt, I really do as it would make it much easier for me when it came to quick, easy cheap and healthy snacks but I don’t. I think it stems from when I was younger and we had yoghurt and brown sugar for breakfast every day for what seemed like 5 years straight!
For those of you who do like it, this is a really great recipe and I think once you’ve tried this you may think twice before buying yoghurt again!
Easy Homemade Yoghurt Recipe
(From Kathy Harrison’s brilliant book, ‘Just In Case’)
- 1 quart of milk (any kind will do)
- ¼ cup powdered milk
- 2 tablespoons plain yoghurt with active cultures
- Warm the milk over a medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. Stir in the powdered milk. (I like to mix the powdered milk in a separate bowl with a little warm milk first before adding it to the pan)
- Remove from the heat and let cool until lukewarm. You should be able to hold your finger comfortably in the milk for ten seconds.
- Add the yoghurt and stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into a wide-mouthed jar and place the jar in a warm spot and let it sit for 4-6 hours without disturbing it, then put it in the fridge. That’s it!
Kathy advises using glass and stainless steel utensils they are easy to keep really clean and I always sterilise my jars before use.
You can strain the yoghurt either before or after chilling through cheesecloth to make greek yoghurt but I’ve not tried that yet. As soon as I get some cheesecloth, I will have a go.
I’d love to know what you have been eating this week but more importantly, what’s your experience of homemade yoghurt?
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