Homemade Yogurt, Protein Bars, and Fish Erotica

It takes some creativity, ingenuity, and a little extra work to be able to live an organic, chemical free life on a budget.

Saturday is the day of the week set aside in our household, not only to do our housekeeping and laundry, but to make the things others might buy. My motto is "If I can make it, I don't buy it." You would be amazed at what one can make and accomplish if you try.

In addition to the household cleaners, laundry detergent, and dog treats covered in previous blogs,  I make homemade yogurt and protein bars. As much as we look for these items at salvage grocery stores (which will be a blog for next week), we still save lots of money making them ourselves.

So today, in between loads of laundry, I began the task of making both.

I was very happy, by the way,  as a dreary, wet day, filled with sunshine and I was able to hang the blankets outside to dry. Inside, I hung my work and workout gear above a heating vent and they dried quickly.  Never let a good heating vent go to waste.

Jamie, in the meantime, washed all the dishes, folded the towels and the family cloth, and cleaned the bathroom with her new favorite cleaner....baking soda and Dr Bronner's paste. She then got into a very strange conversation on Facebook regarding erotic fish poetry after our local grocery advertised Tilapia Loins. Since when do fish have loins? Her contribution to the discussion was in the spirit of the Song of Solomon and is as follows:

"How beautiful are the fins of my lover, her scales brilliant as jewels, her loins girded with fishly desire". 

Anyhoo, back to the yogurt.....

If you are unaware, organic yogurt is not cheap. For a 32 oz of Nancy's Organic Probiotic Yogurt, I pay about $6. Instead of simply eating that $6 yogurt, using it as a yogurt culture to make more yogurt, is an efficient way to stretch a dollar. In fact, depending on how much yogurt you eat, you can save up to $1000 dollars a year according to some estimates. 

What you will need:

1/2 pint Ball canning jars with lids and caps
Whole or 2 percent organic milk
 Large stainless steel stock pot
Canning funnel
Yogurt starter (store bought or some from your last batch of homemade yogurt)
Measuring spoons
Dishpan
Oven with oven light
Bathtowel
Thermometer optional but not necessary

1. HEAT: Pour milk into your stockpot. You can use any amount but it must be greater than one quart. Homemade yogurt will last 2-3 weeks in your refrigerator, so keep that in mind when selecting the amount of milk you will use. Heat the milk on low to medium heat until bubbles come to the top forming a skin or 180 degrees. Turn the heat off. 
2. STERILIZE: Pour the hot milk straight into your jars. I use 1/2 pint jars. Allow 1 inch head space. The hot milk will sterilize your jars. 
3. COOL: Let your milk until you can pour your finger into it. Warm but not burn, at about 115 degrees if using a thermometer. 
4. STARTER: Add your yogurt starter. I add 1 tsp per 1/2 pint. Stir the starter gently into the milk. You are introducing, not incorporating the starter. 
5. INCUBATE: Cap your jars, tight, but not too tight. Place your jars gently into a dishpan, fill the pan with the hottest water you can get from your tap, up to the milk level of your jars. This will help incubate your yogurt. Place the dishpan on the lowest rack in your oven, with the oven light on,  and cover the dishpan with a bath towel. Incubate overnight. In the morning, transfer your yogurt to the fridge to cool. 

Homemade yogurt will have a layer of whey on the top which is wonderfully abundant with healthy yogurt cultures. I incorporate this whey into my smoothies or stir it back into the yogurt.  In order to make Greek yogurt, line a bowl with several layers of cheesecloth held in place with rubber bands. Place your incubated yogurt on top of the cheesecloth, and allow the whey to drain through for several hours in your refrigerator. The longer you allow the yogurt to drain, the thicker your Greek yogurt will be. In the bottom of the bowl will be delicious whey that can be incorporated into other recipes. On the top will be your Greek yogurt.  Be advised that the yield will be one half or less than the yield of making the plain yogurt. You can add fruit, nuts, granola, oats, flax, chia seeds, honey, vanilla etc to your yogurt. 

You can do a 1/2 gallon of organic yogurt, for $3 or less.

Now to the Protein Bars....

What you will need:

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 1/4 cups of honey
2 cups (not scoops) of protein powder
1 cup of oats
1/4 cup of chia seeds (flax seeds can be substituted as desired)

Heat your peanut butter and honey in the microwave for 90 seconds and stir. Add the protein powder. We prefer vanilla protein powder. I make these in my KitchenAid stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix thoroughly and add oats and seeds mixing as you go. Spread the mixture in a pan and refrigerate. Makes about 24 bars. The bars are very nutrient dense. A little bit goes a long way. 

Considering that store bought protein bars are $1-3 each, the saving is amazing utilizing this recipe.

So there you have it, TONS of savings with just a little time and effort. Speaking of time and effort, the bidet experiment has gone wonderfully this week. We are squeaky clean, and no trees were harmed in the wiping of our booties. We realized the family cloth pieces used to pat us dry could be smaller which saved on laundry cost. We also found the cold water an effective way to wake our asses up at 3 am when I get ready for work. We only had two visitors this week (Jamie's parents), who were intrigued by the bidet but were afraid to try it. They quickly realized that blocking cold bidet water with your behind was more favorable than your face. So we declare this experiment a success!!