Hi Guys!

As part of my health kick where I am sticking to the Mediterranean diet principles and trying to eat more homemade and locally sourced produce, I have decided to make my own yoghurt at home. I love it and it tastes better than store bought so here is how to make yoghurt at home with a yoghurt maker!

I had been buying a probiotic yoghurt to eat for breakfast in order to help balance my gut health every morning. Probiotic translates as “for life,” from its Greek and Latin etymology and they are good bacteria that help balances your gut microbiota which results in a healthier body and digestive system. You can read more about gut health in my recent post here – How to improve gut health naturally.

I found there was a lot of wastage with the packaging and I was having to wash out the empty plastic containers and recycle them. Both babies are eating the yoghurt now too and love it, which is great but it was working out expensive too. One evening my other half mentioned that we should start making our own at home. I didn’t even know that was possible before so I was intrigued when he told me you can make yoghurt at home with a yoghurt maker. I had never even heard of a yoghurt maker before!

I always thought it would be a long laborious task to make your own yoghurt at home and that only farmers do it since they have the resources. So of course I was keen to get a yoghurt maker since it would save on plastic waste, time and effort of recycling (since the glass pots go in the dishwasher) and also money! They sell farm bio yoghurt at our local shop for around 1.20 EUR each!! Our daughter loves them and they are her favourite ones so we knew she would like the homemade kind.

The next day we bought the yoghurt maker and it cost around 45 EUR but it wasn’t on sale or anything so you can probably get one cheaper. Anyway, we tried it out straight away and here is how it went. It is so easy to prep and quick to do.

What you need –

A yoghurt maker

2 small pots of bio natural plain yoghurt

2 L of pasteurised full fat milk

A spoon

 

1. Arrange the pots in the machine with the lids off and pour in 2 tsp of natural yoghurt to each jar.
2. Pour in the milk to the individual pots and mix well with the spoon.
3. Follow the instructions on your yoghurt maker.
4. Put the lids on each pot and replace the yoghurt maker lid.
5. Turn on and key in the details to your machine.
6. Leave to rest until it finishes (around 8 hours normally – depending on your yoghurt maker)
7. When finished, turn off your yoghurt maker, then remove the yoghurt pots.
8. Put the pots in the fridge, make a note of the batch date and enjoy for up to 12 days!

We all agreed the homemade yoghurt tastes better than the store bought kind. The kids love it and keep asking for it! We are delighted as it is so healthy for everyone. I just add a little honey to sweeten it for them and a teaspoon is enough for one pot. If not, I will add some homemade sugar free coulis (recipe below) or some fresh fruit pieces.

Here are some pics of the making process, it is really simple –

While I was waiting for our yoghurt to set, I decided to go about making some sugar-free berry coulis to have with it. Plain yoghurt is fine but I usually add something like fruit, honey or granola to it just to give it a bit more flavour. I do have a bit of a sweet tooth but I use honey instead of sugar nowadays. Honey is so good for you and is a fantastic substitute to sugar. Read my article on Manuka honey here. It doesn’t have to be Manuka, as I know it is expensive to buy but a natural organic honey also fine.

Sugar-free Berry Coulis Recipe

Here is what you need –

100g of blueberries

100g of raspberries

4tbsp of boiling water

1 tbsp of honey

Directions –

Heat the berries and water on the lowest heat to simmer on the stove.

Stir them together well without crushing the berries if possible.

Keep stirring to stop the mixture from sticking to the pan.

As you are stirring, slowly add in the honey and slowly stir in well.

Keep stirring and simmering for around 2-3 mins.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Add to an airtight container or bowl covered with cling film.

Leave in the fridge to solidify a bit.

It takes a couple of hours or so to become less liquid.

Once that is ready you can use it to add to your homemade yoghurt or for desserts and baking. It tastes great and just as good as the sugary kind!

Here are some pics to guide you –

I am going to use this yoghurt instead of my usual Greek yoghurt for making my fave salad dressing too. Check it out here

Let me know if you try this! I am going to be trying out more new flavours as you can add anything you like really. Stay tuned for that or subscribe!

If you want to learn more about my healthy lifestyle and diet, check out my recent post here

Chat soon x