Discovery: Greek Yogurt

Several recipes labeled "healthy" I ran across on Pinterest recently have utilized Greek yogurt.  I am not at all a fan of yogurt - the texture makes me gag because I feel like I'm eating a spoonful of slime - but after seeing the versatility of Greek yogurt (and hearing many testimonials as to its delicious nature and nutritious qualities), I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.

Photo: stonyfieldfarm.com

The first thing I made with it was naan (Indian flat bread) which turned out amazing and is definitely filed under "Do This Again And As Often As Possible."  Then I bought avocados and decided to make guacamole.

When I was a kid my mom made guacamole by adding mayonnaise, salsa, onion, salt, and cayenne pepper.  This time I decided to create my own, healthier (hopefully) version of my mom's delicious guacamole by substituting the Greek yogurt for the mayo.

I was floored when I tried it.  It tasted exactly like the original but the fat content was quite a bit lower than what I was used to.  I think I took this to heart a bit too much and overcompensated by eating extra with my chips that evening, but even my husband (the kids don't eat guacamole yet - though they have tried it multiple times) enjoyed it and agreed it tasted no different than the mayo version.

A few nights ago I was inspired to make fancy dessert for my family.  Usually this treat is reserved for the weekends (when it happens at all), but thanks to a friend's post on Facebook and an incredible sale on fresh strawberries at Fred Meyer, I was in the mood for crepes.

I found a recipe for a sweet cream filling but it was very high fat, using an entire brick (8oz) of cream cheese, a cup of sour cream, and a cup (!!!) of powdered sugar.  In an effort to make this dessert a little less heart-attack-worthy, I cut the cream recipe in half for the same number of crepes (so they only had half the filling the recipe called for), AND...I substituted Greek yogurt for the sour cream.

The first bite just about blew me out of the water, so to speak.  My eyelids literally dropped and I began chewing slowly, savoring the heavenly dish I had created.  Husband was no less impressed.

So, my newest healthy option discovery: Greek yogurt!  It can replace sour cream, oil, butter, mayonnaise, and a host of other things to cut down on unhealthy fat in your favourite recipes.

As a sidenote, I tried it on my breakfast burrito on Sunday in place of sour cream and it wasn't an experience I enjoyed...but I think I could get used to it if I never had sour cream on my burritos again.

How do you use Greek yogurt?