I’ve always been a huge fan of Greek yogurt because I love the thick creaminess that makes it feel like you’re eating butter (yeah, I used to do that). But I know a lot of people who don’t like it – they can’t get over its tartness and lack of sugar. If you’re one of those people, I bet you’ll change your mind once you’ve seen some of the delicious ways I incorporate Greek yogurt into my diet.
Make pancakes
Greek yogurt is surprisingly good for making moist, flavorful pancakes that can hold lots of syrup. Greek yogurt pancakes are also really easy to make and require a lot less ingredients than normal pancakes!
1. In a large bowl, just mix one 5.3 ounce container of nonfat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of white flour (or try swapping half for whole wheat flour or quick-cooking oats if you want to be healthy), 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 large egg (or 2 egg whites).
2. Spray a nonstick pan with some cooking spray, pour out the batter, and fry those babies up! The batter should be thick, but if it’s too thick to flip, try adding a couple tablespoons of milk. You’ll end up with the most healthy, beautiful, and delicious pancakes!
It’s also super easy to create variations with these pancakes, since nowadays there are so many different flavors of Greek yogurt out there. For banana pancakes, try adding a few half-inch slices of banana and using vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt. For blueberry pancakes, add a 1/2 cup of blueberries and use blueberry yogurt. Or try whatever else your heart desires – either way, it’ll be good, I promise.
Photo by Amanda Shulman
Mmm, biscuits
I love those flaky Pillsbury biscuits topped with loads and loads of butter, but they’re not good for you (shocker)! So I’ve turned to Greek yogurt biscuits, which are just as good; they’re very Southern and buttermilk biscuit-like.
1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees and butter a baking sheet so it’s nice and not sticky.
2. Get a large bowl and mix together 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder (omit if you’re using self-rising flour), a dash of salt, 1 cup of Greek yogurt, and 1/2 cup of reduced-fat milk. Add cheese if you’re feeling crazy.
3. Mix until the dough is just barely combined and roll it out on a floured surface.
4. Use a biscuit cutter, or if you’re a peasant like me, an upside down cup, to cut the dough into circles.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes and enjoy your biscuits with some butter or jam.
And if you want real food…
So I saw on Pinterest that the easiest way of making really moist chicken is baking it in a coat of mayonnaise. Dry chicken has always been a huge no-no for me, but the recipe calls for a cup of mayonnaise, which kind of freaks me out. So I instead, I subbed in some Greek yogurt, and to my surprise, the baked chicken tasted delicious – super warm and melt-in-your-mouth-like. Okay, that might be kind of an exaggeration, but it was still really good.
1. Just take a couple chicken breasts and season them with salt and pepper.
2. Then, in a bowl, combine 1 cup of low-fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and any other herbs/spices you like.
3. Drench your chicken in the yogurt mixture – like, really soak it up and get the yogurt in all of the crevices. It’s a little gross, but also really fun.
4. Bake the chicken in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. That’s it!
Some other ideas are substituting Greek yogurt in recipes that call for sour cream (like on baked potatoes or dips) or simply spicing it up with some granola or fresh fruit. Needless to say, it’s time to go Greek.