The Post in Which We talk about Culture...

Or more accurately, cultures. You know, the kind that turn plain old milk into yummy things like yogurt and cheese and stuff! After weight loss surgery, dairy can be a great source of protein. Unfortunately, there are a large number of people who end up with some semblance of lactose intolerance post-op as well. In today's market, there are lots of non-dairy alternatives to regular dairy products: almond cheese, coconut yogurt, walnut cream cheese and many more. Again on the unfortunate side, the majority of these options don't carry as much protein as the original dairy products. If you have issues with dairy products or are vegan, this post probably isn't for you :( .  promise I will have something for y'all in the future though!

(Photo from Eating Well)

One of the things I've found myself turning to again and again since surgery is Greek yogurt (also known as Greek Style yogurt or Strained Yogurt.) Because a good amount of excess water is strained out of the cultured product, you end up with a much more nutrient dense product that what we Americans tend to get in our regular yogurt. You can refer to the table below to see the average nutritional stats for various types of "regular" yogurt versus Greek yogurt.

As you can see, there's a HUGE difference in the nutritional info of regular, non-strained yogurt and strained Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt has a lot more protein and a lot less carbs. Given the life we live post op, this is perfect for our daily macros! After that little lesson in the nutrition of yogurts, I guess we should move on to the recipes.

Greek yogurt is great in both sweet and savory applications. One thing that's really easy to do to add an extra bit of protein to a meal is replace sour cream with greek yogurt. Add a dollop on top of your chili with some shredded cheese. Put a couple tablespoons as an "in the bowl" mix in for your cream soups and chowders. You can make dip for veggies using a mixture of greek yogurt, cottage cheese 
and dip mix. Or try one of these recipes:



 

 Protein Mousse

• One 11oz Premier Protein shake (flavor of your choice)
• 2oz neufchatel cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 box instant sugar free pudding mix (flavor of your choice)

• 8oz plain fat free greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 packets of Truvia

1. In a medium mixing bowl, add protein shake and pudding mix. Combine well using either a hand whisk or electric mixer. Place in the fridge for at least an hour or until it's fully set
2. While pudding is setting, add neufchatel cheese to a small bowl and whip using electric mixer. When cheese is nice and soft, slowly add yogurt and 2 packets of Truvia, continuing to whip until well combined. Set in fridge.
3. When pudding is fully set, use a spatula to gently mix together the pudding and the yogurt mixture. Set aside.
4. In a chilled mixing bowl, pour cold heavy whipping cream and 2 packets of Truvia. Using an electric mixer, whip cream to stiff peaks. Using the same spatula that you used to mix the yogurt and pudding, slowly fold in the whipped cream, adding approximately 1/3 of the cream at a time. Continue to fold gently until well combined, being careful not to over-mix.
5. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

 My next favorite recipe that includes a good amount of greek yogurt is my "healified" version of Buffalo Wing Dip. I came up with this when I hit stage 4 (or maybe 5?) post-op when I was allowed the "soft solid" foods. I was still trying to get as many calories and protein as possible into a 2oz portion without it being disgusting. Using my calorie deprived brain, I managed to come up with a combination that was good for me then and that I still use to this day. You can easily modify it to fit slightly different diets. Morningstar Farms has a "pork shreds" meat replacement on the market now that might be able to use in place of shredded chicken to even make it vegetarian friendly. However, this recipe is FAR from vegan friendly. I'm not so great with making things like this vegan friendly, so if you come up with a version that works for that, please feel free to let me know!! I will definitely add it and give you the credit!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

•  2 (12.5oz) cans Chicken Breast Chunk, drained
• 1/2 cup Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
• 1 cup Fat Free Cottage Cheese
• 8 oz Fat Free Cream Cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
• 1 cup 2% Milk Sharp Cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 cup 0% Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
• Sliced Green Onions, (optional)

1. Empty chicken into slow cooker. Using a fork, break up and shred the chunks of chicken to your desired consistency (I like it fully shredded but you can leave it chunky if you want to.)
2. Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to the pot. Using the same fork you shred the chicken with, mash the cream cheese into the chicken until it's fairly well combined.
3. Add cottage cheese, blue cheese dressing and greek yogurt before mixing well.
4. Add hot sauce 1 Tbsp. at a time until you reach your desired heat level. You can go over 1/4 cup (I'm a spice wimp) and it won't really change the nutritional stats all that much.
5. Set slow cooker on low and cook for approximately an hour. Add cheddar cheese and stir well. Turn off cooker and serve or leave on low/warm until you're ready to eat.
1. I like to serve this with celery and carrots. It's also great as a protein for your salad after it's cooled off.

One of the things I use greek yogurt for the most is for sweet things. I have a wicked sweet tooth that, sadly, didn't go away after surgery. Greek yogurt is great for thing since it is, on it's own, high protein and low carb. As long as you're careful with what you add to it, you can come out with either a huge portion (well, for us with tiny tummies) or a few smaller portions of a dessert that will fit your macros! The options are endless, really. The formula I tend to follow is as follows: 
  

1. Yogurt
2. Sugar Free Instant Pudding mix (flavor of choice) AND/OR 1/2 scoop of protein powder (also flavor of choice)
3. 2 packets favorite low carb sweetener
4. 1/8 tsp extracts/flavorings of choice
5. extras (this can include nuts, seeds, sugar free mini chocolate chips, fruit, etc. Be creative! Just be mindful of what it adds nutrition wise.)

Then you just mix it all together in a bowl! Below are some of my favorite go-to mixes. Keep in mind that these are just ideas I've come up with. Using the formula above, you can come up with pretty much anything you want.

 

Chocolate Monkey Yogurt

• 8oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 scoop Chocolate Protein Powder
• 1 Tbsp. Powdered Peanut butter
• 2 Packets Truvia
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp. Almond Extract
• 1 tsp. Sugar Free Banana Instant Pudding Mix

(I recommend not eating the entire 8oz of this in one sitting since it's higher in carbs) 























 

Banana Cream Pie Yogurt 

• 8oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 scoop Vanilla
• 2 Packets Splenda
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp. Banana Extract
• 1 tsp. Sugar Free Banana Instant Pudding Mix
• 2 Tbsp. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut, toasted

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Pumpkin Pie Yogurt

• 8oz Fat Free Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
• 1 Tbsp. Pumpkin Puree
• 2 Packets Truvia
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 tsp. Almond Extract
• 1 tsp. Sugar Free Butterscotch Pudding Mix
• 1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

 
(I topped my yogurt with a mix of nuts and seeds in this photo, which isn't included in the nutrition listed here)




So, that's it for now guys. I have lots of other recipes for this sort of thing, which I post to my instagram a lot. If you're interested in following me over there, give the picture above a click and it'll bring you right to my page. What other things do you work greek yogurt into? Are there any specific things you want to do with greek yogurt but need help coming up with a recipe for? Let me know!