Health Benefits of Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt has the taste of yogurt and the creamy texture and consistency of cream or cream cheese. Greek yogurt is made from fermenting cow’s or goat’s milk and then straining water to give the thick, creamy consistency. Other ways of preparing it are boiling milk for a little longer time to to reduce its water percentage or adding cream to the milk to increase the density. But if you are conscious of your waist line then greek yogurt prepared from regular curd made from double toned milk will give you almost the same flavour and texture.

Lately greek yogurt is finding its popularity amongst people due to its nutrition and taste. It is used in various dishes and can be substituted for mayonnaise, sour cream in the recipes to make it healthy without compromising on the taste. You can prepare greek yogurt at home by leaving the normal yogurt in a muslin cloth for an hour and letting the water content drain out.

For all those healthy conscious enthusiasts  we have put together a few easy ways of adding greek yogurt to your diet. These options not only are delicious but are packed with nutrition catering to your daily nutrition requirement.

Greek Yogurt Dip: Add fresh finely chopped peppermint or coriander, onion and some spices like salt and pepper to the yogurt to create a  tasty dip for your finger foods. This can be served with vegetable sticks or roasted potato chips. This small serving of dip has minimum of 70 calories in it.

Quick snack: You can eat a bowl of greek yogurt with a pinch of salt as a quick, filling snack. Or even add steamed corn to a bowl of yogurt with salt and pepper. Taste of corn and sour taste of yogurt give it a tangy taste. It provides the body with fiber, carbohydrates, protein and essential micro nutrients. Corn can also be substituted with fruits like strawberry, mangoes, apples, peaches, bananas etc. This healthy snack would be around 240-270 calories

Salad Dressing: Another healthy salad dressing option that just needs salt and pepper. This can be added to chopped carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, onions , tomatoes, rocket leaves, lettuce and even cabbage leaves. It gives the perfect creamy flavour and texture to the salad without taking away the health benefits unlike most of the packaged salad dressings available. 75 gms of salad with greek yogurt dressing will contain approximately 210 calories.

Substitute for Milk: If you don’t like milk or are lactose intolerant and looking for a change in taste then you can enjoy greek yogurt with breakfast cereals. Simply substitute milk with greek yogurt and add it to your bowl of muselli . The fiber of the cereal with its micro nutrients add along with the nutrition of greek yogurt for better health. A smalll serving will have approximately 215 calories. If you wish to add fruits then you can add another 50 calories to the original calorie count.

Sandwich spread: Instead of using cream cheese or mayonnaise or other packaged sandwich spread greek yogurt can be used to increase the nutritional value of the sandwich.  The combination provides all the nutrition like carbs, fiber, protein and vitamins and minerals adding not much of calories.

Eating a serving of greek yogurt is only 90 calories approx and contains more of protein and lesser carbohydrates which keeps you fuller for a longer time. Greek yogurt is a good source of calcium, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B12, and phosphorus. It contains no fat and adds no cholesterol to the body.

It has similar health benefits as the regular yogurt. It is beneficial for people who are lactose resistant and promotes intestinal health. It helps build strong bones, teeth and keeps muscles building. If you are on a weight loss diet you can include it in your diet as it is low in carbs & calories. It contains lesser sodium than the regular yogurt. It also contains anti-cancer properties and enhances better immune system.

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