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Years ago when I worked at Houston Natural Gas Corporation (HNG), that later became Enron (I had already left by then), there was a young lady who ate yogurt every time I saw her in the break room. At the time, I didn’t eat yogurt. Seeing the girl’s daily yogurt snack, however, made me curious. She ate the kind that has fruit at the bottom. It looked interesting, so, I got brave and tried different brands.

I really didn’t care for yogurt at first. I had to acquire a taste for it. Eventually, though, I began to like it. Now I’ve graduated from the berries on the bottom to just plain. If I would have tried out the plain kind back in my HNG days, I would have gagged at it.

Now, I like Greek yogurt. What is so special about Greek yogurt, and why has it become so popular among nutritionists? It is strained and has a creamy consistency. The results are more protein and less carb content than other yogurts.

If you want to learn more about the benefits of eating this yogurt, like Probiotics and staying fit, read David Heitz’s “8 Ways Greek Yogurt Benefits Your Health” article. The article states that, according to Registered Dietitian Alissa Rumsey, Greek yogurt is made by separating out the liquid whey.

My dad grew up on a Texas farm, and my brothers are in the cattle ranching business. The eldest has become quite a pro at learning about milk processing and how to make cheese and yogurt. He says “the whey is the liquid that separates from the more solid part that makes the cheese.” I’ve eaten his yogurt …

Farm-Fresh Yogurt
Fresh Yogurt from the Farm

and mozzarella cheese…

Mozzarella Cheese from Dairy Farms
Farm-fresh Mozzarella Cheese

and they are very tasty. My favorite is the yogurt. The milk is good, too.

Making milk from a dairy cow
Fresh Milk from the Farm

I’ve had raw milk and pasteurized from dairy cows as well as organic and the typical non-organic, pasteurized, homogenized milk in grocery stores. My fav? Raw milk. Of course, purchasing raw milk is not usually an option. So, the options most of us have is to buy the less-expensive milk or pay extra for the organic found in supermarkets.

I was spoiled several years ago by having the privilege of drinking pure, refrigerated milk straight from a friend’s dairy farm in Wisconsin. Since then, I haven’t been too crazy about drinking milk from the grocery store. Once you know the difference between organic vs. non-organic milk, you don’t want to revert back to non-organic. There are two ways I like milk other than drinking it raw: with chocolate or with hot chocolate chip cookies out of the oven – and that’s not often that I allow myself such a treat.

It has only been recent that I had my brother’s homemade creamy yogurt. Then I went on a road trip with my husband in the big rig that he drives. I was curious to know what type of nutritious truck stop food would be available and noticed Greek yogurt in some of the stores. By the time I went grocery shopping after the truck road trip, I was craving Greek yogurt. I started to choose a yogurt other than plain Greek – until I saw the carb and protein content. Guess which one I decided on. Yep. The plain Greek one. Lower carbs. Great protein.

What recipes can you come up with using plain Greek yogurt? Use it as a baked potato topping instead of sour cream, dip, smoothie, substitute it for Ricotta Cheese for lasagna, and make a ranch dressing for salads.

Try my Greek yogurt dip for your veggies and chips. The incredible Holmes Made Peach Habanero Jam that I discovered awhile back makes the difference in this sweet and spicy dip.

4 Ideas for this Greek Yogurt Sweet & Spicy Dip:

  • Greek Lamb Gyro (add 1/2 cucumber, finely chopped)
  • Veggie Wrap
  • Chicken Salad Sauce
  • Chicken Wing Dip

Sweet and spicy dip will go great for Big Game snacking. What dips are you making for the game this coming Sunday? Share them in this blog post’s comment section.

8 Comments





  1. Greek yogurt is so much better for you, but I don’t like the thicker texture. Any suggestions?

    1. Author

      Marissa, how about adding natural juice from one of your favorite fruits? That would liquefy it some and also make it very tasty with your added fruit juice (and/or mashed up fruit like berries). Your thoughts?

  2. I didn’t eat yogurt when I was growing up, either. When I tried it, in college, I liked it but being a poor college student, I usually bought the plain stuff. I learned that a spoonful of my moms homemade jam or apple butter made it taste better than the store bought. I don’t have the jam you recommended, but I will try that recipe with some jalapeno jelly.

    Where do you find the peach habanero jam?

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