Greek Yogurt

The Greek's really have something going for them.  Even if their only contribution to the world is feta cheese and the almightly greek yogurt, I'd be happy. Ah, but then there's Santorini, olives, and PHYLLO! But I digress... allow me to share some of my tastiest/healthiest greek yogurt treats.  First and foremost, here's why it's awesome:

1. 23 grams of protein in one cup... need I say more? Ok I will.

2. 5 different active yogurt cultures... why does this help you?

   a) It does wonders for your digestive system... I don't want to get too descriptive on this... but, basically these cultures keep your system clean and running 'smoothly'. Got it?

   b) It has been proven to help prevent colds.  These cultures boost the immune system significantly,  making it much harder for creepy cold germs to have any luck breaking through.

 3. It has half the sugar of regular yogurt.  I'll talk about sugar in depth in future posts, but, keep in mind that sugar has more negative properties than you'd even imagine (sad, I know).

Ok, here's how I eat it!

Recipe #1

Breakfast, Lunch, or Snack

What You'll Need

- 3/4 cup of nonfat greek yogurt (or one of the single serving containers)

- 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of frozen berries  or regular berries (trader joe's has the best selection of frozen berries at the least expensive cost)

- dash of cinnamon (antioxidant POWERHOUSE - we'll get there later)

- dash of vanilla extract

How to Prepare

- At home: Just defrost the berries a bit and mix together

- To pack for work: Put the berries, cinnamon, vanilla in a ziplock and then mix with your yogurt when you get to work (easy peasy)

Recipe #2

Creamy salad dressing! (Take the yogurt out of this to get my regular dressing sans creaminess)

- 2 parts extra virgin olive oil

- 1 part red wine vinegar

- tsp of yellow or dijon or honey mustard (I like dijon or whole grain mustard in this recipe)

- tsp of agave nectar or honey

- 2 tsps of greek yogurt

- salt, pepper, dried oregano

- one garlic clove - minced

Mix it all together and serve.  Please note that when I cook - I don't measure - so these are pretty qualified guesses on measurements, but, taste it to see how you like it before serving. This will last for days in your fridge so don't worry about it.

- Fage is my fav - I think it's the best, but, choose whatever you like the most.  Chobani is my #2.

Workout tip of the day: Not doing any strength training and not sure where to start? Do 20 proper squats tomorrow morning.  

Check your form:  

- Sit your tush back as if you are sitting in a chair

- Push through your heels, not your toes or balls of your feet

- Check to be sure that your knees do not go over your toe's.  This can do damage to your knees... so make sure you're watching that.

That's all I have today - feel free to reach out to me with questions! Have an awesome Friday!