How to: Homemade yogurt simplfied!

First I want to tell you a little story. My mother died from advance stage colon cancer in 2015 at age 58. Thank God she was a good christian woman and we had a close relationship. I loved her very much. But prior to her diagnosis she had NO family history of colon cancer or any cancer on either side. Because of this reason, among others, I personally believe that my mama died before her time and this disease could have been prevented with a healthier lifestyle and of course regular and thorough checkups with a doctor, as well as being more 'in tune' with her body.

This journey has led me to a more healthier lifestyle for myself and my family. If I could see and talk to my mama again I believe that this is what she would tell me. I have totally changed my eating and physical active habits and I am more proactive in teaching my children the same.

 Gut/colon health is obviously a high priority for me and it should be for you too. Other than skin cancer, colon cancer is the most common cancer out there killing people. Colon cancer is very preventable in most cases.

This leads me to the title of my post today. Homemade yogurt The healthy bacteria in yogurt is essential for a healthy gut! Yes, I know there are probably hundreds of articles on how to do this, but my goal was to give a more straight forward, you can't mess this up, approach.

But I can't eat yogurt, you say? It's disgusting, you say? It taste nothing like ice cream like so and so said it did, you say? 😷

Boohoo I say! Find a way to like it people! It's good for you. Experiment with flavors and additions like sprinkles and nuts and granola. My family's personal favorites are lemon and strawberry with walnuts. Take small bites and eat often until you get used to it. As with any new food that you know is good for you but you just don't like, incorporate it with a 'gateway' food -things you DO like until your tastebuds gets used to the texture and flavors.

Ok so, I'm through preaching. Now on with the recipe and steps.

Step 1: Pour the milk into a pot. (1 gallon, whole, 2%, or 1%)

Step 2: heat milk to 185 degrees. (invest in a digital thermometer)

Step 3: Pour milk into crock pot.

Step 4: leave crock pot uncovered until the temp of the milk reaches 110 degrees.

Step 5: stir in 1 single serve container of plain yogurt. (I use chobani plain Greek yogurt)

Step 6: put the lid on the crock pot and cover it with a towel. Leave it undisturbed for 8 hours.

Step 6: Ta-da ! You have yogurt! This step is optional. This yogurt will be more liquidy (is that a word?) than you are used to. If you choose to make it thicker strain it through some cheesecloth.

I will try to add more pictures and details at a later date but I wanted to go ahead and get this simple recipe out there. Enjoy!