Supermarket Snack Hacks: Yogurt, The Final Frontier

Yesterday's leftovers reincarnated for dinner tonight: quinoa in a parmesan-pea yogurt sauce, topped with roast chicken, tomatoes and grilled asparagus.

So, you've read the other entries in this series, and now you’re buying plain yogurt from the grocery store and jazzing it up with cinnamon, cocoa powder and coffee, right? Of course you are. But, you ask, what about savoury options, Ms. Hedonist? Can I extend my Yogurt Repertoire even further?

Well, ask and ye shall receive. Here is the last in my Supermarket Snack Hack series on yogurt: The Final (Savoury) Frontier.

Yogurt + Guacamole
I love, love, LOVE guacamole. I wish that restaurants served guacamole with a side order of nachos instead of the other way around. It’s pale green deliciousness, people. But did you know that, according to the Hass avocado site, one serving is one-fifth of an avocado? That’s right. Apparently, you should invite four of your friends over, huddle around that avocado, and slowly savour it together.

Well, I have a better solution. I like to add some plain yogurt to my guacamole to make it go a bit further and to up the protein factor. That way, I get my avocado fix without inhaling enough of the stuff to feed ten people. Another one of my favourite tricks is to add yogurt to guac, thin it out with a little water, and use it as a sauce for quinoa, brown rice, soba noodles - whatever. It amps up the flavour and creaminess of a dish, making it totally indulgent tasting. Really, you can add a little pimped-out yogurt to any grain and make a delicious sauce (see my dinner, above.)

Yogurt + Onion Dip
This is A’s favourite savoury snack. Instead of buying refrigerated dip, he just adds onion dip powder to plain yogurt and voila! A low fat dip for veggies (or to counteract those potato chips.)

Yogurt + Tuna
Sometimes I’ll replace the mayo in tuna salad with plain yogurt. The tartness of the yogurt is refreshing and lends itself well to a number of unique mix-ins: try tuna and yogurt with apple, cumin powder or garam masala and a few squirts of lemon juice. Perfect in a pita as a weekday lunch.

Yogurt as a Sandwich Spread
Building on the tuna idea, yogurt can make a great sandwich spread. One of my favourite ways to spice it up is to add in some cumin, coriander and garam masala, and then spread it in a whole wheat wrap along with some tandoori chicken, lettuce and tamarind chutney. Or add some lemon juice and garlic and make your own tzatziki sauce - it will take that dry grilled chicken sandwich up a few notches. You could add anything, really - fresh shredded ginger and powdered cumin, pesto and sundried tomatoes, or mango chutney and chile powder. It's a perfect carrier for all sorts of flavours.

Over to you - how else do you use your yogurt?