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?

Supermarket Snack Hacks – Plain Yogurt

Fresh cherries in coffee-chocolate flavoured yogurt. See? I told you yogurt wasn't boring.

As I promised in this post, I am back with a list of ideas on how to add some snazz to your plain yogurt.  Since most flavoured yogurts include sugar and fillers, a much better option is to buy plain yogurt that you doctor up yourself. It may may seem as dull as mud, but the trick is to think of it as a blank canvas. Because of its creamy texture and mild flavour, plain yogurt is the ultimate versatile ingredient. With a few easy switch-ups, there are a ton of possibilities! I’ll present a few of my favourites in the coming days – hopefully some of them will be new to you. I'll start with some sweet options:

Yogurt + baby food

Say what?!? You heard me, baby food. If you want your fruit-on-the-bottom fix, this is the way to do it. Baby fruit purees are essentially the same as the fruit in the fruit-flavoured yogurt but without all the pseudo-sugars and yucky additives. Keep some in the fridge and you can mix it in with your yogurt in a snap. As with many flavoured products, stick to the basic flavours - the more exotic ones (pomegranate, mango, lychee) are usually mostly apple or banana anyway. 

Yogurt + fruit puree

If the thought of taking baby food to the office is mortifying, try fruit purees, which are usually beside the puddings in the supermarket. The ones with no sugar added are a perfect complement to yogurt.

Yogurt + jam
Another great mix-in is plain old fruit jam, which is basically the fruit on the bottom without the additives. Deee-licious, people. Just watch how much of that jam you spoon in as it is very high in sugar (a teaspoon is usually enough.) Also, choose a jam that lists fruit first in the list of ingredients (you'd be surprised how many have more sugar than fruit!)

Yogurt + frozen fruit
My favourite way to jazz up plain yogurt for work is to pop in some frozen fruit before I leave in the morning. By the time I am ready for my snack, the fruit has thawed, leaving all the delicious juices to meld with the yogurt and make it really tasty. You can do this the night before and keep the yogurt in the fridge for a really flavourful snack, or even do 5 of them assembly-line style on Sunday night for the week ahead - it takes 5 minutes, tops. I always buy the pre-chopped frozen fruit to make things as simple as possible, and if I'm feeling ambitious, I'll top with nuts, honey, vanilla...whatever I have handy. Instant parfait. 

Yogurt + coffee (+ chocolate...)
There's lots of different options if you are among the fruit-averse. Pour some of your morning coffee into your yogurt, or mix some instant coffee with water and a touch of sugar and add it in. If you're feeling adventurous, add some cocoa powder or even some dark chocolate chips - it's a creamy, indulgent snack with zero guilt.

Yogurt + chai spices
I love me a cup of Indian tea, and I like to add chai spices to everything. Add some cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg (not too much - it's strong!),  some ground cardamom, and some honey to your yogurt for a refreshing summer take on chai.

Yogurt + mango
When I was pregnant, I was craving mango lassis (Indian milkshakes) almost every five minutes - I'm surprised Baby M. wasn't born yellow. I still make them every once in a while - they are refreshing, icy and absolutely delicious. Just whiz some yogourt, honey, ice, mango, milk and a pinch of salt in the blender. If you are using canned mango, skip the honey as it often has added sugar. 

Now, tell me that each of these options doesn't sound infinitely better than your plain old strawberry fruit-on-the-bottom! And the best part is, you can come up with millions more creative ideas that are just as delicious. What are your favourites?