Ode to Greek Yogurt

When Julian was still pretty little, he came down with a bad case of thrush. Instead of having it in his mouth, he had it in the diaper area, and it was terrible. The rash was huge, raised, bright red and scaly at some parts, especially in the folds of his little chubby legs. I battled the rash on the surface for about two weeks, sunning the cloth diapers, washing them over and over, making about five different kinds of home made baby bum balms, and even let him air out and roll around naked for most of the day. Nothing would help, I felt guilty and helpless. I took him to the doctor several times and all they would recomend was a prescription steroid cream, which made me really uncomfortable. 

I read and read and read. Thankfully, there were plenty of articles and advise from other mothers (particularly those who are in the "cloth" community) who had dealt with similar issues. I discovered that, because Julian was breast fed elusively, the thrush was being continuously passed back and forth between us, giving neither of us a change to fight it off. I came to the conclusion that I had to seriously change my diet, to kill off any excessive yeast that was in my system, therefor reducing the amount of yeast in diet as well. I had to fight it internally. 

I had to cut out just about everything, anything starchy, sugary and or treated with pesticides and antibiotics. I was already eating a 100% organic, non processed diet, so that was not a difficult issue to deal with. Not eating any carbs was difficult, no fruit, except berries, which actually helped to reduce the amount of yeast in the tummy. I started taking probiotics as well. " So, what did you eat? " you ask. I pretty much lived on greek yogurt with strawberries, almonds, and spinach or kale, and that is where my obsession began. If you don't already know how awesome greek yogurt is, I suggest you use the google machine and see for yourself. Greek yogurt is also a great option for babies who are struggling to gain weight, considering the fat, and protein content. Seriously, in less than a week the rash was gone! I had also lost about 6 pounds, but that might have been because I was also drinking an obscene amount of water and had no bread, pasta, etc.

Since then, I have tried to sneak this stuff into anything I can, when I am not just eating is out of the container. My favorite brand (and I have tried pretty much all of them) is hands down Fage. It has way more protein than most of the other brands, less sodium and less cholesterol. It does have a higher fat content, but I am not totally afraid of fats, you need a bit of them anyway. The texture of this stuff is so rich and decadent, the flavor is tart but slightly sweet and creamy. Oh dear, I could replace cheesecake with Fage Total (the higher fat option) for the rest of my life and never complain. I still think it is best with strawberries, almonds and a little honey, in the morning.

Here are a two ways that switched out the less

 nutritious options with greek yogurt in our meals this week:

Egg Salad with Thyme and Greek Yogurt.

This is one of Xavier and my favorite weekend lunch, the bebes actually really love it too. We usually have some crusty bread to smoosh it on to and it really hits the spot. The ingredients are simple. I just replace the mayo (side point, I seriously hate mayo) with the greek yogurt. I think it tastes cleaner, and you don't loose any of the creaminess. 

Four hard boilded eggs

a few sprigs of thyme

squirt of lemon juice

greek yogurt

s&p

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Carrot Cupcakes with Greek Yogurt Vanilla Icing

If I am going to make the kids some sort of treat, I try to have it be a veggie or fruit based. Carrot cake is a great option, especially if you use whole wheat pastry flour and apple sauce in place of the oil. I really do love cream cheese frosting that usually tops this treat but this is a really good alternative. Because greek yogurt has that natural sweetness, it doesn't need much to make it good enough for a cupcake, with a little fruit on top for garnish. It certainly does not have the same texture as a normal "frosting" especially with butter, cream cheese and so much sugar, but I thought it was a nice switch. The ingredients for this are really simple as well:

1 c greek yogurt

squirt of lemon juice

1 tsp of vanilla bean paste

a little less than 1/4 c caster sugar. 

Thats it! When I served it to the bebes with the little berries on top it was met with an excited and enthusiastic "Ooooooh!!". I think they might have liked the frosting more than the cake, but that seems pretty normal. I also felt better about giving them cup cakes...haha. I think next time I might try it with orange juice and almond, or what about coconut milk and lime?! The options are endless!

So, if you aren't already obsessed with greek yogurt like I am, I highly suggest you try it.

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Thanks for reading,

-K