New to Fage

[Jacey]

Hi all,

I'm new to fage greek yogurt and I need some ideas of mix-ins besides honey (i don't like the stuff). What do you add to it besides honey and/or fruit?

Also, I've tried Trader Joe's brand and Fage, and I don't taste much of a difference. I actually may like TJ's a little better.

[Isabella]

Really ripe banana slices, garam masala, honey.

It's divine!

[chasiu]

I love my Fage with peanut butter, unsweetened cocoa, a little bit of Splenda and crushed graham crackers. I wish it weren't so expensive though!

[thinkemm]

You can make a greek-style yogurt if you simply strain a readily-available brnad throug cheesecloth. About half the volume is whey, the liquid that remains after milk is separated to make cheese. I like Stonyfield Farm lowfat plain. After straining, it has almost exact same consistency as Fage, and a similar taste--for literally half the price. I strain by lining a regular strainer placed in a bowl with cheesecloth, then placing the yogurt in the cheesecloth and cover in fridge with plastic wrap over night.

[coll]

But aren't you ending up with half the yogurt, if half the container is whey?

[glutton]

I make frozen yogurt in my ice cream maker with this... just add some fruit and a touch of sugar and you're good to go. The cherimoya frozen yogurt was particularly newsworthy...

[Diana]

do you have a fage fro yo recipe? I'd love one for a basic base I can add to!

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Inspired by David Lebowitz's Perfect Scoop, I've been making my own Frozen yogurt with Fage recently: stir together a large container of whole milk Fage, a scant half-cup of sugar and a half-teaspoon of vanilla, let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. We've taken to eating it like soft-serve, straight out of the container, because it sets up VERY hard when frozen and takes forever to get back into a scoopable consistency.

[chez cherie]

mmmmaple syrup.

[mimilulu]

I prefer the Fage to TJs, and I love it for breakfast with some vanilla extract and splenda mixed in, then add sliced banana and fresh blueberries (great combo)... another favorite is crushed pineapple. This stuff is amazing!

[Emme]

I completely prefer Total to TJ's brand, and I buy the 0%.

I mix in splenda, cinnamon, and sometimes a little vanilla.

Love to mix in a little splenda, cinnamon, and Hi-Lo cereal from TJ's (wish they still made that apple flavored More and Less cereal).

Sometimes the Granny's Apple Granola is a great mix in.

Raspberry or blueberry or blackberry preserves and graham cracker crumbs.

Carmelized apple with cinnamon and tuaca or banana slices w/ rum

A little pineapple juice and coconut shreds.

[dklipscomb]

on a different direction--great greek chicken kabobs!
1 cup of yoguart,1 teaspoon minced garlic, juice of 1/2 lemon and 1 teaspoon oregano or parsley or basil. Mix all together. Cut 3-4 boneless chicken breasts -put together and chill for an hr. Cook under broiler till browned-turning once. (Line your cookie sheet-gets a bit messy)
The yoguart really makes the chicken tender and a lovely color when broiled!
It's what for dinner tonite here!

[macca]

I did the marinade for lamb the other day- I let the lamb marinate all day, then rinsed and dried it, added salt and pepper and cooked them on the grill. They were wonderful.

[diva360]

I second the chicken marinade idea. Make some extra to serve as a dip or topping. A dollop of it is also good on tabbouleh. I also make a chicken marinade with yogurt and Moroccon spices--cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, cumin, coriander, minced garlic, a little chopped onion.

[thinkemm]

I like .5 to 1 cup of 0% Fage with some maple syrup and a tablespoon or two of either wheat germ or milled flax seed.

Or any quality jam with Fage is also super easy and delicious (like Bonne Maman blueberry, for example).

[amethiste]

I take a 1/2 cup of 0% Fage and mix it with a tablespoon of Better N Peanut Butter, some Splenda, a little vanilla and a dash of cinnamon. I top it with a 1/2 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch. This makes a great breakfast.

[waver]

Have you tried just a teaspoon of plain old sugar sprinkled on top? No need to stir it in (it would probably affect the texture as someone else pinted out) but I love the slight crunch with the fabulous Fage.

[Pei]

Mmm, that reminds me I was once served an apple pancake with a brown sauce on top. Turns out it was yogurt mixed with brown sugar. So different and delicious, but so easy.

[PseudoNerd]

I use:

macha and a bit of sweetener (I use honey, but agave would be nice, I think)
dried fruit
spices-- a pumpkin spice mix or just cinnamon or cardamom
rosewater or orangewater (usually with honey as well, sorry! :/ I prefer orange blossom honey with these)
crushed dried lavender~! (with lavender honey...sorry, I collect honey! >_< )

[applehome]

For more healthy (not necessarily healthy, just more healthy than I was eating), I started eating raw vegs as crudité before meals (theoretically to induce less eating during meals). But I decided that I really couldn't do this without a dip of some sort. I like Ranch dip the best, but sour cream and mayo can really make that healthy dissappear. So I make the mix with Fage no fat yogurt - and I do put in one tablespoon of mayo into about a cup of yogurt to cut the sour and have some flavor - it's about as diet as I can stand it, but it does work. I mean that it works as far as flavor goes - I make no claim as to healthyness or weight loss. I'd still rather boil a lb of shrimp, or a nice cheese and sausage plate for an app before dinner...

[piccola]

Possibilities are endless. Some to try:

Cocoa powder and sweetener
Pumpkin purée, maple syrup and cinnamon
Crystallized ginger, chopped
Crushed meringues
Trail mix
Frozen juice concentrate (only a spoonful)
Dulce de leche
Apple or pumpkin butter

I sometimes use it instead of sour cream to top burritos and potatoes or to make dips.

[Pei]

I threw some into the blender with Ciao Bella mango sorbet and milk this weekend, and it was AMAZING! Like a mango lassi, but possibly richer. Rougly:

4 cubes of ice
1/2 cup sorbet
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup milk

[ballulah]

For something savory (and hot and spicy), I just bought a jar of Harissa powder last week, and have been mixing a few teaspoons of good plain yogurt with the Harissa and za'atar everytime I sit down to eat. Today I dipped my wrap sandwich in it at lunch to add a little tangy fire. I drizzled it on pretty much everything savory over the weekend.

But wow, everyone's ideas sound so good! I think I may have to crack open the bottle of pomegranate molasses I just bought and give that a go.

For breakfast I often would halfway fill a small to-go container with a yogurt like Fage, top it with a handful of frozen berries, and top that with my favorite granola, seal it up and stick in my bag and have it for breakfast at work. The frozen berries would defrost and "bleed" into the yogurt, so yummy. It's also delicious with fresh berries.

[innercowgirl]

Hi Ballulah,

Wondering... where did you purchase harissa powder? I have been able to find it in paste form, but have't been able to put my hands on the powder like they sell in Morocco. I'd love to know your source.

[HillJ]

innercowgirl, I recently purchased harissa powder online thru World Spice Merchants and the quality & price were top notch.

[Diana]

freeze dried blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, pineapple or a mixture of. You can get them at Whole Foods (the "Just" brand) or TJ's.

Fresh berries.

Cinnamon, splenda, and nutmeg.

Ginger, Splenda.

Five spice poweder

Mango

Dill, lemon zest, lemon juice and cucumber chunklets.

tuna or salmon

All bran xtra fiber cereal or Kashi Go Lean Crunch

cocoa powder and splenda

lime zest, lime juice and ground pepper

garlic, lemon and tumeric

lemon and curry powder

coocoa nibs

Splenda and madagascar vanilla (from the bean)

lemon and splenda.

mint and splenda

espresso powder and splenda.

I've done all those. They are yummy!

[Mike V]

I serve it as a dessert to guests and they love it. I use FAGE Total 0% (no fat). I place a portion in a dessert glass and top it with Dole Tropical Mixed Fruit without the liquid. I've also topped it with rasberries that have been soaked in Royale Chambord Liqueur (From France).

[gansu girl]

I eat a ton of this stuff (the 2% variety). I often just sprinkle cinnamon and stir - no sugar.

Torani syrups work well in these too - a couple of teaspoons or so and stir. Vanilla Torani mixed in and chopped walnuts on top is delicious.

Cocoa powder is good (sweetened, of course) if you like chocolate.

Lemon curd mixed in and strawberries on top (or any other berries for that matter).

Minced ginger and a bit of brown sugar mixed in and sliced mango on top.

Really, the possibilities are endless!

[JasmineG]

My favorite is blueberries and brown sugar, sometimes with toasted nuts (I love blueberries and honey with it too, and I tried brown sugar once when I was out of honey, and loved the combination).

[chloe103]

If you'd be interested in a liquid sweetener that isn't honey, you might want to try Lyle's Golden Syrup. It's British, but available in many specialty food stores and fancy grocers. I think I may have also seen it at Whole Foods. It's a by-product of the sugar refining process, and has a very mildly nutty taste. Super yummy.

Other additions to yogurt: almond extract, vanilla, a spoonful of jam (thanks to everyone on the 'what to do with jam' thread, you were right!), maple syrup.

[danna]

Or agave necter, perhaps. I find that honey lets the yogurt keep it's lovely texture, while plain sugar makes it turn watery.

I made some muscadine marmalade last fall and mixed a spoonful in w/ my Fage each morning until it ran out. It made the most lovely pale magenta....tasted like eating a nice tart cake icing.

[rose water]

All sorts of stuff!

Pomegranate molasses
Brandied raisins/other dried fruit
Fresh herbs
Za'atar (middle eastern thyme/sesame seed mix)
Crunchy sea salt and toasted pine nuts

[maria lorraine]

Fig preserves and slivered almonds. Dionysian.