Monday Q&A-Yogurt and SuperWoman (or not)
Thick Yogurt
Several of you have asked about how to make thick yogurt. Homemade yogurt will never be as thick as something like the Yoplait custard yogurt since that type of yogurt typically has gelatin or some other sort of thickener added.
Homemade yogurt is nothing but milk and yogurt culture, so it's naturally going to be a bit runnier than the commercial stuff.
I always use whole milk to make my yogurt, and it turns out fairly thick. As you can see in the following picture, it's stiff enough to stay in the jar when I tip it on its side.
Here's what it looks like when it's first spooned out. If you stir it or let it sit for a little while, it gets runnier than this, but it's decently thick to start with.
When I get milk straight from the farm and use it to make yogurt, the yogurt is a lot thicker even than this. That could be because there's more cream in that milk, or it could be because the yogurt cultures fare better in milk that is not pasteurized.
At any rate, I highly recommend using whole milk when you make yogurt. You'll end up with a thicker and milder-tasting product, and honestly, I wouldn't stress terribly about the milkfat. I think a plain whole milk yogurt is far less detrimental to your health than a cup of artificially sweetened, artificially thickened, low-fat "healthy" yogurt.
If you are dead set on trying to make thick low-fat yogurt, you might experiment around with adding some powdered milk. I've not personally done this, but I'm sure there's info to be had on the web. Readers, if you have some experience making low-fat yogurt, feel free to chime in.
Super Mom?
Eva wrote this email to me:
I have to say that after reading your blog for just over a week on a daily basis, I'm inspired and amazed by all that you do while home schooling and managing a household of six! Super woman!
Anyway, my question is, what is your daily schedule like? How do you keep track of all that you have to do? And do you ever feel tired, overwhelmed, frustrated, etc? If and when you do, how do you cope? What keeps you so motivated every day of the week? Sometimes, do you just wish you had a moment to yourself?
Um, while I'm flattered to be called Super Woman (that makes me feel like I need a cape. Move over, Coin Girl.), I should make sure that you all know that I am most certainly not extraordinary (except maybe to my husband and children!).
I don't do everything perfectly, I don't get everything done, and there are a lot of people out there who do many things better than I do.
In my years on the internet (I've been a message board member since 2002), I've learned that it's easy to inadvertently come across as more amazing/organized/super than you really are.
People online can't see my faults and inadequacies as easily as people in real life can, but that's hard for me to remember.
It's easy to forget that you don't see my piles of laundry, my dusty piano, and my unfiled papers because I see them.
It's easy to forget that you don't see me when I forget to defrost something for dinner or when my shower starts to grow pink mold because I can see all of that.
I don't want you all to think I am better than I am, so I do strive to be transparent when I write, but I probably haven't succeeded as well as I could have. Perhaps you'd like to see my shower mold? 😉
You all have been very interested in my daily routines and time management ideas, though, so in spite of the fact that I am imperfect at all of that, I do want to oblige you and blog on those topics. Unfortunately, I haven't found the time yet (speaking of imperfections....).
It's coming, though. I promise. I'm hoping to get some time this summer to write some posts about that.
However, I can certainly answer the question about being tired, overwhelmed, and frustrated. Yes, yes, yes, I feel that way sometimes! The needs and demands of four children (although that's getting better as they get older), the mess that seems to be all over my house despite my efforts to the contrary, the stress of trying to live on a not-very-high income, the stress of having to work part-time, yeah, that all adds up.
I do have a number of things in place in my life to help me deal with stress and to help me decompress, though, and here's a little list of them:
- I get up in the morning before my family, so that I can exercise, shower, and read my Bible and pray before they all need me.
- I try very hard to get 8 hours of sleep whenever possible. I'm much better at serving my family when I'm not exhausted.
- I put my children to bed fairly early. Joshua doesn't go to sleep as early as the girls, but when they go to bed, he goes and spends time reading or playing quietly in his room so that I have some peace and quiet.
There are more too, but I'll share those when I post in more detail about my routines and such. For today, though, I just wanted to be sure that you knew that I don't float through my life in a state of constant serenity.
A comment on thick yogurt - after it has chilled, put the yogurt in cheesecloth and let it drain into a bowl for a few hours. This will definitely thicken the yogurt - check it every hour or so the first time you do it, or you may end up with yogurt "cheese"! The whey can be used in baking or added to soups, as it contains protein and other goodies.
Kudos to you, Kristen, for working so hard on taking care of yourself! So many women forget that in order to take care of our loved ones, we have to take care of ourselves first. I noticed recently that if I exercise regularly and get enough sleep (I also aim for 8 hours), the little things don't get to me.
I've never tried it, but I've seen recipes for homemade yogurt that uses plain gelatin to thicken it.
I want to see your shower mold!! Just kidding! I love your blog, and your philosophy of living.
Seconding what EngineerMom said. I use generic store-bought skim milk because I don't want the fat, and strain it immediately after it's done without straining it first. Another difference I've noticed is that it takes longer to make yogurt from skim milk.
You joke about shower mold, but I found the photo of your office to reassuring. If the role model is perfect or professes to be perfect, then how could the rest of us imperfect folk be like that? It's too easy to say "Oh, that frugalgirl is extraordinarily organized. I'm not extraordinary so I can't do it." (This line of reasoning can lead to interesting theological discussions but that's for another forum.)
Oh yes, that's it exactly. I don't want to be seen as extraordinary when I'm not, because that would just be discouraging to my readers. I want to be encouraging instead.
Engineer Mom, I plan to do a post about that in the future. Can you tell I have oodles of post beginnings in my draft folder? lol So many ideas, so little time to blog. :p
I hear you about the bathroom mold. I have to clean mine tomorrow because my parents are visiting! I like to get up in the morning and excersise too. I'm can run 4 miles now, but I still need to lose like 11 pounds. That stubborn pregnancy weight is the hardest to get off.
@Frugal Liz - I am a Liz, too. 🙂 And I have about 10 lb of pregnancy weight to get off! The first 25 just dropped off, but the last 10... 😛
Just updating.
Crud - I meant to write that I strain the yogurt without COOLING it first, not that I strain it without straining it first.
PS - I also have shower mold. It's black and builds on the very wet corners. It built up when there was grout, it builds up now that there's caulk. The only thing that works for more than a day or two is applying bleach with a q-tip. Kirsten, maybe a post on that on shower mold is in order, complete with suggestions from readers!
Lizzes: allow me to respectfully disagree that returning to pre-pregnancy weight is required. My two cents is that it's more important to be healthy and exercise than to hit a specific weight. Congratuations, Frugal Liz, on reaching 4 miles! It's an awesome achievement. Have you considered any races? You don't actually have to go fast (I sure don't!), you don't have to go far (5K = 3.1mi is a common distance) and you get a lot of positive reinforcement of your efforts. And often a good t-shirt, too. If you are interested, I can help you find a local club or listings of local runs.
You're truly inspiring!! Sometimes I feel lazy just cooking for the 2 of us! And here you are cooking for 6. I think what I find most inspiring about your lifestyle is the consistency. 🙂 Can't wait to hear more about the day-to-day life of The Frugal Girl!
I eat very low carb, and generally make my yoghurt with half whole milk and half half-and-half. Say that three times fast. It comes out lovely and thick.
I don't have shower mold, but that could be because this is a desert and the shower dries in about twelve and a half seconds.
Hello, my friend....I just nominated you for a BlogLuxe award! Go see, and pick up a badge...we gotta get voting! Love ya!
@ WilliamB - Heart disease and diabetes run in my family (my father recently had a heart attack at age 55, despite being in very good shape), so I want to get my weight down for health reasons. I was already overweight when I got pregnant (199lb at 5'9"). I want to have more children, but if I have a net 10 lb gain with each one, I'm not going to be around for them later in life. So for me, returning to at least my pre-pregnancy weight is required to be healthy.
I am focusing on exercise (walking, running, and yoga) and just eating a balance diet, not some crazy crash or restrictive diet. But sometimes losing weight is done for health-related reasons, not social pressures.
Thanks for the wonderful response to my question Kristen.
I guess we women can be so hard on ourselves sometimes...and beat ourselves up over not doing enough. Thank you for the candor and transparency as it helps to hear that we are not alone in our challenges to manage our lives. I myself feel more centered when I start the day with my meditation practice each morning, get 8 hours of sleep, eat right, and exercise (yoga and swimming) no less than twice a week.
Thank you again for sharing and for being so uplifting and supportive of women out there!
Eva
If you want thicker yogurt that's more Greek-style, you can strain it. You dump yogurt into a really fine strainer over a bowl and let the water drip out. The longer you let it sit, the thicker it gets. I end up tossing the drips into the blender with fruit, etc. to thin breakfast shakes. If the strainer's holes are too big, though, the good stuff falls through, too.
Engineer Mom,
I'm doing weight watchers online and so far it seems pretty cool. I've only been doing it for one week, though, so I'll have to see how I feel tomorrow when I weigh in! I'm only 5'2", so it's really hard for me to lose weight. On a good week I'll lose like half a pound. I need a diet plan, though, because on my own I just eat too much.
@Frugal Liz - I tried to leave a comment on your blog, but the comments section doesn't seem to be working!
Unwisely, I never rose early before my children when they were small. Therefore, I was literally running all day long and well into the night.
It is very very wise of you Kristen to get enough sleep and get up before your kids. Reading the bible and praying certainly can "set" our day in a positive direction!
@EngineerMom
Yeah, there's some kind of problem with my blog. I think I might try to start a different one.
Liz, you should SO try WordPress. I started out on blogger but ended up moving to WordPress and haven't looked back. I think you will love it much more than Blogger.
EngineerMom: kudos to you for taking care for your health. I see more women than I like who watch their figure for cosmetic reasons but not paying attention to the health reasons.
Frugal Liz, weight watchers is definitely one of the sensible systems out there. It's not a "diet," it's a "how to eat for life" system that works with you for the long-term result. To put it another way, permanent changes (in diet) lead to permanent changes (in weight); temporary leads to temporary. BTDT, got the t-shirt.
WilliamB, off to check out Frugal Liz's blog.
I've hesitated jumping on the yogurt bandwagon because I thought it would turn out too runny, but I think your picture may have convinced me to try! Thanks for the motivation, I always look forward to reading your blog!
@Kristen
Did you transfer your blogs from blogger to wordpress, or did you just start over?
Liz, I just started fresh. I'd been doing a blog solely about food waste before and I wanted to branch out into a frugal blog, so it worked out fine. I think you can transfer your posts, though. You'd have to export them from blogger, and then import them to WordPress. Since your posts are mostly text and not pictures, I'd think it would be a fairly simple procedure.
If you have ads on your blog, though, you might want to stick with Blogger. You can't have ads on a WordPress blog unless you get your own hosting, like what I have.
I heart WordPress an awful lot, though.
@Frugal Liz - you might try going into your settings and making sure you have comments enabled on your posts.
Actually, I think I just fixed the comment problem. I just disabled the word verification function and then left a comment on one of my articles and it let me do it without a problem.
I did this with my daughter (6y) with reconstituted dry milk and it turned out great! It isn't as thick as yours, but it is about the consistency of fruit on the bottom. My daughter actually asked for yogurt and berries for dessert tonight.
@Frugal Liz - I had the same "comments" problem you did - I couldn't even post comments in my own blog. I fixed it, hopefully the fix will work for you:
Go to the Dashboard, then "Settings", then Comments and make sure that everything is like this
comments: show
comment form placement: pop-up window This was the one that did it for me.
comments default for posts: new posts have comments
Thanks Kristen! I actually had a twinge of an "EEK" moment when I saw your comment on my blog, one, because you're practically famous, and two, I'm not sure if I did the whole posting about you thing right. Not totally versed in blog ettiquette yet, I guess. Should I have asked you to link to your post first?
Anyway, you are such an inspiration to all. Especially to those of us attempting to homeschool as well. You inspire us to make our homes healthy and happy. I appreciate you.
Goodness, no! You don't have to ask permission! lol You can link to me as many times as you want, and most bloggers will feel the same way too. The more linking, the better. 😉 I think the only time you really need to ask permission is if you want to use a blogger's post as a guest post on your own blog.
I'm glad my blog is helpful to you.