Coconut yogurt is becoming ever more popular at the supermarkets as it provides a dairy free alternative for those with allergies or intolerances to dairy and lactose, and it’s vegan too! It is also surprisingly simple to make at home, which means you can get the benefits without any additives, avoiding excess sugar and making it just how you like it. That’s right, we have another healthy and delicious recipe for you and again it can be made with as few as two ingredients! It couldn’t be more simple.
Like our sauerkraut recipe, this recipe is an excellent source of probiotics as it contains live and active cultures. These probiotics are essential to balancing organisms in the intestines and boosting good bacteria to ensure your digestive tract is healthy and functioning at its best.
Probiotics help to reduce excessive inflammation in the body: which is often the culprit of many joint and muscular aches and pains. Restoring balance to the gut will help to reduce digestive complaints like bloating and wind; yeast infections; improve immune system function and reduce bacterial and viral infections.
Coconut yogurt is also a great source of calcium for bones and magnesium for muscle function (we’ve already talked about how essential magnesium is in a June post). It provides vitamin B-12 important for red blood cell production and vitamin D for absorbing calcium. Being an anti-oxidant, coconut protects the body from free radicals, which in combination with the nourishment it provides of essential fats, vitamins, minerals and amino acids, promotes healthy hair and skin.
Yes, all these benefits can be gained from eating something creamy and delicious! So how do you make it? The recipe we recommend is from Eleanor Ozich of Petite Kitchen, a food writer who creates healthy recipes with the belief that natural healthy food can be used to heal our body and mind. This is Eleanor Ozich’s recipe:
HOMEMADE COCONUT YOGHURT
We recommend you try it it with blueberries or a couple of slices of lemon and shredded coconut sprinkled on top.
Makes a small jar full.
Ingredients
• 1 can of full-fat organic coconut cream*
• 3 capsules of probiotic powder*
• 2 Tbsp honey, maple or agave syrup*
• A clean glass jar
1. Sterilise your jar, either by boiling in water for 10 minutes, or by running through a dishwasher cycle.
2. Warm the coconut cream in a saucepan over very low heat, until warm to touch. You can also do this in a bain-marie.
3. Carefully pour the warmed coconut cream into the sterilised jar, add the powder from the probiotic pills and sweetener if using.
4. Stir until well combined.
5. Place the jar in a warm place for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours. You could place in a yoghurt maker, in a hot-water cupboard, wrapped in a tea towel, or in the oven with the light on.
[ At home we first started making yogurt in a slow cooker during the winter. To do this warm the cooker for 5- 10 minutes while your prepping. Then unplug it and place the jar inside it wrapped up in a towel, then put the lid on. If you are interested in making yogurt in two steps a yogurt maker is a great investment. You can by one here. I pop my jar of coconut cream mixed with probiotic and set the timer for 24 hours. When it beeps I put the jar in the fridge and there is no wash up! We also make cow's milk yogurt in it. This is a simple way to have organic yogurt at home with no additives.]
6. Chill in the fridge for a few hours. The yoghurt will thicken considerably in the fridge, and become thicker and slightly tarter each day, tasting amazing after 2-3 days. It will keep for up to two weeks stored in the fridge.
*The added sweetener is not absolutely necessary, although bacteria does love to feed on sugar. I find that adding a little natural sweetener helps the yoghurt to thicken really well.
*Please also note that all coconut cream brands are slightly different, as are probiotic capsules. You may need to adjust the measurements slightly to produce a yoghurt of your preferred consistency.
Pretty simple huh?
If you are on the look out for probiotic capsules, we stock Bio-Kult at Be Well - We sell it by the box or you can get a single a tray of 15 capsules. We recommend Bio Kult as the best probiotic around with 14 different live bacterial cultures.
! capsule: Minimum 2 billion live microorganisms per capsule (2x109 CFU/capsule), equivalent to 10 billion live microorganisms per gram (1x1010 CFU/gram)
