It's Yogurt Time, Folks!

With milk and fruit on sale this week, and free yogurt starter at the HUB (It’s part of the Tool Share program, between 12:30 and 5:30 Monday through Friday, and available to the general public for a small membership fee - more about it soon.) it’s time to make some yogurt! A quart of commercial plain yogurt costs anywhere from $2.00 to $4.00, or more. That same quart of homemade plain yogurt costs just 47 cents if you buy your milk at Kroger this week (through next Wednesday, July 16) for $1.88 a gallon. And those tiny little cups that occasionally go on sale for 39 cents each but are usually more like 50 cents or more? They cost just 7 cents to make!

Don’t like plain yogurt? No problem. Add a cup of blueberries to a quart of plain yogurt for a total cost of just 97 cents for 5 cups of fruit yogurt. Or a cup of chopped peaches for the same total cost of 97 cents. That’s just 15 cents for one of those little 5-ounce cups!

Not only are you saving beaucoup bucks, but you’re getting real fruit and real milk and no preservatives, additives or other things you can’t pronounce!

Check here for our recipes for PLAIN YOGURT, HONEYDEW SMOOTHIE, STRAWBERRY & BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE DELUXE, or make your own smoothie with your choice of fruit and maybe a little bit of sugar or other sweetener. A few drops of almond extract is good with most berries and stone fruits (peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, etc.) and so is a light sprinkling of nutmeg. Pour yogurt into a small paper cup and stick a popsicle stick into it for a yogurt ice pop. Pour it into a graham cracker pie crust for a refrigerator pie. (Especially good if you fold in some whipped cream and a bit more sugar!)

Mmm-mmm.! Cool, delicious, cheap and good for you! An unbeatable combination!

Mary Anne

PS - Homemade yogurt is lots cheaper than commercial at just about any milk price. Take a look below and see how much your yogurt will cost at different milk prices.

Cost of Homemade Yogurt at Various Milk Prices
Price per		Cost per		Cost per		Cost per		5 oz with
Gallon of		Quart of		8 oz Cup		5 oz Cup		50 cents
Milk		Yogurt		of Yogurt		of Yogurt		fruit/qt.
1.88		0.47		0.12		0.07		0.15
2.00		0.50		0.13		0.08		0.16
2.25		0.56		0.14		0.09		0.17
2.50		0.63		0.16		0.10		0.18
2.75		0.69		0.17		0.11		0.19
3.00		0.75		0.19		0.12		0.20
1 cup of blueberries this week or 1 cup of chopped peaches  = 50 cents - 7/11/14