The Ultimate Condiment – Yogurt Cheese!

In todays food world we use far too many condiments, this is problematic for eating clean. Most condiments are high in salt, sugar, and fat. The Big 3 (salt, sugar, fat) are what make condiments taste so good. Take Ketchup for example. We would think ketchup (derived from tomatoes) would be a healthy condiment option, however, a closer examination will show you otherwise. In a single serving of 1 tablespoon, you will find 4 grams of sugar – more than in a Hershey’s Kiss, which contains 3 grams of sugar. If you have ketchup in your fridge throw it in the garbage. You would not pour chocolate over your chicken, potatoes, or pasta – so why ketchup? A more healthier option would be mustard, which is derived from mustard seeds and contains 0 calories.

Since its Friday I wanted to provide a recipe that can be tried over the weekend. This recipe was passed on from my roommate who highly recommended it. Over the Christmas break, I made this recipe and fell in love with it. Yogurt cheese is the perfect condiment and can be used as a substitute for vegetable dip, spread, cake frosting, and mousse. I have used Yogurt cheese as a condiment on whole wheat tasted tomato sandwiches.  Its easy to make and keeps good in the fridge for well over a week. I have taken this recipe from Tosca Reno’s, Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. 

Ingredients 

1 or 2 Quarts (depending on how much you want to make) Low-fat plain yogurt, dairy or soy based.

Method For Yogurt Cheese:

Place 4 layers of damp cheesecloth in a fine mesh sieve or colander. Place the colander over a bowl.

Add yogurt and let it drain overnight in the refrigerator.  I usually put a piece of saran wrap over the top so that the yogurt is not directly exposed.

What Next?

Draining overnight will leave you with a soft, creamy cheese-like product. Discard the remaining fat that dripped into the bowl and keep the cheese like product. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will look like cottage cheese, but yet much lower in calories than cottage cheese. It is also lower in lactose, higher in protein, and lower in sodium that cream cheese. Its all natural!!! You can mix this stuff into just about anything. Try on whole-wheat toast, bagels, wraps, and sandwiches. Great in flavor and nutrition :-)