Just like losing weight, balancing your hormones and detoxing your body, maintaining optimal gut health is in your best interest. If you tolerate dairy, have you considered making your own yogurt at home to improve your gut health? It’s not only cost-effective but also allows you to choose high-quality ingredients and avoid potential synthetic hormonal disruptors (EDCs: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals). While the process may seem daunting, it’s straightforward, fulfilling, and energizes you, especially when using our naturopathic chef’s renowned gut nourishing recipe—with milk and a starter, of course.
When it comes to yogurt, ingredient quality is crucial. We recommend using organic, grass-fed milk for its rich nutritional profile and health benefits. Organic milk ensures no pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides in the animal feed, along with no antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones.
Grass-fed milk, on the other hand, is abundant in anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fatty acids, CLA (conjugated Linoleic Acid ), vitamins A & E, minerals, antioxidants, and polyphenols—ideal for naturopathy enthusiasts. In contrast, store-bought yogurts often conceal their milk sources, potentially harboring harmful substances from animals treated with hormones or fed unsafe additives.
These additives not only jeopardize the animals’ well-being but may also impact consumers negatively.
Gut Health Benefits of Homemade Yogurt
Recipe ingredient list:
1 liter (approximately 1 kg) of organic grass-fed whole milk2 tablespoons of organic plain natural yogurt (ideally grass-fed as well)
Instructions for Energy Gain:
- Heat the Milk: Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed pot and heat it over medium flame until it reaches 80°C (176°F). Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Heating the milk to this temperature helps to kill any unwanted bacteria and allows the proteins to denature, resulting in a smoother final product.
- Cool the Milk: Remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool to 40°C (104°F).
- Mix in the Starter: In a small bowl, whisk the natural yogurt until smooth. Gradually add a cup of the cooled milk, mixing well. Then pour this mixture back into the pot of milk, stirring thoroughly. If you own a Thermomix or another similar food processor, you can do all these steps in the processor bowl and use it to directly mix the yogurt.
- Incubate the Yogurt: Pour the milk into clean containers or jars. Place the containers in a warm spot where the temperature can be maintained around 43°C (110°F). In Dubai’s hot climate, finding a suitable spot shouldn’t be too challenging and it’s much more environmentally friendly! Alternatively, you can use a yogurt maker or an oven with the light on. Cover with a lid or a clean cloth.
- Ferment the Yogurt: Allow the yogurt to ferment for at least 12 hours. The extended fermentation time in this recipe ensures more probiotics, less lactose, a rich flavor, and creamy texture.
- Chill and Enjoy: Once the yogurt has set to your liking, refrigerate it for at least 3 hours to halt the fermentation process. Your homemade, naturopathic, organic, grass-fed milk yogurt is now ready to be savored.
Optional Additions: If desired, you can customize your yogurt by adding honey, fruit compote, or other natural flavorings. Lactic acid, a natural organic acid produced during fermentation by lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus), gives yogurt its tangy flavor and creamy texture. It also preserves yogurt by creating an acidic environment that inhibits harmful bacteria growth.
Conclusion on Enhancing Gut Health with Our Yogurt Making Recipe
So simple isn’t it and trust me it’s going to be so Yummy! You know why? Because you made it! So let’s embrace the joy of creating this wholesome treat right in your kitchen. With quality ingredients and patience, you’ll discover a world of flavor and nutrition that store-bought yogurts simply can’t match. Enjoy the process and the delicious results!
In case you don’t tolerate dairy yogurt, have you tried making your own dairy-free yogurt at home? Please share your experience in MyAuthentikspoon Community ? (community post link) where we are all about sharing and learning together. Don’t have access, no worries, just follow the instructions on the Academy and register.
