The New “Yogurt” Smoothie
Removing dairy from my diet makes me miss one thing a lot, yogurt, so I’m working on trying some new alternatives. Below is a recipe for a shake that calls for coconut yogurt, let’s have some fun with this!
Orange and Banana “Yogurt” Smoothie
(Serves 2)
Peel, slice, and freeze bananas in resealable plastic bags to use as a nutritious thickener for a variety of smoothies.
1 large banana, peeled, sliced, frozen
1 cup chilled natural or unsweetened orange juice (not from concentrate)
1/2 cup coconut yogurt homemade or store bought (you can sub silken tofu or even normal yogurt if you are consuming dairy)
4 ice cubes
1 tablespoon honey
Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Divide smoothie between 2 glasses and serve.
Now how exactly do you make this “Coconut Yogurt”? I found the following recipe online at Raw Glow.
How to Make Coconut Yogurt
4 cups young coconut meat or organic coconut milk (if fresh get the white shelled coconuts at the grocer not the hairy ones)
1 cup young coconut water
2 capsules or 1/4 teaspoon probiotic powder
Pour the coconut water in a pitcher to save for later.
Open 6-8 coconuts and scoop out the meat to get 4 cups of coconut meat. Make sure there are no bits of shell in the coconut meat.
Blend the coconut meat with about 1 cup of young coconut water or plain water until the coconut meat is smooth and creamy.
Pour contents of your blender into a clean glass bowl and mix in two capsules full of your favorite probiotic powder with a clean spoon. (Natren’s, Dr. Ohira, or Nature’s Way) If you are using a powder use about 1/4 teaspoon. This is a great way to test your probiotic powder, if it makes yogurt you know that the cultures are active.
Put the bowl in the dehydrator and set the dehydrator at 100 degrees F. The yogurt should incubate for about 3-6 hours.
You know it’s ready when it has a fluffy consistency. It will store in the refrigerator for at least 10 days. The yogurt should be white, if it turns pink or purple discard it.
Have a little fun experimenting in the kitchen, it’s exciting to try something new 
Always living with passion,
Sammie
