Go Greek

Just when I was losing hope for at least one spring bulb to make an appearance I found this one hiding among the raspberry bushes. Now its a waiting game for the rest. 

My Go Greek interest started with a simple recipe that called for marinating chicken in yogurt just like using buttermilk which I had featured in an earlier recipe. Its acidity works well as a marinade for meats and poultry. 
The following recipe was adapted from "The Yogurt Cookbook" by Arto Der Haroutunian
With all the rain we have had the mint and cilantro is growing well and is a good accompaniment for this recipe.

Skewered Chicken (2 % Greek Yogurt was used for this recipe)  









Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. chicken breasts or thighs
• 1 small onion chopped
•  2 garlic cloves chopped 
• 1 TB. plus 1 tsp. fresh ginger
•  juice of a large lemon
• 1-1/4 plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 3 TB. fresh cilantro or mint

Directions:

• Cut chicken in cubes for skewers
• In a blender add onion, garlic, ginger and lemon juice-puree till smooth 
• Empty paste into a nonreactive bowl then add yogurt, coriander, salt and cumin
• Add chicken pieces. turn until well coated cover and refrigerate overnight
• Remove chicken from marinade and thread pieces on skewers with other veggies grill about 10-12 minutes

Serving suggestion: chicken with rice pilaf and mint/cilantro, a tomato salad and an Indian bread called chapati

Go Greek is becoming more than a breakfast item. It contains half the carbs and half the sodium of regular kind when using fat free or low fat. I was surprised to learn of the health benefits of Go Greek and no, I am not a representative for the company. Sales in the US have doubled in 2012 for this yogurt which is thicker than regular yogurt. It can be substituted for sour cream in any recipes cutting calories and sodium and adding protein. Nutritional differences between Greek yogurt and regular are due in part to the number of times each is strained. Regular is strained two times and Greek three times which makes it thicker but sometimes more tart. 
This product won me over also when I read that plain nonfat Greek yogurt is double the amount of protein than regular plain yogurt with same amount of calories. In addition yogurt and fruit in smoothies are a quick and convenient way to also add more calcium to your diet.

Blueberry and Orange Smoothie
recipe from Pillsbury
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 orange juice
1 tsp. orange peel
1- 6 oz. container Go Greek  fat free Blueberry 
Use blender

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie
6 strawberries
1 ripe banana 
1 scoop vanilla flavored whey powder
3 oz. Chobani fat free Greek Yogurt
6-8 ice cubes
Use blender 

This link has a lot of good recipes to make smoothies
http://www.yummly.com/recipes/smoothies-with-greek-yogurt-and-fruit

To find out more about Greek yogurt this recent article in the Star Tribune was quite informative http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/211259271.html