Simple Coconut Yogurt

Dairy is for most people the cause of allergic reactions, from bloating, rashes, acne & stuffy noses to downright diarrhea, it's just doesn't fit well with most of us.
Mark Sisson puts it in the grey area, Whole30 cuts it all out, Loren Cordain hates it, Robb Wolf says avoid it, Chris Kresser concludes; it depends...
Personally I'm also still trying to figure out if my statement of "Dutch people can handle dairy" is actually true, even though studies say that indeed we are a population with the lowest % of lactose intolerant people in the world.

Either way, during the whole30 I noticed that my nose was less stuffy and bloody than normal, and after my reintroduction debacle, I can put dairy on the list of possible suspects.
Before the whole30 we weren't big milk drinkers, so that hasn't been an issue, but there was a product we cherished; Greek yogurt. Not the fat-free crap, but the full fat 10% kind.
Our shop actually sells it in buckets of 1kg, it's friggin' fantastic!

But to keep the dairy dragon outside as much as possible, I wanted to experiment with making an alternative. During the whole30 it's not allowed to SWYPO, but now I thought it was time to put my ideas into action.

Strawberry Cogurt

2 cups of coconut milk (I used Aroy-D)
3-3,5 sheets of gelatin
1 cup of strawberries

Soak the gelatin in a bit of cold water until the sheets are soft.
Meanwhile warm up the coconut milk, but do not boil.
Let the gelatin dissolve in the coconut milk and add the strawberries. Using an electric hand blender, mix well until the strawberries are completely mixed in. Let it cool for a bit in a bowl  on the kitchen bench, then let it set (preferably overnight) in the fridge.
This trick can obviously be done with other fruits too, add vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa powder, mint...

Why this obsession to make a yogurt? Well first, it's really tasty. But second, yogurt also contains cultures that are great for your gut flora, and honestly, I am not a big sauerkraut fan. But, fermented foods are good for you, so how about combining the 2?

Take a packet of sauerkraut and let it drain into a bowl though a colander.

Regular Cogurt

1 cup of coconut milk
2 tbsp of sauerkraut juice
1,5-2 sheets of gelatin

Prepare the same way as the first recipe, although you don't need a blender for this.
The amount of gelatin can be varied, of course the more you use, the thicker it will be.
Does it taste exactly like Greek yogurt? No. But it is deliciously creamy and tasty.

By the way, check this fun post by Mark Sisson, where Greek yogurt gets a special mention.

Now I'm curious too, what food couldn't you live without?

Upgrade yourself!