Healthier Spinach and Artichoke Dip

16 oz frozen spinach
8 oz neufchâtel cheese
8 oz nonfat plain greek yogurt
1 c fresh grated parmesan, not canned
16 oz artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cayenne pepper, more or less to taste

Cook spinach to package directions. Remove to mesh strainer and use a wooden spoon to press out as much water as possible. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, combine neufchâtel cheese, yogurt, and parmesan. Cook over medium heat until  neufchâtel is melted. Add remaining ingredients, including drained spinach, and heat through.

Serve warm as a dip with tortilla or whole wheat pita chips, or as a spread on toasted baguette or 12 grain bread. Will keep 5 days in refrigerator, simply reheat as needed. Yield approximately 4 cups dip.

Low Fat Fettuccine Alfredo

1/2 pound Fettuccine, prepared al dente
1 c Non-fat plain yogurt
1 T Butter
1/4 c Parmesan cheese plus extra for topping
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh ground nutmeg
In medium saucepan, heat yogurt over medium low heat. Whisk until very smooth, add Parmesan cheese, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well. Remove from heat and add pasta, stirring to completely coat with sauce. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

Chef's Note: I used fresh herb pasta, which was excellent. If using plain pasta, adding fresh herbs like basil and oregano would be delicious.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Greek Style Yogurt

As a child, I couldn't get enough lime or lemon yogurt. It was so deliciously creamy and tangy and I loved it. Today however, the American food market has changed so many rules regarding food safety that the fresh tasting yogurt of my childhood has been replaced with something more like... um... I can't really describe the current yogurt selection in the American market but I know I don't like it. But today I had a pleasant surprise. So much so that I decided to write a post about it so you can share in my excitement!

A few months ago I purchased Greek Yogurt at my local market. It was unsweetened plain yogurt to which I added dried fruit and a handful of granola with a drizzle of honey. It was good, but not spectacular. Last week I purchased several flavors of Oikos Greek Yogurt by Dannon. (As an aside, when I was in France I ate a LOT of Dannon yogurt as it was the most like the yogurt of my past. American versions of European foods are usually atrociously sweet and not nearly as good as their European counterpart)

I purchased these flavors:
Fruit on the Bottom: Blueberry; Peach; Honey
Traditional: Key Lime




The Fruit on the Bottom selections were creamy and had a nice balance between sweet and tangy. I would give them a rating of 8 out of 10 stars and would probably purchasse them again. But the real surprise came when I ate the Traditional Key Lime. For some reason, I decided to get some graham crackers to dip into the yogurt. Well, it IS Key Lime yogurt so the idea to add graham to mimic a piece of pie really wasn't a genius idea but I'd like to think so.

You could crush the graham crakers and sprinkle them on top of the yogurt to get the texture more similar to pie but I just dipped the crackers right into the yogurt and scooped it up and ate it.

And it was wonderful.


Chef's Note: After viewing the Dannon Oikos website, I believe the secret to why I loved the Key Lime yogurt the best lies in the difference between the "Traditional" and "Fruit on the Bottom" and that is fat.

In case you didn't know, fat is where the flavor for food resides and American's have decided fat in any quantity is evil. So in order to get non-fat foods palatable, manufacturers add artificial fats and extra sugar because the human sense of taste is highly tied to fat content in food. Without fat, food tastes flat. Never mind that the calorie content is the same in non-fat foods as in low-fat, manufacturers are attempting to sell a product and Americans will buy the non-fat over the low-fat every time.

But not me.

The Dannon "Fruit on the Bottom" yogurt is non-fat while the "Traditional" has 4.5 grams of fat per serving and I could definitely tell the difference. Maybe everyone can't tell a difference, but I can and now that I know why I prefer the Traditional yogurt, I doubt I will purchase the Fruit on the Bottom yogurt again.