Somewhat recently, I switched from buying fruit flavored yogurt to plain organic yogurt. I add fresh berries to it, for a healthier food for my kids. A friend suggested, via twitter, using raw honey or agave nectar to sweeten, so I’ve been adding agave nectar as well.
My baby girl (almost 9 months), wears cloth diapers, and she has really bad diaper rash. With cloth diapers there are several products you aren’t supposed to use with them, as that breaks down the absorbancy of the diaper, so I wasn’t sure what to do. I started researching diaper rash on the internet, and after looking at several photos, I concluded (yes, google image diagnose) she must have diaper rash caused by a yeast infection. I remembered several years ago a friend told me she heard of women using yogurt, down there! for yeast infections, so I figured it was worth a try on Addison.
I went out and bought a seperate tub of plain yogurt and some disposable diapers to use while testing the yogurt trick. I smeared yogurt all over her diaper area, and put a disposable diaper on and put her to bed. When I changed her diaper the next morning, her diaper rash was looking at least 50 times better! So I’ve been using the yogurt on her for a couple days now, and it’s really working. It’s actually quite cold her in Southern California right now (shocker), and the yogurt is even colder, which makes me feel bad putting it on her, but of course it’s worth it to get rid of this diaper rash! If you try this, be sure your yogurt contains Active Yogurt Coultures!(Please note, I am not qualified to give medical advice, I am just sharing a personal experience that worked for me).
This process made me consider what else I can use plain yogurt for. I am sure it’s possible to use yogurt in place of higher fat products when cooking and baking.
Read on for more ways to use plain yogurt:
*To smooth your skin, grind up walnuts and mix with plain yogurt. Scrub onto feet and hands, then rinse. The yogurt helps soften your skin, and the walnuts will scrub away dead skin cells.
*When a recipe calls for sour cream or cream cheese, try replacing half, or all, of the cream with plain yogurt. This will be trial and error, as plain yogurt doesn’t work for all recipes. I’m making a casserole tonight that calls for sour cream, and I’m going to try replacing half with plain yogurt.
*When baking muffins, in place of half the butter, use plain yogurt.
*Use when making smoothies.
*Spread plain yogurt on your face to moisturize skin, and tighten pores. Leave on for about 20 minutes, then rinse off.
*Make moss “paint” for the garden-dump a cup of plain active-culture yogurt into your blender along with a handful of common lawn moss and about a cup of water. Blend for about 30 seconds. Use a paintbrush to spread the mixture wherever you want moss to grow — as long as the spot is cool and shady. Mist the moss occasionally until it gets established. (From RD.com)
*Use for sunburn relief (but avoid sunburn in the first place and use sunscreen daily!)
*Yogurt can also be used for finger paint for kids, and many other toddler/preschool (and older) kids activities.
Do you have any yogurt uses to suggest?
