Recipe: Vegan Vanilla Coconut Yogurt
Why does it always feel insanely expensive to eat vegan?
My husband and I recently fell in love with a vegan coconut yogurt brand and their insanely delicious Vanilla Chamomile flavor. But at nearly $10 a container and with no job, I was finding it more and more difficult to justice the frivolous expense.
The alternative
Instead of painstakingly reverting back to a life sans vegan yogurt—forgoing my go-to yogurt and granola breakfast—I checked out one of my favorite inspirational vegan blogs, Minimalist Baker. With mountains of recipes to explore, it can be really overwhelming. My issue? Most vegan blogs I come across leave both me and the food gravely under seasoned. I often wonder, is it due to a lack of diversity in the field of really large, commercially shared vegan lifestyle branding? Quien sabe? All I know is that I have now developed a strategy to reading a vegan recipe.
Unlike my carnivorous days when I could easily depend on Bon Appetit or the New York Times to offer a perfectly measured and tested recipe; now I hunt through the desert of the vegan blog—hoping to find recipes that don’t require mirages or abstractly sourced products. I dissect the ingredient list, the measurements, the serving count—what? 1/2 tsp salt for a 6 person serving, I think not. The more and more I do this, the easier it becomes to make large measurement and ingredient swaps, knowing it will only serve to improve the flavor of the food.
My Yogurt Simple af. Let’s add a little sweetness and a little vanilla.
Next time, I’m adding chamomile to mimic my favorite store brand.
Ingredients
1x 14-ounce can of full fat coconut milk
1 tbs maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 capsules vegan-friendly probiotics (I used NewRhythm Probiotics 50 Billion CFU 20 Strains)
Materials
Room temperature glass jar or bowl
Cheesecloth
Rubber band
Wooden or Plastic Spoon
instructions
Shake your can of coconut milk well and add it your glass jar or bowl
Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and mix
Sprinkle the 2 probiotic capsules on top and using a Wooden or Plastic Spoon (metal will interfere with the probiotics) stir until well mixed
Cover the glass jar or bowl with your cheesecloth and securely fasten with your rubber band
Leave on a nice, warm countertop for 24-48 hours (depending on how tangy you like your yogurt)
Violà! You have yogurt. Store in the fridge for 7-10 days
Try it with some of my warm winter granola recipe here >>
