You Can Make Vegan Yogurt at Home!

#JaneUnchainedLIVE with Tracy Childs the fabulous Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Food for Life facilitator! Join the fun as she creates tasty and healthy homemade vegan Greek-Style soy yogurt (made in the Instant Pot) and Almond Butter Kasha Granola, oil and sugar-free. Founder of Veg-Appeal, and Co-leader of PlantDiego, Tracy keeps a busy cooking and nutrition coaching schedule. She also works for Joel Fuhrman MD as a chef at the Eat to Live Retreat! 

Tracy was frustrated that she was unable to find products at the store that contained the ingredients she wanted without the ingredients she did not. So she decided to make her own! Tracy shows us the ingredients she is using to make her homemade granola. She starts off with her buckwheat, which is great for you like quinoa, but it has been used regularly in an American diet much longer. Most of the granola’s ingredients can be affordably purchased from the bulk bins at the store. Tracy also uses lots of nuts and seeds to add texture to the granola. She uses dates for sweetness and almond butter to bind the mixture together. After mixing the granola to the desired consistency, you spread it out on a baking sheet and bake it. Add dried cherries or raisins later and you have a delicious nutritious homemade granola!

Next, Tracy shows us how to make yogurt using her Instant Pot. She has been making her own yogurt recently, and she explains that it makes for a great go-to snack that is high in protein and the good kind of bacteria for your intestinal tract. Yes, you heard right, you can make your vegan yogurt at home! She starts by using unsweetened vegan soy milk and a non-dairy yogurt starter you can find at a grocery store like Trader Joe’s or buy on Amazon. Tracy blends the two ingredients together and pours it into glass jars ready for storing in the refrigerator. She puts the open containers in the Instant Pot and sets the Instant Pot to the perfect temperature with the “yogurt” button.  After it’s done the cooking, you can use a coffee filter and a strainer to make the yogurt thicker if desired. This yogurt is not sweet so it can also be used in savory dishes too. Tracy makes beautiful yogurt parfaits topped with granola and fruit. Try making your own homemade yogurt creations at home with the recipes below!

For more information about making homemade yogurt, see Tracy’s step by step guide here!

Thanks to cooking muses: PlantPure Chef Minimalist Baker Lisa Karlan Julie Marie Christensen

Tracy Childs reporting for JaneUnchained News Network.

Photos courtesy of Tracy Childs.

Video work by Steven Childs.

Report edited by Ellen Dent.

Crunchy Kasha Granola Recipe:

Makes about 6 cups

Recipe by Tracy Childs

1 1/2 cups kasha or raw buckwheat groats

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 ½ cup chopped raw nuts or seeds (pecans, walnuts cashews, pumpkin or sunflower seeds are great)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes – optional

2 tablespoons chia seeds

3 tablespoons ground flax seeds

1-2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

1 cup dates, pitted

½ cup all-fruit jam or apple sauce

½ cup almond butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup raisins, or other chopped dried fruit

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. and line 2 jelly roll pans with parchment paper (one will work as well – just increase baking time)
2. In a mixing bowl, add the buckwheat groats, oats, nuts, coconut, chia seeds, ground flax. Stir to combine.
3. In a blender add the cinnamon, non-dairy milk, dates, all-fruit jam, nut butter and vanilla. Blend until smooth and pour over the dry ingredients and mix well to coat.
4. Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir, then smooth out evenly again and return to the oven and bake for about 10 more minutes until evenly dried, and slightly browned. Remove and stir it again, then turn the oven off and allow the oven to cool for about 10 minutes (with the door open) and return it to the warm oven and leave it to cool for an hour or two (or more) to create a crunchier granola consistency.
5. Add the dried fruit to the cooled granola and stir.
6. Store the cooled granola in a closed container and it will last for several weeks.

See Also

UnchainedTV Streams 3 Different Approaches to Vegan Outreach

Soy Yogurt Recipe: 

 This is the drained yogurt — notice the thicker “greek-like” consistency

This is best made overnight, so you don’t disturb the pot while it is working. It takes 9–10 hours.

Makes about 2 cups

1-quart container unsweetened soy yogurt (Trader Joe’s)

1 teaspoon probiotic powder

Place either 2 pint or 4 1/2 pint glass jars inside your instant pot.

Place the milk and the probiotic powder into the blender. Pulse to mix. This can also be done by whisking some of the milk with the powder and then incorporating this into the rest of the milk.

Pour the milk into the jars.

Secure the lid on the instant pot. Press the Yogurt button on the pot and select 9 or 10 hours. Leave it alone.

When the yogurt is done, to create a thicker consistency, you can drain it using a seive in a coffee filter over a bowl to catch the excess liquid. Do it as shown and let it drain in the fridge if you are going to be away, otherwise it can be done on the counter for a couple of hours.