Yogurt Snacks

Everyone knows that yogurt is good for you. Many people know one or two facts about yogurt. Not many people, however, know how to get plain yogurt and make delicious snacks or even meals out of it. Even more people don't know all the benefits of yogurt (especially plain) otherwise they'd start learning how to make things.
Did you know that yogurt can help prevent or even cure yeast infections? Yogurt even helps with some stomach issues because it has bacteria that kills the bad bacterias in your body. Yogurt will also help you lose weight much quicker. A study done recently has shown that men who ate yogurt 3 times a day while on a diet lost 61% of their body fat.
Not all yogurts are created equal though. Many yogurts add sugar and fruit flavorings to make their yogurts sweeter. Plain Greek yogurt is the best kind of yogurt to buy. It's thicker than American yogurt, so it has more of the benefits. With Greek yogurt, you can even buy the 2% instead of fat free because the type of fat the yogurt has is healthy for you.
It's actually really simple to make things with the plain yogurt at home. Many baking recipes call for yogurt. I've even had a recipe that called for yogurt to marinate the meat in (but it was a Greek styled recipe, so it makes sense). The best thing to do is buy lots of frozen fruits (no added sugars) and stock up your freezer. This way, whenever you have a sweet craving, it's an easy fix.
Parfaits are by far the easiest. The most common recipe calls for plain yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, granola, and a small amount of sugar. Cut up the strawberries and coat them slightly with sugar, put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. The sugar will draw out the natural juices in the strawberry. Then just start layering the yogurt, fruits, and granola in a bowl to your liking. It's a great breakfast, snack, or even dessert.
Smoothies are also really easy. You can find hundreds of recipes online. The basic theory is that once you add ice cream, it's no longer a smoothie. If you make a yogurt based smoothie and blend it until it doubles in size, it's extremely beneficial. It fills your stomach up fuller and longer, keeping you from munching on other things. If you use fresh fruits and as little natural sweeteners as possible, it will have only the healthy sugars for you. Another great thing you can do is buy a popsicle mold and make popsicles off of those smoothies for desserts or to have on a really hot day (great now that it's been a very hot summer here). Once you start playing around with making a smoothie, you can even learn how to make your own recipes.