Yogurt is the Perfect Diet Food

Ok, most of you that already lead healthier overall lifestyle than me knew that yogurt could be part of a health diet/weight loss plan, but the yogurt as he perfect diet food? Who would have though that?

So, are we all going to rush out to the grocery store and stock up on yogurt today? I don't know, but if you do there could some terrific benefits for diet attached to consuming yogurt. If you have the discipline to do this, you could literally watch the pounds melt away.

The University of Tennessee conducted a study of overweight people that found that when they ate three servings of yogurt daily, they lost 22% more weight, 61% more body fat and a whopping 81% more abdominal fat over a 12 week period. These results were compared against those of people that ate the same number of calories, but did not consume any dairy as part of their regimen.

Since muscle helps to burn calories, the study shows that by eating a diet high in dairy foods, you will lose more fat, while at the same time protect muscle.

I have saved what I think is the best for last. As part of the healthier lifestyle going on in our home, blueberries have become a big part of this as they are loaded with some sort of health benefit I'm told, just kidding the benefit is, well I uh, hang on I'll ask my wife. All kidding aside, my wife uses blueberries for a variety of purposes , and Cooking Smart for a Healthy Heart from Readers Digest, we came across a great recipe for something I just can't wait to try, probably next summer, but this one is a keeper, Blueberry Yogurt Soup.

You heard me right, Blueberry Yogurt Soup. The ingredients are 3 tbs. of sugar, 1 tsp of grated lemon zest (what the heck is zest?), 1/8 tsp of allspice (not old spice), 2 bags of blueberries (12oz each), 1 1/4 cups of plain low-fat yogurt and 2 tbs. of fresh lemon juice.

There are only three steps to making this into what sounds perfectly delicious to me. First, in a small skillet sugar, lemon zest, allspice and 1 cup water are combined over a medium heat. You bring this to a boil and then cook it for an additional minute to dissolve the sugar.

Next, you place the frozen blueberries, 1 cup of yogurt and lemon juice into a blender or food processor. You then remove the syrup from the heat source and add it to the blender/processor and Puree until smooth.

All that is left is to refrigerate the soup until serving time. Before serving, top off the servings with 1 tablespoon of the remaining yogurt, and voila, you have Blueberry Yogurt Soup for 4.

This was a bit different for me as a topic, but I found a way to inject some humor, so I'm good with it. Enjoy!


By Ralph DiMatteo