Homemade storebought greek yogurt

Confusing title but let me explain!
           Did you know the way you make greek yogurt is by straining off the whey from regular yogurt? The whey is the liquid that settles in your yogurt when you let it sit for a while  and you usually stir back in before scooping more out of the container. Whey contains most of the carbs of your yogurt and although it does have some protein, the majority of it is found in what's left behind when you drain off the whey.
           So have you tried Fage greek strained yogurt? I've read over and over on health blogs about how amazing it was so I finally broke down and dished out the extra money to try it.   It really was amazing. So rich and creamy and well worth the money, but I didn't want to spend the extra money for the rest of my life so I googled how to make homemade Fage Greek Yogurt and learned homemade yogurt is quite easy but I'll experiment and let you know how it goes, for now I'm doing this:

• Take store bought regular fat free plain yogurt and dump it in a strainer lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel and set that strainer on a bowl the whey can drain into. Let is sit in your fridge over night, perhaps stirring it a time or two before going to bed and when you wake up you've got thick, rich, creamy greek strained yogurt, it will strain to about half the volume of what you put in, so for 4 cups of plain yogurt you strain and end up with 2 cups of greek strained yogurt. For a 1/2 cup serving you have 65 calories, 4.5 carbs, 11.5 grams of protein. 

• For a small meal/snack I would probably do 1/2 cup of this greek strained yogurt and 1/4 cup cottage cheese mixed together to up the protein (and I really like the texture of them mixed together) and mix 1/8th cup of granola and 1/8th cup of frozen berries and sweeten with agave, honey or truvia depending on your caloric needs.

• From the label of the Fage Greek Strained Yogurt container: You can use this thick yogurt in cooking pasta dishes or preparing spreads, sauces, smoothies and desserts as an alternative to cream and mayonnaise. Mix it with fruit or honey for a delicious breakfast or dessert.

• For those learning to make your own bread, the strained off whey is really great to soak your whole wheat flour in overnight before making it into bread. There's many nutritional benefits explained in the website here.... If you're not ready to venture into soaking your flour you can just put the whey in your baked bread and rolls in exchange for part of your liquid, but start off slowly, perhaps just making it 1/4th to 1/2 of your liquid in your recipe, it has acidic qualities to it so don't go overboard, just see how you like it.  Here's a link to explain the nutritional benefits of using your whey in baked foods and many other things. Oh, and here's one more :)  Have fun and let me know how you like it!

Healthy homemade granola bars

 I've been looking for some quick to make, easy to grab, tasty snacks for my kids and here is a favorite one I came across:  I got it off of Pinching Your Pennies Website and that person got it from a Mark Bitman Recipe, here's my take on it:

Chewy Granola Bars
1/2 cup nut butter (almond or peanut) I liked using crunchy peanut butter, and can't wait to experiment making my own nut butter as soon as I get a grinder.
1/2 cup honey or agave syrup (haven't tried it with agave yet, but both are lower on the glycemic index than sugar...more on this later...:)
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1 cup oats (instant, quick, or old fashioned, I also used rolled 6 grain cereal from Kitchen Kneads in Ogden, UT)
1/2  cup chopped unsalted nuts and/or seeds (any combination you like) I've used raw almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds and flax seed
1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (any that you like) I've used apricot, craisen, raisen, cherry,
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

•   Place nut butter and honey in a small saucepan over low heat just until melted enough to combine thoroughly with a whisk.
• Lightly oil a 9x9 or 8x8 cake pan...( when I double this recipe I use my oven's broiler pan)
• Center a piece of plastic wrap that is about 3 times the size of the pan over the pan and smooth it out to line the pan, allowing the excess plastic to hang over the sides.
• Put the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the combined nut butter and honey. Stir gently until well combined.
• Pour mixture into pan and distribute as evenly as possible with the spoon you used to stir with.
• Now fold the plastic wrap over the mixture and press firmly and evenly into the pan.
• Refrigerate for at least one hour. ( For those kids (and me:) that love a little chocolate I chill for about 20 min. then sprinkle mini chocolate chips over the top re-wrap and press the chips into the top of the bars then finish chilling...Just a little heat helps hold the chips in place, but too much heat melts them.)
• Lift the plastic wrap and granola mixture from the pan all at once and place on cutting board and cut into 16 equal pieces.
• At this point I like to wrap each bar in waxed paper and tape closed and put them into the freezer in a ziplock bag. When I'm packing lunches I can just grab one and add it to the lunches. It thaws perfectly for lunch.
• I've also learned it's important to stay within the total measurement for the dried nuts and fruit, if you add too much they crumble easily.
• My friend Dana did her own experimenting and added a scoop of protein powder to the honey/nut mixture which would help balance the snack, I was just eating one with a cheese stick, but can't wait to try that out! 
• I would guess this snack is about 200 calories, and because it's high in fat I wouldn't have this very often when trying to lose weight but I think it's a great snack for the kids instead of Chips Ahoy!