The one where I make my own yogurt

I always knew reducing household trash would be a process. I knew it would take months, if not years, to finish using up plastic packaged products before buying plastic free alternatives. I'm looking at you, lip balms. 

Groceries are still one of the largest sources of single use plastics, and yeah, I've switched to bulk buying for many things, and I even found milk in glass bottles, when it's in stock. I've written before about making my own lemonade to keep plastic jugs out of the recycling bin. Now I have another DIY grocery staple to make myself, yogurt. No more quart size plastic tubs, or individual plastic cups.

Making my own yogurt is remarkably easy. It takes very little hands on time, maybe 5-10 minutes, and it is arguably healthier because I'm not using any added sugar. (This is good for you. You'll get used to it.)

*I would like to pause for a moment and acknowledge my lactose privilege. If digesting milk products is an issue for you, I apologize that I have no alternatives to offer here. 

I searched [make your own yogurt] on line and read several sets of recipes. You can search on your own too, but since you're already here, this is how I do it. 

You'll need: 

• 1-1.5 quart crock pot (I already had one. I'm giving you a link to Amazon, but you can probably find one at a thrift store too. It is best to get the kind where you can separate the ceramic part from the heating part. It just makes it easier to store your finished yogurt.)
• A digital thermometer (I already had one of those too. I linked you to a low cost one, but you might take this opportunity to invest in a better one.)
• 1 quart of milk (I usually use 2% and I can get these in glass deposit bottles from a local market. If you can't find milk in returnable glass, remember that throwing away a paper milk carton is better than throwing away a bunch of plastic yogurt containers.)
• 1 container of yogurt with live active cultures (I bought a Oui vanilla one because those come in cute glass jars and I already had lids for them. The simpler the flavor the better.)
• 1 large bath towel (No link because I really hope you already have a towel.)

Directions: 

1. Heat the milk in the crock pot to 180°. This takes 2-3 hours for me. If you have less time choose the high setting and it takes about 1 hour. If you really need to speed up this step, heat the milk slowly on the stove to 180° and then pour it into the crock pot. (I've accidentally heated the milk over 200° and it still turned out fine. It just took longer to cool.) Getting the milk to 180° changes something about the structure of the protein so it will be ready to become yogurt. (I'm an English teacher not a scientist.)
2. Take your starter yogurt out of the fridge when the milk gets to 180°. Don't do anything with it. Just let it come to room temperature while the milk cools off. 
3. Let the milk cool down to 120° in the crock pot. Unplug the crock pot and let it cool off. This usually takes about another 2 hours. Use your digital thermometer to monitor the temp as it cools. Cracking the lid a bit helps. Setting timers to remind yourself to check the temperature helps too. 
4. When the milk reaches 120° scoop about a cup of the warm milk into a small bowl and add the room temperature yogurt. Stir them together. (Measurement of how much you take out to mix with the starter yogurt isn't critical.)
5. Add the mixed milk and yogurt back to the crock pot, give it a stir, and put the lid on. 
6. Wrap the whole crock pot in a large towel. I use a large bath towel folded in half. I set the crock pot in the middle and fold up each corner so that they overlap. Then I turn a small bowl upside down on top of it all. This helps to hold the towel in place. Note that the crock pot is UNPLUGGED. (I am not responsible for electrical fires caused by any failure to follow these directions. Heck, I'm not responsible even if you follow the directions exactly either. Make yogurt at your own risk. It's not supposed to be dangerous.)
7. Walk away for 10-12 hours. (I usually go to bed.)
8. In the morning, lift the ceramic insert from your crock pot and move the insert to the fridge. Leave the cover on. (I told you you'd be happy if you had the kind of crock pot with a removable ceramic part.)

Tips: 

Often my yogurt has extra fluid. You can choose to spoon this out or mix it in. It's a matter of personal choice. I like my yogurt thicker, so I tend to spoon it out. Just depress a table spoon into the top of the chilled yogurt and it should fill with clear liquid. When you scoop yogurt out, more liquid will probably seep into the space. You can spoon that out as you go, or mix it in. 

This yogurt will taste very tart if you are not used to unsweetened yogurt. Until you adjust, I suggest adding a few teaspoons of honey to your serving. Adding berries and granola helps too. Slowly reduce the amount of honey you add and eventually you'll be eating sugar free yogurt. Well, except for the granola 😎

I have also found it is really easy to make my own granola, but I'll have to share that process in another post. 

Oh, very IMPORTANT, before you enjoy all of your fabulous yogurt, SAVE some to use as a starter for your next batch. If you used a Oui yogurt to start this batch, then just clean that container and fill it with some of your new yogurt. It will help if you have some of these lids handy. Keep your new starter yogurt in the fridge for up to two weeks and then use it to make more yogurt. 

Timing: I have found it is best to start this process at about 4:00 in the afternoon. This means the crock pot is wrapped and ready to rest between 9-10 and I can go to bed. I know we can't always start our yogurt at 4:00. That's why I offered the suggestion of warming the milk on the stove. You'll have a sauce pan to wash, but it will make the process faster. The milk will cool faster too because you are pouring it into a cold crock pot. 

Now you know that making your own yogurt is easy. I get to make less trash and enjoy my own sugar free yogurt for breakfast. I've been working this plan for several months now. It's a great way to reduce plastic waste, un-process my diet, and consume less sugar. 

And, if you are one of the people who has had to hear me say, "Did I mention I'm making my own yogurt now?" this post is dedicated to you. 

If you are the friend who told me 25 years ago that I could do this, you know who you are, thank you. 

The one with the zero waste grocery store

I am so lucky to live in a city that has a zero waste grocery store. The Mighty Bin is the amazing labor of love from, Isabelle DeMillan. This is a storefront grocery store in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. 

The idea is that shoppers bring their own clean containers and refill from hundreds of items sold in bulk. When I arrive, they weigh my containers and either write the weight on the bottom, or use an elastic band to add a tag that electronically holds the information about the weight. As I fill each container they add the item to my tab until I am ready to check out. 

BYO Containers:

Unlike other grocery places, where bringing my own containers makes me an unusual customer, at the Mighty Bin it is totally normal, accepted, and encouraged to for me to walk in with a collection of bottles, canisters, and canvas bags to fill with my groceries. They even accept donations of bottles and jars to give to people who don't have containers, or need an extra one. These get cleaned and sterilized at the store before becoming available to customers. (I donate bottles to reduce our recycling, and so they get reused.)

The reason I love The Mighty Bin is because they have items I can not find in bulk anywhere else. Yes, I live within a mile of a Sprouts, and they have great bulk bins for many of my regular items, salt, sugar, flour, rice, oats etc. The Mighty Bin has all those things too, but there are specific things I can't find in the bulk section of other stores that are available there. Plus The Mighty Bin has liquid things that I can not buy in bulk anywhere else. 

Bulk items I can find there that I can't find elsewhere: 

Arborio rice, baking soda, roasted garbanzo beans, dried blueberries, pretzels, spaghetti and other pasta shapes. 

Liquid items that are hard to find in bulk elsewhere: 

Olive oil, vinegars, sesame oil, maple syrup, honey, dish soap. (I love being able to buy vinegar this way for cleaning, cooking, and laundry.)

They also have a rotating variety of frozen items, which I really appreciate. 

And there is a peanut butter machine we are eager to try once we use up our back stock of peanut butter in jars. 

Here is their full list of products they carry. 

The Best Grocery Store:

The Mighty Bin also partners with lots of local businesses organizations to recycle plastic, collect e-waste, offer classes, order flowers or subscribe to a community supported agriculture box. Check out their Instagram feed for the latest events and ongoing initiatives. 

If you live in the San Diego area a trip to the Mighty Bin is a fun adventure in shopping without packaging. It's a great way to reuse containers you already have. I encourage you to make it a regular part of your grocery rotation. 

Oh, and they were recently voted Best Grocery Store by San Diego Magazine's Reader's Picks. Yay!