Handmade Yogurt

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"I regret not knowing this sooner, but actually, it's never too late to find out."

The sentence above is one of the things that makes me enthusiastic about life. Becoming a patient suffering from diabetes with a hBa1c result that is quite high, reaching 16.5 in November 2022, makes me devastated and not enthusiastic about living. You know, I lived for 28 years without knowing the nutrition I was eating, without understanding the words healthy lifestyle.

Since the beginning of 2023, I have started living a healthy life, because I have to use an insulin pen every day. As someone who is afraid of needles, it makes me suffer and hope that everything can be fine without an insulin pen. But it's not an easy thing. Until now, although he has not completely separated from the insulin pen. I live a healthy lifestyle with many tricks that I know from many journals and science about diabetes.

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_{Healthy lifestyle changed me into...}

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When reading several journals about diabetes, it is 'cheating' on digestion by eating lots of fiber and consuming fermented foods. This is because the digestive tract is so large that the pancreas reacts to use insulin to reduce glucose spikes. So, I chose to stock various types of yogurt and several other fermented foods.

You should know that this country is not a large producer of cow's milk products like European countries and others. So, the price of yogurt is relatively very high, considering that many people are not educated about this. Fermented products like this are very common and not part of the culture. Naturally, low demand compared to small production has caused the price to also increase relatively.

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_{Make handmade yogurt}

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I learned a lot about making yogurt, so I can produce my own Greek yogurt at home. It turns out that the method is so easy, it makes me interested in always having stock at home. Never once is the yogurt stock empty, I always make it breakfast before going out for activities.

It's very easy to make, the important thing is to have UHT milk and yogurt starter. You can get plain yogurt as a starter without having to look for yogurt-producing microbes. Get it at the nearest market and only use it at the beginning of making yogurt.

I had my own starter, which I made from previous yogurt and saved to use. stored in the chiller and you can use it again.

1 liter of UHT milk can produce 400-500 ml of yogurt. I used 3 tsp yogurt and 1 liter uht milk. Then I boiled the UHT milk until the temperature was 40 degrees Celsius, or lukewarm. Test by taking 1 drop of heated UHT milk and then placing it on the skin of your hand. If it feels warm without pain, then it is the right temperature. Don't boil it for too long, because it will destroy the remaining proteins in the milk.

After getting the milk to the right temperature, you can add the yogurt starter (starter at room temperature), then mix and stir with a whisk. After that, put it in a jar with a tight lid. Take a clean cloth to cover the jar to avoid sunlight (dark conditions) to maintain the temperature to keep it warm.

I use an oven or microwave to protect it from other bacteria attacks and the place also has a very proper room temperature. You can put it in a warm, uncontaminated and dark place.

Waiting for fermentation for 24 hours is the right time. It can make the yogurt thick and can be used afterwards. However, I filtered it using a cloth with tight fibers to separate the remainder from the water to make Greek yogurt.

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_{The Results}

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I use it for any topping, even yogurt topped with grains, nuts, raisins and sesame is my breakfast every day. I think this is my healthy food and I also realize the importance of maintaining digestive health.

Since then, I started making yogurt twice a week to make it cheaper, healthier and as a way to maintain self-awareness about health. I share these tips so that other people know that making yogurt is not as difficult as you think. It does require fermentation time, but it's not that difficult if you have a little time to make it.

My tip is to eat yogurt before eating foods that are high in carbohydrates, to avoid type 2 diabetes which is very popular in social media nowadays.

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See you the next time hive friends!

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Editing by Lightroom and VN iphone 11

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