Healthy Alternatives To Using Butter

I have always been suspicious of having a dairy intolerance, but cheese doesn't seem to bother me (thank God!). Suddenly, the other day, I realized I use entirely too much butter. A lot of what I cook calls for butter and it tends to give me a stomach ache. So, I decided to cut butter out about a week ago. I have lost 4 pounds and I feel great! And thus, an infographic was born...

Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese

I've been trying to cut back on butter, but I LOVE macaroni and cheese. So, in an effort to replace butter, I came across lots of different recipes using Greek yogurt. They were all slightly more complicated than what I was looking for, so I decided to wing it.

Ingredients:
16 oz elbow macaroni (or similar)
5-6 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar, cut into small pieces
6 slices American cheese, cut in half
3 T Grated Parmesan
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook macaroni according to package.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in milk, yogurt, grated Parmesan, cheddar and half of the American cheese.
Transfer pasta to 9"x13" glass baking dish. Cover with remaining cheese slices.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until top starts to brown.

You can use whatever cheese your heart desires. This is what I happened to have on hand, and it turned out great. I was very impressed with how light and creamy the yogurt made this. Butter tends to leave baked mac and cheese greasy and I didn't find that at all with this substitution.

The Green Monster

I'm eating something that sounds so gross, I'm not sure how I even had the guts to try it... but I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be yummy!  It's a smoothie called Green Monster.  I'm trying to add more yogurt to my diet because it's "so good for you".  But the problem is: I don't really like yogurt.  I also don't really like fruit all that much.  So, what's a girl to do?  Blend all that shit together and drink it as quickly as possible!

This is not my picture,
but this is exactly what it looked like!

Ingredients:
1- 5.3 oz container of vanilla Greek yogurt
1 cup milk
1 frozen banana, sliced
2 cups of baby spinach
1 to 1-1/2 Tablespoons of peanut butter

Directions:
Combine ingredients and blend until smooth... and GREEN, like a leprechaun's ass.

Tzatziki Sauce

I'm getting a little sick of the same old condiments. So, today I present to you, a simple recipe for tzatziki sauce!  Yayyy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Greek Yogurt
• 2 Cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into quarters
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced finely
• 1 Tbsp. Lemon
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dried Dill
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a food processor, dice cucumber.  Drain as much water as you can out of the diced cucumber.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cucumber with the rest of the ingredients.  Take it easy on the lemon and garlic, it can really overpower things.
3. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

This is great on pitas, wraps, salads, grilled chicken, as a veggie dip, etc.