Indiana June Dairy Month Celebration and Favorite Dairy Recipes (2024)

What’s not to love about Dairy? Yogurt, Milk, Cream, Sour Cream, Cheese … there’s something for anyone who isn’t sensitive to Dairy to enjoy, and healthy varieties of these favorites make Indiana Dairy a Healthy Living essential.

As a proud Hoosier I would be remiss if I couldn’t share some pretty awesome facts about Dairy Farmers in Indiana!

A Moody gang favorite is Whole Milk, though I’m partial to a special kind of Cheddar Cheese, but some of my favorite recipes involve newer-to-me Greek Yogurt.

Indiana’s Family of Farmers(IFOF) released information about the Indiana Dairy Farmer Connection, but rather than recap the stats, I thought I would have some fun with the statistics and fun facts … hope you get a kick out of the graphics, and join me after for some quick recipes including my own favorite Greek Yogurt!

Before I go go any further I have to encourage you to give these folks some love, pretty please?

So read on to see some great facts and find a couple great tips for using Greek yogurt (and some great Smoothie recipes!):

Cow Trivia facts from Indiana’s Family of Farmers

Indiana Dairy Facts for Year of the Dairy Cow!

Creating with Greek Yogurt – Or Why I Love it!

Greek Yogurt is packed full of probiotics and nutrients that make it a great choice if you are wanting full flavor in your creations in the kitchen. I use it for many of my recipes, but my favorite thing to do with it is simple and delicious!

Instead of buying yogurt with ingredients you might not want to eat (I’m sensitive to Aspartame, for instance), use plain Greek Yogurt (or Vanilla flavored for a little extra sweetness) and mix with fresh fruit, OR keep your favorite jar of homemade jam on hand to add right to it.

I usually take 1/2 cup of the yogurt and add between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of fruit or jam (LOVE my Cherry jam!). I sometimes make extra because Logan LOVES this stuff too! Of course my picky eaters were not pleased with the chunks … but I’m thinking that is what the blender is for, right?

I’ll be using this as a staple item in the quest to help Bobby gain weight (upcoming post on this one, just know we’re trying desperately to avoid a g-tube placement for him!), mixed with stewed fruit with a few extra things tossed in and then blended to smoothness.

Go Greek with Amazing Smoothies!

But seriously, one of my FAVORITE ways to use Greek yogurt is as an exceptional base for a great fruit smoothie. It’s so easy … I’ll gross you out and say I do add spinach to mine, because you can’t taste it 🙂 – so my own VERY simple Smoothie:

• 1/2 C. (or large handful *grin* because I’m so scientific) of fresh spinach, pureed because I love to forget it’s in there!
• 1 C of frozen fresh Strawberries (freeze them yourself if want – it provides the extra cold for my version of this treat!)
• 1/2 C fresh blueberries (or any other fruit you might have on hand)
• 1 C plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp Raw honey (sometimes I add a bit more for taste, I can’t help it, I like it sweet! You could forgo it, I have before too!)
• Depending on the consistency you want, you can add 1/4 C. or so of fresh Coconut, Almond , or another favorite Milk!

Blenderize until the kids beg you to stop the noise, or until it’s smooth enough for you to enjoy … and Yum!

Smoothie Extraordinaire Dr. Daisy and her Raspberry Creamsicle Smoothie Treat!

But if you want some seriously decadent smoothies, my friend Dr. Daisy Sutherland provides an amazing assortment of Smoothie recipes as part of her Smoothie Thursday series at her Dr. Mommy site.

Her latest is an amazingly simple but delicious taste sensation! She gave me permission to share this treat with you guys, but to see the rest of her notes and her other greatrecipes, you should check out her site, Dr. Mommy Health Tips – it’s a great collection of truly healthyrecipes!

From Dr. Daisy’s Site:

Raspberry Creamsicle Smoothie

So there you have it! June Dairy Monthextraordinarypost at the Cafe, with amazing thanks to Indiana’s Family of Farmers for giving me the chance to contribute, and The American Dairy Association of Indiana.