As we near the end of National Nutrition Month, I happened to come across a recent study which found that yogurt may lower your risk of developing high blood pressure.  Researchers found that people who consumed at least 2% of their daily calories from yogurt were 31% less likely to develop high blood pressure during a 14-year period than those who ate less or no yogurt.  The 2% level is the equivalent of at least one 

6-ounce serving of yogurt every 3 days.

 

While this is reason alone to consider jumping on the yogurt bandwagon, there are so many additional health benefits to yogurt... Most brands of yogurt contain 

good-for-you bacteria, or probiotics, which aids in maintaining a healthy digestive tract and stave off intestinal infections (look for the words "live and active cultures" on the container!).  Yogurt is also loaded with vitamins like potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin, iodine, zinc, vitamins B5 and B12, and it's been shown to help keep colds away and even provide relief to some allergy sufferers by keeping your T-cells strong and active.  In addition, yogurt can be an excellent source of protein... Look for brands that provide at least 8 to 10 grams of protein per serving or go Greek and get up to 20 grams of protein!  By choosing Greek Yogurt, not only are often getting double the amount of protein of traditional yogurt, but it comes with about half the amount of sugar!

 

So, if you ask me, anyone that's crazy about yogurt is definitely not crazy!!!

This lighter take on a childhood classic I found on www.fitnessmagazine.com uses whole wheat macaroni, a whole bunch of onions and garlic and spicy cayenne pepper, which contains a compound that may help boost metabolism.  The recipe calls for much less cheese than the traditional style, but don't worry, it still tastes plenty creamy thanks to our dear friend Greek yogurt!