Greek Yogurt

Now, a short post about one of my new favorite things: plain Greek yogurt.  I've long known that Greek yogurt is thicker and more filling than regular yogurt, and is quite tasty, but I didn't realize until recently just how many ways you can use it!  I have been buying the plain variety of Fage brand yogurt.  Here are just some of the ways I've been using it:

• in place of sour cream on tacos
• as a replacement for mayo in tuna, egg, and potato salads
• in other recipes that call for sour cream and/or mayo, like creamy pasta dishes
• with chips and salsa (again, in place of sour cream)
• as a veggie dip (add some fresh herbs!)
• in smoothies
• with fruit, honey, and granola for breakfast
• in homemade frozen yogurt (I used this recipe)

My favorite use is in place of mayo.  I always feel guilty when I eat mayo, but those dishes that contain it are some of my favorite things (salads, dips, appetizers, etc.).  And let's face it, low-fat mayo just doesn't cut it!  But Greek yogurt does!  I find the taste of things in which I replace mayo with Greek yogurt to be pretty close to the original.  I still have a jar of Hellmann's in my fridge, but I honestly don't know if I'll ever go back to using it!

This web page says one can also use Greek yogurt in place of buttermilk, in chocolate frosting, and in cheesecake.  I think those will be my next uses for this great food!  Fage has some great recipes on their website as well.

New Products from Neutrogena Cosmetics

As a Bzz agent, I recently received a few samples of new products from Neutrogena Cosmetics.  Overall, these new cosmetics from Neutrogena are very nice.  Here are my honest thoughts...

revitalizing lip balm: The new lip balm adds a bit of color while doing some good moisturizing.  When I used them around others, my friends noticed the cool shape of these lip balm tubes, and the fun shades.  I was impressed that the color stayed on and the balm didn't seem to dry out my lips as some others tend to do.  I'll definitely get these again.

brightening eye protector: The eye protector does a nice job helping to cover my dark eye circles.  I wish there was a product that would take them away entirely - this isn't it.  But it does brighten the area around my eyes.  It is easy to apply with the built-in brush, but I needed a second brush to fully blend it in.  Not a problem - what woman doesn't have 10 million make-up brushes?  I would get the eye protector again too (unless those circles magically disappear of course).

nourishing eyeliner: My eyes looked pretty good after using this eyeliner.  The liner is dark and thick, but there were two things I didn't like about it.  First, the smudge brush didn't do much for me.  I ended up using another eyeliner's smudger to blend.  Second, I got a tiny bit a little too close to my eye, and it hurt like crazy.  Perhaps this isn't the best eyeliner for sensitive skinned people like me.  Or, we should just be really careful using it!  I only wear eye liner on special occasions, and I've never been very good at applying it, so I may not buy this particular one again.

Neutrogena has a great line of cosmetics, and I look forward to trying more of their new products in the future!