Greek Yogurt Review XIV - Fage Fruyo

I haven't found many new varieties of Greek yogurt in my local grocery stores lately, so there hasn't been much to write about concerning new stuff. But yesterday I was very excited to find a new variety of Fage yogurt on my Safeway's shelves so I quickly grabbed the little tub of vanilla 0% fat Fage Fruyo and headed to the checkout. ( Side note - in case you were wondering Fage is pronounced "Fa-yeh" ) This stuff is SO new, it isn't even on Fage's USA website yet. All info I've pulled is from their Greek website. )

Press Release from Fage:

FAGE, a Greek dairy company, has launched FRUYO, a yogurt dessert made exclusively from stirred yogurt and juicy fruit pieces.
FRUYO has a texture of stirred yogurt. FRUYO has no coloring and preservatives, with only 1.5% fat. Fruyo, with stirred yogurt and indulging fruit pieces, is available in seven flavors with 1.5% fat, the company said.

The seven flavors are: strawberry, peach, cherry, pineapple, vanilla, musli and pineapple banana cereals

Did you catch that?

 FAGE, a Greek dairy company, has launched FRUYO, a yogurt dessert made exclusively from stirred yogurt and juicy fruit pieces....

 A yogurt dessert. 

Perhaps that should have been clue #1, huh? Not Greek yogurt, but a yogurt dessert. Now, NOWHERE on the cup I bought did it say yogurt dessert. It says "Greek nonfat strained yogurt blended with vanilla."


But, I was psyched to try and review a new yogurt for you, so I only found that out after the fact; after I tried it. Upon opening the cup, I was surprised that "blended with vanilla" was an accurate phrase. I saw flecks of vanilla bean - promising! I was impressed with the thickness and didn't stop to contemplate that before I shoveled the spoon into my mouth and instantly - INSTANTLY - one word entered my head. Dannon. It was thick and sweet and like a Dannon product, a definitely not like a Greek yogurt.


The consistency, the overwhelming sweetness, everything. I was shocked. It had NONE of the tart Greek zing you'd expect from a Fage product. I'm sure I scrunched up my face as I examined the cup, even as I was swallowing the first spoonful...and if I had done that BEFORE I did my Porky Pig impression...I would have gone no further.

Folks, Fage Fruyo is NOT Clean. At all. No way, no how, No Sir.

Ingredients: Strained yogurt ( Grade A Pasturized Skimmed milk, Live active yogurt cultures, SUGAR, Water, Rice and Corn Starch, Natural vanilla flavor, Ground Vanilla Beans, Lemon Juice Concentrate.

Calories: 170 in 6 oz.
Sugar: 27 grams

So it has 2 sources of sugar - the inherent milk sugar, and added cane sugar.  So, you could essentially open 27 packages of sugar and eat those straight. Same thing.

Really, Fage? You make a wonderfully healthy and nutritious regular Greek yogurt, and then right next to it, you put this junk? Why is this product called a yogurt dessert in Greece - but you've labeled it as Greek yogurt here? Does it not meet the Greek government's product standards for yogurt?

Well - it's an important lesson, and one I've been hit with a few times in the last few weeks. Just because something is by a trusted company doesn't mean their new product can also be trusted. Also, you HAVE to examine your products to see if the ingredient list is Clean for you.

I won't buy it again. It was an all around disappointment - and a "Bait and Switch" I wouldn't have expected from Fage. Their other products are excellent. This is...not yogurt.

Greek Yogurt Review XIII -Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt

I found Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt at my local grocery store - and I was both intrigued AND skeptical at the same time. Only 80 calories per cup? How can that be? That's more than a third less calories than most Greek yogurts out there. It only comes in 4 packs - so I was forced to buy 4. I'm actually glad I had to; it gave me an opportunity to try the yogurt, then try it again.

First - it isn't tangy whatsoever. It has a strange mouthfeel that my first impulse came out as "chalky" but then I decided was the defatted proteins that make this yogurt "Greek" but also lower in calories. It's a different feeling than you are used to if you are a normal Fage or Chobani eater.

Second - I had the vanilla flavor ( I always test vanilla flavor; I add my own fruit ) and the Dannon Lit & Fit is like licking a vanilla bean or guzzling some vanilla extract. It's really strongly flavored with vanilla - almost cloyingly so. Maybe the fruit added varieties are less strongly vanilla - but the taste is definitely pronounced.

Finally - Dannon has a terrible track record when it comes to yogurt. Unnecessary ingredients, preservatives, etc. I was partially pleased when I saw the ingredient list for the Greek vanilla yogurt:

Ingredients: Cultured grade A non fat milk, water, fructose, contains less than 1% of modified corn starch, natural & artificial flavors, sucralose, citric acid, potassium sorbate ( to maintain freshness ), acesulfame potassium, sodium citrate.

99% Clean 1% potentially suspect ( though not all are deal killers - but just know acesulfame potassium is an artificial sweetener. If it makes up one ingredient which accounts for less than 1 percent of a product, I'm not honestly sure how much having it really would be detrimental to your health. But be advised- if you are avoiding ALL artificial colorings, preservatives, and sweeteners...Dannon Light & Fit Greek DOES have an artificial sweetner in it. ).

I think if the calorie content ( 120-160 for Chobani, Fage type yogurts ) has you scrunching your face every morning, perhaps Dannon Light & Fit is a yogurt for you to check out. Try different flavors, and keep in mind that this variation on Greek yogurt is a bit different than you may be used to - approach with an open mind. My mind was closed before my first bite. I was a bit more than surprised as I ate it that I found it tolerable. Yes, it is very vanilla-y. Yes, it has a funky mouthfeel. But I did eat all 4 cups in the package over the period of a week.

Try it before you dismiss it.

Greek Yogurt Review XII : Yoplait 100 Calorie Greek Yogurt

Yesterday, I found a brand new yogurt at my local grocery store – Yoplait’s newest entry into the Greek yogurt races; 100 Calorie cups. 

  Of course, given Yoplait’s spectacularly poor track record of wholesome ingredients in their yogurts, I was dubious. A quick glance at the ingredients confirmed my suspicions; Yoplait has failed yet again.

Ingredients: Cultured Pasturized Grade A Nonfat milk, water, sugar. Contains less than 2% of the following ingredients: Corn starch, natural flavor, lemon juice concentrate, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3.

UNCLEAN! 2 sources of outright sugar ( sugar and sucralose ) with the added milk sugar inherent in milk? I predicted a sickeningly sweet mouth-feel. What did I get? Bingo, sparky: an overly sweet gloppy mess of a yogurt that I didn’t even finish.

And what is Acesulfame potassium? GLAD you asked. I had to look that one up – and it makes perfect sense. “Acesulfame K is 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), as sweet as aspartame, about 2/3 as sweet as saccharin, and 1/3 as sweet as sucralose.”

What do they say? “Well, THERE’S your problem…”

Avoid Yoplait 100 Calorie yogurt. Unless they do a drastic reformulation, this isn’t Greek yogurt. It’s what Yoplait thinks simpleton Americans want. It’s another dietary disaster masquerading as health food. You know better than that.

Funny – while I was looking online for a picture of the yogurt cup ( too lazy to take my own pic! ), I came across the following link:

Yoplait Sued Over Greek Yogurt Ingredients Not Meeting the Federal Definition of Greek Yogurt

Compared with mainstream U.S. yogurt, Greek-style is a thicker, richer yogurt with at least twice as much protein. Most Greek yogurts have these characteristics because they are strained to remove liquid whey, the watery portion of milk.
General Mills, however, makes its Greek-style yogurt with a thickener called "milk protein concentrate," which comes from filtering skim milk to remove non-protein elements.
Plaintiffs' argument

---

---

---

---

Chicagoan Martin Taradejna and other "similarily situated" consumers claim in a suit filed this spring that General Mills, by using milk protein concentrate, has misbranded and misrepresented its Greek product as yogurt.
Consumers were harmed because they were paying a premium for General Mills Greek yogurt compared with regular yogurt, the plaintiffs argue. Greek yogurt usually costs about 75 cents more per 6-ounce container than traditional yogurt.
Many foods have a federal "standard of identity," and the one for yogurt does not include milk protein concentrates, the plaintiffs argue.

Yoplait is getting sued.

$10 says you’ll see the yogurt repackaged as “Greek Style” yogurt so they don’t have to reformulate.

Greek Yogurt Review XI: Wallaby Organic Greek Yogurt

     Over the weekend I had the bad fortune to have to visit my local phone store; my phone is having issues. I was told to wait an hour while the techs looked at my phone. I sighed, looked out the store window...and remembered there is a Whole Foods store I love to visit
( but never get the chance to! ) just down the street. I bought waaay too much stuff, including 2 "new to me" yogurts - one of them being a cup of Wallaby organic Greek yogurt. Once again, I tried the honey flavored variety.

     I appreciated that this is a completely organic product, and the 2 ingredient list puts it head and shoulders above just about every other commercially available Greek yogurt out there: Organic cultured milk, and probiotic cultures. This was a lowfat yogurt - not no fat - and the nutritional data reflects it: 180 calories in the cup, with 30 grams of carbs. I believe much of that sugar content comes from the honey.

     Wallaby has a side cup to stir in the honey or fruit that comes with it - similar to Fage. If you have trouble mixing the yogurt with the side well flavor - check out this little trick I learned! I tasted the plain yogurt before adding the honey- tangy! Very easily 4 out of 5 on my tangy scale. I don't think I'd like eating this plain - but with the honey mixed it, I found the tang significantly tamed.  The yogurt itself is thin - unlike any Greek yogurt I've encountered before.The serving size is 5.3 ounces - just under the "normal" 6 oz cup size you find elsewhere. I find the smaller size a little psychologically challenging. I know it is not much of a difference, but somehow, I get the feeling I haven't eaten as much and find the 5.3 ounce cups don't satisfy.

Wallaby, based in Napa Valley, California, is known for its creamy, pudding-like yogurts which they call Australian-style, a term we’ve not come across elsewhere. We’d call them custard-style, French-style or Swiss-style . The founders were inspired to make the yogurt while enjoying many a yogurt in Australia.

 A press release notes that “Once the founders had decided [to make Greek yogurt], they tried every brand of Greek yogurt that they could get their hands on. When they were done, they ultimately concluded that there just weren’t any organic Greek yogurts out there that tasted really great. What followed was an intense effort of repeated trial and error, to come up with what they ultimately felt would be a Greek yogurt unmatched in taste.”

I found the yogurt to be tasty, but I felt the honey really over powered the yogurt taste. If I have another cup of this, I'll remember to put in less honey next time. ( I think I instinctively added too much thinking I'd counteract the tangyness. ) It was good - thin, but good. If this is what is called Australian type yogurt, I think I'll stick with my regular Greek yogurts. It wasn't bad...but I think I prefer the thicker consistency of Fage, Chobani, and even my local Giant's store brand.

Greek Yogurt Review X : Giant Brand Greek Yogurt

 Last weekend, I discovered that the Giant Supermarkets ( a large chain that essentially blankets the North East of the US from Maine ( as Stop & Shop ) to Virginia ( as Giant / Giant Eagle / Martin's ) had released their own "store brand" Greek yogurt. Well of course, I had to get a cup for review!

     I was a little hesitant, after my bad experience with Safeway brand Greek yogurt,  but decided that since I'd had a slightly better experience with the Hannaford store brand.,  I would give Giant's new product a try with a clear mind and an open heart. Now, I know most store brand groceries are actually made by the main conglomos of the world - and after tasting Giant's store brand Greek yogurt, I'm convinced the Chobani Corporation is moonlighting for Giant.

      Again, for reasons of a fair review, I chose to sample the vanilla yogurt. ( I generally eat the vanilla flavor anyway; I add my own fruit every morning, and the sugar count is generally lower. )The yogurt is packaged rather plainly, with little fanfare or splashy advertising. I reviewed the nutritional data: mixed reviews.

Calories? 130 - pretty good for a Greek yogurt. Most are 30-60 calories more.
Sodium? 105 mg - in line with other Greek yogurts.
Sugar? 17 g - a few lower than most yogurts.

     Ingredients? Cultured, pasteurized nonfat milk, sugar, vanilla extract,  pectin, locust bean gum, live active cultures.
Almost identical word for word with Chobani. However, the Chobani label lists "evaporated cane juice" where Giant's store brand lists "sugar". Knowing that evaporated cane juice is more expensive than sugar - it makes sense to put it in the store brand rather than the premium, higher cost brand.
Clean?  - Um...just this side of borderline. Added sugar makes it not as Clean as it could be. I wish it wasn't in there. However, it is difficult to discern how much of that sugar count is from the inherent sugar present in milk, and how much is added sugar. But overall, fewer ingredients than some brands like Dannon. Nothing I didn't recognize.
Tanginess? Same as Chobani, about a 2 of 5 on my "Tangyness" scale.

    Overall, the Giant brand flavor and texture wise is excellent. I'd definitely recommend it as a less expensive alternative to Chobani. On the Clean Eating scale, this is ok. Yes, it has added sugar - but it is a sight healthier for you than most commercially prepared yogurts. If you like Chobanii and have a Giant or Stop & Shop near your home - I'd definitely recommend Giant brand yogurts.

     Thumbs up!

Greek Yogurt Review IX : Liberte Mediterranee Yogurt

Liberte Mediterranee yogurts are a delicious "get it when you can find it" yogurt. I was lucky enough to stumble upon a few select flavors at the store the other day ( no vanilla or honey! ) so I bought a 6 oz cup to try.. For some reason, I didn't note that I didn't have a 0% fat cup in my hand - it was 4% milkfat.

Liberte Yogurt

I tried the strawberry flavor, because that was one of the only flavors available at the time of my purchase. It is a fruit on the bottom type of yogurt, but it was easily mixed and mixed thoroughly. No issues there. It was also "high test" - not 0% fat - and oh, the difference was delicious. It was thick , rich, and oh so naughty delicious.

The ingredient list was so-so - while it has 2 sources of added sugar, it was free of preservatives and unrecognizable chemical sounding ingredients. Clean Eating? Borderline. It wasn't tangy at all - maybe a tang of 1 out of 5 on my tangy scale...but it was much more dessert like.

Whole milk ingredients:

270 calories and 12g of fat? *Gulp*

By contrast, here's the 0% version ingredients - note only 1 source of added sugar ( besides the fructose in the strawberry ). Huh.

120 calories and 0g fat. Better. Would I buy this yogurt again? Yes, definitely - however, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the 0% fat version. The calories, fat grams, and carbs is worth the swap out. But looking for a sweet dessert like treat? Liberte Mediterranee is the way to go.


Sad end note: I found this at Bloom, a MD/DC/VA arm of Food Lion that is closing in the middle of next month. Many Bloom locations are closing, my Bloom just happens to be turning into a Food Lion. Fingers crossed they still will carry this yogurt.

Greek Yogurt Review VIII - Taste of Inspiration Greek Yogurt

Taste of Inspiration is a Hannaford brand. Hannaford is a chain of grocery stores on the East Coast that stretch from Maine to Virginia, with a presence in Florida as Sweetbay grocery stores, and with a strong presence in the New England states in particular as Hannaford. They have over 1,500 stores across multiple grocery store chains - so chances are if you live on the Eastern seaboard - you have a Hannaford owned store near you.

I was impressed with Taste of Inspirations brand yogurt - for a "store brand" - it was much tastier than the heinous Safeway brand yogurt  I tried last year. The price was right; about .80 a cup on sale. For a Greek yogurt, that is a pretty good price. The flavor was thick without being pudding like, and mildly tangy ( about a 2 out of 5 on the tangy scale ).

As far as ingredients goes - Taste of Inspirations is similar to Dannon - a few added extra ingredients, but nothing that makes it a "no go" for Clean Eaters. There is much better Greek yogurt on the market today - and much worse. Taste of Inspirations is somewhere in the middle.

If you see this yogurt at your Hannaford store, I'd recommend picking up a cup and trying it. Greek yogurt is one of those foods that everyone seems to have their preference. Some people love Chobani, some hate it. Some love Oikos, some hate it. Try Taste of Inspirations and see for yourself. I liked it, and will get more cups when I have the chance.

Greek Yogurt Review Part VII - The Greek Gods

 

 This week, I was able to secure a cup of another brand of Greek yogurt that I haven't previously tried ( thank you, John! ) - The Greek Gods brand reduced fat Greek yogurt. I tried the vanilla cinnamon & orange flavor, shown above.

This stuff was flat out delicious. From the first moment I opened the container, I was instantly aware of the heady cinnamon vanilla smell this yogurt has. It isn't particularly tangy ( 2 out of 5 on the tangy scale ) but was a much creamier product than I anticipated. It has a smooth mouth feel, and a pleasant but not overwhelming orange flavor to it that is delicate and makes for a really unique flavor combination.

 While eating it, I thought that this brand and flavor in particular would make for a delicious dessert parfait - layered with granola and fruit - it would be a delicious treat. As it was, with my morning banana cut into it, the yogurt was delicious as well.

I was very pleased with the ingredient list: milk, cane juice, vanilla, cinnamon, pectin, and yogurt cultures. No chemicals, nothing odd - and the milk is from cows not treated with hormones. While it technically isn't organic, it is a pretty clean product.

The Greek Gods brand doesn't appear to make a 0% fat Greek yogurt. The "high test" yogurts have 17-19 grams of fat. That is a lot! The vanilla cinnamon orange flavor I ate is a reduced fat kind, and has 6 grams. Hopefully, they will come out with a zero percent variety. I know I'd buy it regularly if they did.

Greek Yogurt Review Part VI

I tried YoGreek yogurt the other day. It had a side well of granola with it; I didn't eat the granola as it had too much sugar in it, and instead had my usual fruit with the yogurt. I tried the 0% fat honey flavor.

It was really, really good. A smooth consistency and soft "mouth feel" as they call it. A slight tang, but not so much that I was taken aback by the tanginess - a 3 out of 5 on my tangy scale. 

 Ingredients in the yogurt: Grade A pasteurized milk, honey, live and active cultures. That is it!

Are you listening, Dannon? Why can't you do this?

140 calories, 11 grams of protein, 1 gram of fiber.

One thing I was impressed with about YoGreek was the low sugar count ( 10 mg ) in the container. This is pretty low for a Greek yogurt.  While the package doesn't include the word "organic" anywhere on it, it does have the seal that indicates it is made from cows that are not treated with hormones - so that is a very good thing and preferable to "regular" yogurt.

One downside for this product: the portion size is only 4.6 ounces, instead of the normal 6 ounces. You'd think 1.4 ounces wouldn't make a big difference. I think it is more a visual cue because the half moon shaped container makes you think that you aren't eating "an entire yogurt" but are having a smaller serving. 

I will definitely buy this yogurt again. Except for the smaller container ( and the fact I wouldn't consume the granola... ) there was really no drawback to this yogurt. It was good. Good, and healthy for you. 

Greek Yogurt Review, Part V

I'm not a big fan of Activia yogurts. Owned by Dannon, they've made some pretty aggressive marketing claims about their yogurts and lost a $45 million dollar lawsuit against them for false advertising concerning the digestive benefits of Activia and DanActive ( you might have noticed Jamie Lee Curtis no longer talks about regulating your bowels in those commercials - they can't say that anymore! ) But mainly, Activia yogurts are not Clean due to the excessive sugars added to their yogurts.

So, not missing a beat, Activia now has a Greek yogurt in their lineup. In the interests of being fair, I bought a cup of the vanilla flavor and brought it home- knowing full well, it isn't Clean and I wouldn't be recommending it for Clean Eating.

Ingredients: Cultured Grade A nonfat milk, water, sugar, fructose, milk protein concentrate, modified corn starch, contains less than 1% of: maltodextrin, modified food starch, natural vanilla flavor, malic acid, potassium sorbate ( to maintain freshness ) sodium citrate, Vitamin D3, natural flavors

Why do they have to put so much junk in their yogurt?? Why the added sugar? Other companies make yogurt just fine and dandy with 3 or 4 ingredients...

The nutrition label was a bit much, too.
Calories in 6 oz? 190
Sodium : 135 mg
Potassium: 450 mg ( this, however, is very good for a yogurt! )
Total carbs: 34 grams
Sugars: 29 grams ( ugh! That is one of the highest on the market for a 6 oz serving! )

I ate it, knowing I had been good earlier in the day, and would be "good" that night as well. It was creamy, but without that distinctive Greek yogurt tang we've come to expect ( Probably a 1 out of 5 on the tangy scale ). Like Greek yogurt one step down from "with training wheels on it" - it was that far removed from the Greek yogurts we've come to expect on the market today.  I found it overly sweet, and a little odd mouth feel at the end which wasn't gritty - but it detracted from the creaminess of the yogurt.

Activia Greek yogurt is just their attempt to jump on the Greek bandwagon with a product that is more sugary pudding than anything else.

Skip it. Unclean, and you deserve better. And shame on Jamie Lee Curtis for promoting such unhealthy carp.

Greek Yogurt Taste Test, Part IV

     The number of Greek yogurt choices in the market are simply growing on a daily basis. At this rate, I'll have a few new brands to review every couple of weeks!

 This time up: Stonyfield Organic Greek lowfat yogurt.

     I've been aware for some time now that Stonyfield had a Greek yogurt in its product line besides Oikos    ( Stonyfield owns Oikos, by the way... ) but I hadn't found it in my local DC area grocery stores until this week. There is no 0% fat option - only "low fat" - which in the case of the honey vanilla flavor I tried, means it has 3.5 grams of fat for the 6 ounce cup. Not horrible, but not non-fat, either.

     At 190 calories per cup, it is on the high end of the calorie scale - but if calories aren't a concern for you   ( lucky!! ) then not to worry. One thing I did like, however - is the potassium count for this yogurt: 530 mg, or approximately 15% of your daily recommended intake. ( For comparison, Oikos brand lists its potassium count for a serving as 220 mg, and Yoplait doesn't even mention potassium levels at all on their cup! ) However, there is always a downside - and in this case, it is the sugar content ...28 g. That alone for me is a deal breaker.

     Upon opening the cup ans inserting my spoon, I was significantly surprised because this brand is thick. Really thick. It is so thick, in fact, that upon withdrawing my spoon, the yogurt stretched thin between the cup and my spoon, broke, and left a significant peak of yogurt where my spoon had been. Wow! The taste is very creamy, with a slightly oily mouth-feel that I didn't find objectionable, but is not present in the other brands I've tried previously. It is sweet, too. Really sweet - and not particularly tangy...perhaps a 2 out of 5 on that "tang scale" of mine.

     Stonyfield Greek yogurt is good - but as far as Clean Eating goes, the sugar content makes this a brand I doubt I'll buy again. I prefer a less sweet yogurt, and I personally find 28 grams of sugar to be too much for something I will eat and recommend to others. Yes, it is thick and creamy - and the potassium level is excellent...but unless they reformulate this to lower the sugar content, it will be a no-go for me.

      The second brand I tried this time around was Voskos 0% fat organic Greek yogurt honey flavor. I was instantly pleased with this brand upon opening. With a light stir, the yogurt was thick and creamy - exactly as I think Greek yogurt should be. It also had the tangy freshness I've come to expect from Greek yogurt versus "regular" yogurt - and I'd rate it a solid 3.5 out of 5 on the tangy scale. It wasn't too sweet, but it was really satisfyingly creamy. At 130 calories per cup and 17 g of sugar, I find Voskos to be similarly in line with the nutrition of most of the brands. The sugar level is moderate for a Greek yogurt. Since I eat no sugar in the rest of my diet, I feel that the morning sugar grams are tolerable, and can be "burnt off" fairly quickly and easily. Would I eat this before bed? No - but I would first thing in the morning when I have 12+ hours of activity before me. And with just 3 ingredients: organic skim milk, organic honey, and live yogurt cultures, I find myself drawn to this brand - a definite brand that will make a return performance for this Clean Eater.

 

Greek Yogurt Taste Test, Part III

How do I know the Greek yogurt business is booming in America? Every time I go to the grocery stores in my area, I find a different brand to try. This time up, Olympus Greek yogurt and Cabot brand Greek yogurt.

Olympus brand Greek yogurt caught my eye and captured my attention not just because it is organic and hormone free, it is actually manufactured in Greece and imported. Now, this to me isn’t a plus. Being manufactured in Greece isn’t the problem – the fact that I am eating not sourced “locally” is a little more troublesome. I recognize that my Chobani is manufactured Upstate New York – and nowhere near local…thinking about this little $1 cup of yogurt flying in from Greece is…odd.

 By far, Olympus brand has been the thickest and creamiest I’ve tried so far. It was like eating something halfway the consistency of whipped cream cheese and sour cream. Very rich tasting, though it has 0% milk fat. Tangy too – about a 3 out of 5 – but it very well may be because I had plain instead of vanilla. However, I added fresh sliced strawberries to it and found it much more interesting to eat that way.

Would I buy it again? I’m hesitant to answer that. It was good. If it were made a little closer to home, it would be better. If it were vanilla, it would be better. It didn't seem to cost more than the other brands, comparatively - even for being imported from Greece. It was good, but I admit not being overwhelmed by it.

The second brand I tried is Cabot brand 2% vanilla flavored. I ate the 2% plain kind, because that is what my store carries right now. Calories are high – 220 for the little cup. That alone was off putting. I was excited when I opened the cup, because the product I saw was flecked with vanilla bean - a very good sign! However, my interest waned significantly once I realized how much like ranch dressing it looked like! That was off putting sense #2. When I tasted it - I instantly thought one thing: vanilla pudding. It tastes all the world like vanilla pudding. NOT like Greek yogurt, at all. I ate only 1/2 of the portion because I really didn't care for it. I wanted yogurt. Instead, I got Jell-o pudding. Strike 3 - you're out. To make matters worse, I ate it with a banana sliced into it - and if I had some Nilla wafers, I would have had an excellent dessert.


If you are looking for a CE pudding alternative - here's your candidate: Cabot 2% vanilla "Greek yogurt." If you are looking for Greek yogurt, keep looking. This is not the yogurt you are looking for. Move along.

Greek Yogurt Taste Taste, Part II

After reviewing a few brands of Greek yogurt last week, I came across 2 more brands I had not previously tried or reviewed so I thought I'd give them the same taste test as before. Same rules applied: I bought the brand in the vanilla or honey flavor, 0% fat, and have rated the brands according to how I perceived their relative tartness and overall quality.

First up: Athenos Greek Yogurt

Like Fage, it has a little "well" next to the actual yogurt that holds the honey. You can dip it or mix it in. I was a little...I don't know...put off...that I was only getting 5.3 ounces of product, yet was paying about 30-40% more than some of the other brands I've tried. But I bought it anyway.  Calories? 160 - a little on the high side. Sodium? 50 mg. - again,. a little more than I'd like to see in such a relatively small serving of yogurt.
Athenos is actually organic ( made with milk from cows not given growth or milk stimulating hormones, or antibiotics ) so I consider that to be a plus.

Upon opening, I discovered the yogurt to be a pleasing thick consistency, with a nice but not unpleasant tanginess – about a 2.5 to 3 on my tang scale out of 5. Similar to the Fage – I discovered that mixing the honey well into the yogurt well is a little unwieldy and sloppy. If not mixed well, you end up hitting pockets of pure honey that can be a little disconcerting.
Overall, I liked the taste, and would buy it again if on sale…but I didn’t appreciate the difficulty in incorporating the honey into the yogurt. I think if I had other brands available to me, I’d consider them before Athenos.


The second brand I tried I found while shopping at Safeway : Open Nature.

I admit, I scanned the label quickly - all seemed ok. So, I put a single cup in my cart and continued along. When I sat down to eat it, I examined it more carefully...Lucerne! Distributed by Lucerne! That is Safeway's house brand name. Oh, no - Safeway had duped me. Again! However, I was determined that I would give this brand a fair shake. Wow, am I glad that I did. Upon opening, the yogurt was clearly superior to its poor Lucerne cousin. It was rich and creamy - very enjoyable. It definitely is low on the tangy scale - like a 1.5 out of 5; similar to Chobani and good for the "beginner" Greek yogurt fan or those who do not like a real tangy yogurt. I will definitely buy this one again. I enjoyed the creamy consistency.

So there you have it - two additional brands of Greek yogurt tested - I'll keep my eyes peeled for new ones!

Clean Eating Greek Yogurt

     Greek yogurt is a type of strained yogurt which is made by removing whey out of the yogurt, and it is typically enjoyed by those on the CE path for its high protein content and ( generally ) low sugar content. .One of my readers asked me which brand of yogurt I'm eating when I write "1 - 6 oz container Greek yogurt with fruit" every day in my Daily CE blog. Well, I generally buy what is on sale and what I have a coupon for - but in general, it is either Trader Joes yogurt, Yoplait, Oikos, or Chobani.

     
     By all means, go into your grocery store, and look for the fat free versions of Greek yogurt to try. I liked this article over at seriouseats.com: Greek Yogurt Taste Test, and this article at Buzzle does a great job explaining Greek Yogurt Brands. I can't emphasize enough - look at the back of the label, and choose some to try using these criteria: zero to low fat, and low ingredient list. Some "high test" Greek yogurts can have up to 25 grams of fat per cup. That's like a McDonald's cheeseburger - gross. Also, these aren't diet yogurts - most will have anywhere from 120 to 200 calories a serving.

Though some CE folks don't like Chobani, I like it. It has fewer ingredients than other Greek yogurts, and is still 0 fat. The Oikos brand Greek yogurt is good, too.  If you have never had Greek yogurt, I suggest you buy 3 or 4 different brands, and do a taste test. Be prepared - it's much creamier than the yogurt you've been eating, and more tart. When I first tried it, I mentally said "This is what yogurt is supposed to taste like - not fruit flavored Jello pudding!"