Think Yogurt is Healthy? Think again…..

Remember my “chemical shitstorm” comment in my previous post?  (There’s no “cream” in Coffeemate “Creamers”)

Well let’s talk Yogurt.  Do you love yogurt?  Do you think you are doing your body a fabulous favor by choosing yogurt as your healthy snack?

Even the lowest sugar yogurts still have a lot of sugar in them, and most yogurts are also usually made from chemicals and not real ingredients.

Read the label.

Here’s an example of Yoplait Strawberry Banana Yogurt:

Lowfat Milk (which is already higher in sugar than whole milk), Non-fat milk (which has even more sugar), and of course there’s Sugar (2nd ingredient listed!), Corn Starch, etc.

TWENTY-SIX (26) grams of sugar!

OK, let’s look at a Fred Meyer CarbMaster Yogurt label- those are low in sugar:

Primary ingredient: Water?  Milk Protein Concentrate?  Whey Protein Concentrate?

Ugh.

I just want YOGURT.  Made from real whole MILK.  No sugar added, please!

I decided to start eating the Chobani Greek Yogurts, thinking I was doing myself a favor by switching to a “healthier” yogurt.  But it turns out, it wasn’t that much of an improvement.

Sure, the ingredients were REAL… just non-fat milk and cultures for the yogurt part….the fruit at the bottom was another story, but it still appeared to be a pretty “natural” product.  Unfortunately, it was still pretty high in sugar.

It was less, thankfully…..and the Greek Yogurt has more protein, so it technically IS better for you, but I still decided to re-evaluate my consumption of yogurt.  I don’t want to eat chemicals and fake stuff, and I don’t want added sugar.

That led me to this….

Kirkland Non-Fat, Plain Greek Yogurt.   Check out the ingredients:

And the nutrition (keeping in mind that this suggests a full 1 cup serving, versus those tiny 1/2 cup prepackaged servings of other yogurts):

Even at that- only 7 grams of sugar in a full cup?  That means 3.5 grams in a half cup!  And the amount of protein?  Wowzers!  Half the sodium and REAL ingredients to boot!

It’s not hard to adjust your tastebuds to appreciate non-fat, plain GREEK YOGURT.   I like to sweeten it with a dab of honey sometimes,  or my favorite way is to top it with some fresh berries (or a berry puree).  It’s also great to use for cooking!  Add a 1/2 cup to your pancake or waffle batter to make them extra fluffy and tasty.  You can also use Greek Yogurt in exchange for sour cream.  I’ve even seen cheesecake recipes based off using Greek Yogurt!

Once you develop a taste for it, you’ll really enjoy it!  Just give it a chance….

Your body will thank you!