Friday, January 11, 2013

Pre-Pregnancy Eating, Day 9 and Greek Yogurt Review

I’ve been experimenting with different kinds of Greek yogurt the past week. I never liked the stuff (I like regular yogurt but Greek yogurt is too similar to eating cream cheese straight out of a carton) but know how good it is for you. Luckily, it seems that the producers are feeling the push to make Greek yogurt more appealing to the masses! At the time of this writing, I’ve only tried the Chobani brand so far. Here are my thoughts:
Chobani Bites: I’ve sampled Raspberry with Dark Chocolate Chips and Coffee with Dark Chocolate Chips. Meh. The “chocolate chips” are flavorless. The coffee flavor is still very tart – it’s hard to taste the coffee. The raspberry isn’t terrible. I’m trying to find Fig with Orange Zest and Caramel with Pineapple Chunks. Both sound wonderful. The good thing is that all are 100 calories.
Chobani Champions (for kids): I really like the Vanilla Orange. Totally yummy! It also makes a wonderful dip for pineapple. Nom! I also tried the Vanilla Chocolate Chunk. Again, the “chocolate chips” are flavorless. And it’s a little higher in fat and calories than the orange flavor. The good thing about the Champions is that Chobani went out of the way to tone down the tartness of the yogurt.
Edited to add: My bestie, W, has suggested the Fage brand Cherry flavor. Oh my word, that is DELICIOUS!

EDITED AGAIN: To say RUN, don't walk, to purchase the Chobani Bite - Caramel with Pineapple Chunks. It tastes just like pineapple upside down cake and is AMAZING!!!
I am enjoying using plain Greek yogurt as a base for sauces, though! I use 2T as a base for my curry sauce instead of mayonnaise and it is WONDERFUL. And JustMe suggested stirring some peanut butter into plain Greek yogurt with a little sweetener as a dip for apples. So yummy!
Any other suggestions on cooking with Greek yogurt?
·         Upon Waking: 8oz Water
·         Breakfast: French Toast Oatmeal
·         Before Lunch: 32oz Water
·         Lunch: Asian Veggie Burger, 2t Shitake Soy Ginger Sauce, Whole Grain Bun, 1/2C Haricot Verts with 1T Light Ranch Dressing, Red Grapes
·         PM Snack: Faye Cherry Greek Yogurt
·         Before Leaving: 32oz Water
·         Dinner: Special K Yogurt and Berries with Skim Milk
·         Dessert: Caramel with Pineapple Chunks Greek Yogurt
Here is a snapshot of how this looks caloricly:


Yesterday was one of the busy days (gymnastics), so it was cereal for me again. I briefly considered taking a walk during Little K’s hour long class, but it is very dark with no sidewalks by her gym. Grr. There is, however, a Zumba class in the same building. There are two problems with that idea. First, it starts in the middle of her class and runs over her end time by 30 minutes. I’d have to leave early. Second, and this is a big one, I am HORRIBLY uncoordinated and hate to dance. (Except for ballroom dancing.) Bleh.
I did manage to fit in a 20 minute walk at work yesterday. I need to remember to bring a light jacket and sneakers to work. Baby steps, people!

5 comments:

  1. This all sounds awesome! I tried Greek yogurt once and hated it! maybe I need to try a different brand!

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    1. I would hands-down recommend the Chobani Caramel with Pinapple Chunks. I just about lost my mind with the first taste - SO sweet and delicious!

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  2. I eat plain greek yogurt with a tablespoon of whatever sugar-free Torani or Davinci syrup I'm in the mood for, and throw in a little no-sugar-added granola. It's yummy!

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  3. Chobani Vanilla is good, but Chobani Strawberry Banana is GREAT. Now I have to try the Caramel Pineapple. Also, I love most all Fage 0% with fruit or honey. Especially the blueberry and cherry.

    Another good greek yogurt recipe (I know, I'm just full of them, right?) is to mix in greek yogurt, a little bit of fat-free mayo, a little bit of fat free milk, some fresh chopped garlic and then some blue cheese. Throw it all in the blender, add salt & pepper, adjust ratios to taste, and you've got great salad dressing/dip! :)

    Wow, you'd think I work as a yogurt rep or something....

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  4. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Greek yogurt - I use it for so much! Smoothies and anytime sour cream is recommended. In banana muffins. Have you made tzatziki? Yummmmm....

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