The Inside Scoop on Yogurt

I remember the day hearing about Greek Yogurt for the first time!

It's a pivotal moment in my life! You see, I grew up in a household that didn't serve white food because my mother didn't care for cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, kefir, or yogurt. I had no idea what these things tasted like, much less how to use them.

Back in 2012 when I started reading the Trim Healthy Mama book, I bought all those white foods and fell in love!

I lived off of these recipes in the first fat Trim Healthy Mama book:

Cheesecake Berry Crunch page 373,

Peanut Squares page 377,

Frozen Yogurt page 377 and,

most importantly, the Greek Yogurt Breakfast Swirls on pages 250 and 251.

These were so YUMMY, EASY, FAST, and delicious to me! It cemented this lifestyle for me as being so delightful that I could be satisfied forever!

Fast forward to being ten years older and eating healthy for so long, my taste buds and health goals have changed, so I don't eat much dairy anymore at all besides the cultured dairy of Greek yogurt and kefir.

I needed a lesson on how to buy healthy yogurt, so I decided to tell you everything you need to know about it!

What is Greek Yogurt?

Greek yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove its whey. Greek yogurt has more protein and less sugar resulting in a thicker consistency than regular yogurt.

Why use Plain Greek Unsweetened Yogurt?

Great source of protein

Quick, fast, and easy

Delicious

Creamy consistency

Adds good bacteria and live enzymes to the digestive tract (Great for gut health!)

Versatile and can be used in FP, E, or S settings

Less expensive

Why choose Greek over regular yogurt?

Greek has twice the amount of protein of regular yogurt, has few carbs, and is better for your digestive system.

There are so many yogurts on the market,

so how do you choose?

Find ones that are unsweetened or sweetened with on-plan sweeteners like stevia, xylitol, or monkfruit. Greek Yogurt options are best and can be used in any setting, but regular nonfat yogurt should be considered an E because it still contains whey water.

How much yogurt can I have?

0% Greek yogurt is a great protein source that is a FP, but it does have a small amount of carbs in the way of naturally occurring lactose, (milk sugar) and it's important to be mindful of those carbs without obsessively counting them.

In an S setting if you're using the dairy as your protein source, you can enjoy up to a cup. If you're using another protein source, then it's better to only have up to 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt. (If you are eating dessert right after your meal, this would apply to dessert and meal combined. Meaning it is best not to have a full cup of Greek yogurt as dessert after an S meal, but half should be okay).

In an E setting you do not need to be as concerned with a portion limit since there's no significant fat for the carbs in the dairy to collide with. However, keep balance in mind, sometimes overdoing dairy protein means you may not be including enough veggies which are an important part of THM.

Let's take a look at some good options:

Let's start with my favorite first!

Of course, purist mamas make their own yogurt and you can find all kinds of videos and recipes online, but not everyone is there yet, so let's start with the best store-bought yogurt.

0% Greek Yogurt

Fage is my favorite brand.

My top choice is 0%, but I have also used the one below that has fat in it

because it was on a big sale.

The beauty of these plain and unsweetened Greek yogurts is that you can add any flavor to them and make them how you love them in so many different flavors and variations! It really is fast, easy, and economical!

Let's show you some great ideas for each meal type.

Fuel Pull add-in options:

Whey protein powder or collagen

Almond milk

Up to 1 cup of strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, or raspberries

or Up to 1/2 cup of blueberries

Five nuts or 1 tsp of nut butter or chia seeds or 1 TBLS of pressed peanut flour

On-plan sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab

S add-in options:

Whey protein powder or collagen

Coconut or almond milk or heavy cream

Up to 1 cup of strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, or raspberries

or Up to 1/2 cup of blueberries

Any amount of nut butter, chia seeds, flaxseeds, pressed peanut flour, or nuts

Coconut flakes, Lily's or THM chocolate chips

On-plan sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab

E add-in options:

A cup of any fruit

Five nuts or 1 tsp of nut butter or chia seeds or 1 TBLS of pressed peanut flour

On-plan sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab

Let's move on to flavored, sweetened yogurts.

We've seen TH mamas eating these, but some of the brands had some ingredients change, so THM has changed their stance after reviewing them, the yogurts with the off-plan fibers are Personal Choice now.

These smoothies seem even better than the yogurts because they don't add tapioca starch, which is an off-plan ingredient.

Of all of the flavored choices above, there isn't a limit on how often you eat them as your Personal Choice item, but be mindful of how you feel after you eat them, use discretion with foods that don't have ideal ingredients. Two Good, Chobani and Triple Zero flavored yogurts are mildly Personal Choice due to the fibers that are near the bottom of the ingredient list.

None of them have added sugar, so the sugars that show up on the nutrition label are naturally occurring from dairy. All of the yogurts listed are FP because they hit the recommended serving sizes for FP. Just watch to see if you get bloated after, as some include tapioca starch, inulin or chicory root (off-plan ingredients).

Here are S, E, or XO yogurt choices that are on-plan:

The So Delicious brand is the very first picture in this blog.

Here are some of my ideas for making your yogurt your way:

Fage 0% Plain Greek yogurt with baobab, stevia, 1/2 cup of blueberries,

TH Creamy Dreamy Hemp Protein powder,

and one tsp of almond butter for an FP snack.

E snack of Fage Greek Yogurt with one apple, cinnamon, stevia, baobab

and one tsp of almond butter.

This is the same thing as last, but with banana instead of apple.

This is a Greek yogurt cup topped with frozen fruit.

Trim Healthy Mama Recipe Ideas from the first book:

Cheesecake Berry Crunch, page 373

Peanut Squares, page 377

Frozen Yogurt, page 377

Greek Yogurt Breakfast Swirls, pages 250 and 251

TH Yogurt Recipe Ideas from Cookbook:

Apple Dip, page 466

Greekie Swirl, page 340

Jigglegurt, pages 345-347

Lemon Creamsicles, page 368

Trim Healthy Table Recipe Ideas:

One-minute Yogurt Bowl, page 445

Pint Jar Oats, page 445

Follow these tips and yummy recipes, and yogurt is sure to become a wonderful addition to your Trim Healthy Mama life!

Would you like to learn more about the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle? I have JUST the thing for you! You can take my Firm Foundation Online Course which will teach you everything you need to know to get started on THM.

Click on the image below to find out more!