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 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, 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.

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 yogurt bowls.

Add-in options:

Whey protein powder or collagen

Almond, Coconut, nut milk, heavy cream

Strawberries, blackberries, cranberries, raspberries, blueberries

Any kind of fruit

Nuts, nut butter or chia seeds, flaxseeds, pressed peanut flour, coconut flakes, cocoa nibs, sugar free chocolate chips

Healthy sweetener, extract flavoring, cinnamon, baobab

Flavored options:

These smoothies seem even better than the yogurts because they don't add tapioca starch, which is a not so healthy ingredient.

Of all of the flavored choices above, 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 have 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. Just watch to see if you get bloated after, as some include tapioca starch, inulin or chicory root.

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