To Go Greek (Yogurt) or Not?

File:Passion Fruit Breakfast.jpg
Passion fruit. Photo by Thor, Wikimedia Commons
I'm that gal at the grocery store that reads labels. I go beyond the superficial "all natural" claim on the front of the package and dive right into the ingredient list.

This morning I lingered in the dairy aisle. I love Greek yogurt. I've tried several brands, from the discounted store labels to organic varieties. Today I picked up a carton of Chobani Greek Yogurt with Passion Fruit.

A quick scan of the label made me smile: nonfat milk, cream, live and active cultures, passion fruit puree, evaporated cane juice, pectin, natural flavors and locust bean gum. Perfect. Although yogurt isn't a whole food, this cup of yogurt seems healthier than some other sugar-filled, artificially dyed options.

So, was it good? Heck, yes! After peeling away the foil lid I was greeted with sweet, creamy cheesecake batter-like textured yogurt. It wasn't dry or bland like some Greek yogurts. With a careful scoop of my spoon, I unveiled the creamy yellow passion fruit puree speckled with dark passion fruit seeds at the bottom of the cup. Surprisingly the seeds added a tasty nutty crunch to the yogurt. 

This yogurt is delicious and filling. Although I just gobbled down 160 calories, I also ate 14 grams of protein (I'm always counting. Ah, the life of a vegetarian.), 3 grams of fat and 100 mg of sodium. Unfortunately this yogurt has 19 grams of sugar, which equals just under 5 teaspoons of sugar.

But, this yogurt is so good I could eat it as a dessert and be perfectly happy. Plus, the sugar comes from cane juice, not refined white sugar.

Do you like Greek yogurt? Temp me with your favorite flavors or uses for Greek yogurt!

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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10 comments:

  1. This is what I like to do..... I will put a few dollops of plain yogurt, a banana, ice and a cup of milk in the blender, a dash of vanilla and cinnamon to make a smoothie.

    This is pretty yummy!

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    1. That does sound yummy! I love making smoothies, so I'll have to give this a try! Thanks! ~Angela

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  2. I always buy plain Greek yogurt with as few ingredients as possible and then add my own fruit. No added sugar. Love it! The yogurt you described did sound yummy, though!

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    1. I like doing that too! I just wanted to try this flavor since it was on sale. I'm a sucker for a good bargain--especially if it seems half way healthy! ~Angela

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  3. I eat blueberry, strawberry and mango Chobani yogurt. I add vanilla to my smoothies. Never tried Passion Fruit yet. I do try to eat the non-fat more often.

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  4. I love Greek yogurt but I always beat myself up after about all the calories. It is filling..natural ingredients (no added flavours or dyes)....and it is delicious. The texture alone makes it almost sinful! I like the way you describe it as cheesecake texture---it is exactly that!!!

    I'm intrigued by the fact that you are a vegetarian...very interesting.

    I like your blog---I'll be back.

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    1. Hi Kathleen, Thanks for stopping by! The calories scare me too, but when I think of it being better than a slice of cake or a brownie, I don't feel as bad. I have to feed my sweet tooth! LOL! ~Angela

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  5. I've never been a fan of yogurt, especially after reading about bugs or some such thing used for the red dye in strawberry yogurt. This could be a total urban myth. I've never tried Greek yogurt, so maybe I'll give it a try.

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    1. The red dye bug thing is true! My sis-in-law works at Starbucks, and they just changed all of their strawberry flavorings because of the bad press about carmine, the red dye made from crushing cochineal insects. I actually wrote about it awhile back for Yahoo!. You can check it out here:

      "Eating Bugs: The Secret Behind the Red Food Coloring Carmine"

      http://voices.yahoo.com/eating-bugs-secret-behind-red-7676338.html?cat=22

      Just choose a yogurt made without dye, or one that uses natural food coloring. For example, I have a Chobani lemon yogurt in the fridge that's colored with tumeric, a spice! ~Angela

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