The other day I was at the grocery store and watched a lady stand and stare at the yogurt aisle for a good 20 minutes. She would pick up a different tub every few minutes and carefully examine the label, ingredients, packaging and compare brand after brand after brand. I could see the anxiety on her face and the look of confusion in her eyes. What I really wanted to do was give her a great big hug and tell her it will all be okay!
Have you been there? I mean it is quite overwhelming the amount and selections of yogurt available to us now. Do you want Greek? Plain or flavoured? How about one of those ones with the fancy mix-ins? Drinkable yogurts, yogurt tubes, probiotics, fancy dessert flavours. You can’t really blame her for being a little shell-shocked with that amount of selection. So how do you pick the right yogurt??
Well, I’m going to let you in on the big secret, the yogurt that is the best, the exact right one for you is…
The one you want!!!
I know, it’s shocking! But really, when it boils down to it, which yogurt do you want to eat? Which one is delicious to you and is going to make you feel satisfied? That is the yogurt you should choose. No matter what it says on that label.
One of our philosophies, our tag-line in fact is “nutrition through food, not numbers.” We believe in eating food that is delicious and satisfying, no matter how many grams of carbs, fat, or protein it has. Here are some of the things we look for when we are navigating the yogurt aisle.
Read the ingredients
I prefer an unsweetened yogurt. I like to be able to control the amount of sweetness so I will usually buy a plain yogurt over the flavoured ones. Now that being said, if you like vanilla, blueberry, strawberry, by all means, buy it! You can check out what’s in the yogurt simply by reading the ingredients list.
Greek vs Regular
All yogurt has protein. The Greek variety has a bit more protein than your average yogurt and a much thicker texture. That’s why I like it. I know it can be a little too thick or sour for some people’s taste. So if that’s how you feel, stick to the regular variety.
Fat percentage
All yogurts will be labelled with the fat percentage from 0 up till 9 (that 9% yogurt, if you haven’t tried it – do it!). I will typically purchase a 2% fat or higher yogurt. I find it much more satisfying and filling and like the texture way more than the 0% varieties. Some of those fat free yogurts, especially the Greek yogurts, can be a little chalky tasting. Research has also shown that full fat dairy products (3.25 %) are beneficial for blood pressure control and contain many beneficial ingredients. Those 0% sugar free flavours are just not my jam – I would need to eat about 20 of those little 100g containers to feel remotely satisfied. But that being said, you do you.
So what’s usually in my house??
We usually have a plain and vanilla flavoured variety on hand and my family prefers the Greek yogurt. As I mentioned, I prefer the plain most of the time, my kids like the vanilla. We all just really enjoy the texture of the Greek yogurts. In addition, we usually have a fun flavour for snacks in the fridge – strawberry, cherry, lime (my personal favourite). And my four and a half year old daughter is newly obsessed with the drinkable yogurts, so those are a regular item in my fridge.
What I love about the plain yogurt is you can flavour it and jazz it up any which way you like! Make your own individual yogurts on-the-go. Add some honey, maple syrup, jam or plain old sugar to add a little sweetness if you like. That being said, if you don’t like plain yogurt, don’t buy it! Why force yourself to eat something you don’t enjoy. Like banana? Go for it! And heck – if you really don’t like yogurt at all, well then, don’t buy it! You don’t have to eat it!
We want you to relax about your food choices and enjoy eating satisfying and delicious meals and snacks. No stress or anxiety attached!
Tell us – what are some of your favourite yogurts out there? Always on the lookout for some new options!
Dara
2
Lana says
I normally prefer regular yogurt over Greek, the higher protein is harder on my stomach if I eat more than a condiment amount. But I make an exception for Tree Island yogurt. It’s from BC and recently popped up in Toronto. They have really unique flavours!