Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Sugar Free Yogurt Reviews



So, I obviously haven't gotten myself together to actually post a new recipe. But I wanted to write a post like this for a long while.

Yogurt is one of the best snacks you can eat while on a diet. It's high in protein, and low in carbs when it's sugar free. It will help fill up your tummy, and also supply you with some probiotics to help things continue to run smoothly. In spite of all this, I was very resistant to yogurt for a long time. I never really liked the taste and texture of low-fat or non-fat yogurt. However, since beginning this diet, I've tried a lot of different kinds, and I am going to list the winners of the taste tests here and explain why they're better than all the rest for their category. Debate is welcome.

Plain, low fat yogurt: Hands down, Stonybrook organic yogurts. Before the diet, I enjoyed the Stonybrook organic yogurt for their delicious taste and commitment to organic living. Their yogurt has always had a wonderful texture, and Stonybrook is the ONLY variety of regular yogurt I've tried where creaminess isn't substantially lost by switching to the non-fat variety. The one huge drawback to Stonybrook? All of their flavors contain sugar, and they have no sugar free options other than plain yogurt. I have found this to be the best brand to put in my protein shakes. Plus, on stage 2 of Dr. Malone's diet, I added frozen blueberries to the bottom of my container (I buy the large tubs of yogurt, not the individual packs). By the time I'm ready to have my snack, the blueberries have thawed and their delicious and sweet juice will flavor the yogurt with just a little stir. Definitely a recommendation!

Flavored, sugar-free yogurts: I've got to be honest, I haven't found one I'm really excited about yet. I've been eating a bit of the store brand Fit 'n Lite. However, it contains aspertame, and I can really taste that. Yoplait Lite using sweetners other than sugar, but sometimes it tastes a little funny to me. Just that sickly sweet taste. I know others who love it, but I just can't get into it.

Best overall: Chobani nonfat greek yogurt.
Have you ever had greek yogurt? If not, stop reading, gather your keys (and a coat if you live in New York) and get to your local grocery. Even when nonfat and plain, greek yogurt is so thick and creamy, I feel guilty whenever I eat it. It is definitely what yogurt is MEANT to be. The plain flavor is tart and fantastic. Those who can have it, try the honey version. There's no sugar, but a bit of honey for a taste of sweetness (or add your own local honey-- local honey is good for allergies!). I must admit, even though I'm not technically supposed to have honey, if I've had a bad day, and just desperately need sweetness, I add a teaspoon of honey to my yogurt, and it's SO worth it. The fruit flavors from Chobani all have sugar in them, but fruit is simply unnecessary with this delicious yogurt. If your grocery doesn't carry the Chobani brand, Fage (pronounced Fa-yeh) is a well known, and equally delicious brand.

Now, for Greek yogurt, you will pay about 50 cents to a dollar more, and there are about 20 more calories in each serving. But it's worth it, to me, to not feel deprived and saddened over an afternoon snack!


Enough of my opinion...what is your favorite yogurt?

2 comments:

sarah said...

I do like Yoplait Light, but I do have to agree with your review. I love Stonyfield, and I love Greek yogurt. I'll have to try your frozen berries idea. The only problem I have with plain yogurt is I'm so used to the sweet variety, its never really sweet enough for me. That sounds really yummy though.

Unknown said...

Sigg's Yougurt from NY Icelanic skyr yogurt like greek
NO SUGAR just uses Agave syrup all nature and all natural delicious 11 grams of natural fruit sugar.