Yogurt Frenzy: Greek vs. Regular Yogurt

Well, I’m home today with a sick dog. It was a great night of waking up at 11pm, 1am, 2am, and 4am to take the dog out so that he could do various gross things outside instead of in his crate. My only theory is that when I gave him a chew thing earlier in the day that should have taken him hours to work on, it was gone in 30 minutes – I’m thinking he swallowed it mostly whole. What type of food toys do you all use to keep your dog busy?

And on that note, it’s probably not a good day to share a recipe. But I would like to talk about my new obsession… yogurt!

My husband will tell you that I go through “food phases,” where I’m obsessed with something for about two weeks and then I never want to eat it again ever. He dreads that some day one of my food phases will include something he loves dearly, and then he’ll never get to have that food again. What can I say? It’s possible!

yogurt

We’re about one week in to my obsession with yogurt. I saw a post from Cookie Madness that mentioned a cool new yogurt, and it really resonated with me. I ran right out to a huge grocery store I don’t usually go to, and it was a mecca for yogurt… so many flavors and kinds, all invitingly arranged. I stocked up on Yoplait Greek Blueberry Yogurt, Stonyfield Organic Pumpkin Pie Yogurt – Limited Edition, Chobani Greek Yogurt, Stonyfield Soy yogurt and others. I don’t know what to tell you.. it was a yogurt frenzy.

So far I’ve loved pretty much all of them. The only one I didn’t like (at all) was Yoplait’s Whips – Chocolate Mousse Silk. I guess I want my chocolate to taste like chocolate, and not sour yogurt!

I’d never had greek yogurt before, and if you haven’t had it you’re truly missing out. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what greek yogurt actually is, however.

Greek yogurt is, simply, yogurt that has been strained. You know how sometimes you open a cup of regular yogurt and there’s that watery film on top? That’s an example of not strained. To strain the yogurt they use some kind of filter or cheese cloth which removes the whey (whey or milk plasma is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained). So greek yogurt has a similar taste to regular yogurt, but it’s thicker – like the consistency of sour cream. Also because it’s strained it’s allowed to make claims like “2x the protein,” because it’s more condensed.

But is it healthier? Pretty much. You’ll find less artificial ingredients, additives and sugar in greek yogurt. And since it’s more condensed, it actually fills you up a little better. Unless the thought of thick, creamy yogurt is really off-putting to you… I strongly advise you run to the grocery store and engage in a yogurt buying frenzy of your own!

Yogurt with Honey, A Natural Immune Builder

It’s true – I am a little crazy this week. Tomorrow I’ll be taking a few finals/tests for a class in my nursing school program, and in just six days I’ll start giving [supervised] patient care. Eep!

settingup

It’s safe to say I’ve been spending a lot of time on school, so it’s great when foodie things enter the discussion – last week one of our graduate advisors mentioned that her husband is a bee keeper, and one of the things they do in the fall and winter to boost their immune systems is mix some plain yogurt with raw honey.

yogurt

I use plain yogurt for cooking and baking (see Tandoori Inspired Chicken and Red Potatoes, Spiced Chicken Kebabs and “Dad-approved” Blueberry Lemon Loaf), but I’m not a fan of just plain yogurt. The honey makes it sweeter and less tart, and I feel like I’m doing something reasonably good for my body (I guess snacking on bittersweet chocolate chips doesn’t help my immune system…).

honey

I didn’t want to spend the money on raw honey or organic yogurt, so yes, I stuck with store brand and low-fat yogurt.. but feel free to dress this up with fancy organics as you see fit! Greek yogurt would probably be most yummy of all and raw honey really is a must if you want the full health benefits. Raw honey may help people who suffer from allergies, is a powerful antioxidant, contains natural antibiotics and is thought to stimulate the immune system into action.

honeyyogurt

The best part? It’s simple! Take a small serving of yogurt and drizzle on about a tablespoon of honey for flavor. Mix and enjoy!