Ok, let’s be honest….

I love yogurt.

It internally pains me when my friends turn their noses up to yogurt, especially ones like Pineapple Chobani, or Stonyfield’s Banilla yogurt. HOW?! It just doesn’t make sense to me. In fact, I have a friend who won’t even try the yogurts I eat, because she “knows” she won’t like them. Hasn’t anyone ever taught them to “not judge a book by it’s cover”?!! Guide to Online Schools has info on nutrition classes, for those of you who also love yogurt and healthy foods. The more we learn from each other, the healthier we can be.

Anyway- now that my rant is over, let’s get back to the yogurt. I had been told by a commenter in the past to try this Athenos yogurt. So, the other day I saw the Athenos Greek Strained Strawberry Non Fat Yogurt, and decided to buy it and give it a try.

Here’s how it looked

The yogurt part is EXTREMELY thick. I think this is one of the thickest yogurts I have ever had. By itself, it’s a little tart, but not so tart where it induces lip-puckering and squishy faces like a lemon war head would do. It’s creamy and has a bit of tang.

Onto the fruit part, which went really well with the yogurt. I thought the amount was too small, but it ended up being just right. It wasn’t super sweet, and also had a bit of tartness to it, but I actually enjoyed it. It was a thick syrup/jelly-like side, that tasted like defrosted strawberries. There were tiny chunks of strawberries as well, that were sweeter than the rest of the fruity side that I enjoyed. Together, however, the two complimented very well with one another. Creamy, slightly sweet, and tart with a little bit of tanginess to it!

Another thing, even though I love Fage yogurt, it’s really hard to get all the fruit part out on the side. With this brand, I was able to get almost everything out since it was wider and I could fit my whole spoon on it. So yay for that!

4 stars. Wish it was a bit sweeter, but AWESOME thickness and creaminess!!! I would buy it again.

So…are you the type of person who won’t try something because you think you won’t like it? Or do you try any kind of food? Interested to hear!

anyone else digging my nail polish color? anyone??

With the ingredients I had on hand, I decided to try the Strawberry Apple Ginger Smoothie/Frozen Yogurt, that according to the card, is courtesy of Amie Valpone, The Healthy Apple.

The only thing I omitted was the ginger, since I didnt have it at home. Otherwise, I halved the recipe, and used the Totally Fruit Strawberry applesauce, the top portion of a Black Cherry Stonyfield Yogurt, fresh strawberries, and a basil leaf straight from my garden.

Next, I blended!

The taste straight after blending was ok. I felt it lacked sweetness and was rather runny. Also, the basil leaf which I so closely associate with tomatoes, kind of threw me off a little bit. I think if I make this again I would omit the basil, or use less than called for.

I decided to add some ice and some stevia to cool this smoothie down even more, and add something extra to it. Here’s how the final product looked

As you can see, it was a mild pink in color, and had the tiny green specks from the basil. I thought the taste was pretty good, but not spectacular. I think I would add more sweetener or stevia if I made this again, and maybe try using frozen strawberries instead of fresh. I had some friends try it, and one of them said it wasn’t thick enough, which I agreed with, and the other said it was a bit “off”. However, I don’t think it’s anything that couldn’t have been fixed with a little sweetener and some extra ice!

So thank you again, Musselman’s, for the recipes to try and the awesome picnic  basket!

Questions for you guys- what is YOUR favorite smoothie recipe? Do you ever use applesauce in your smoothies?

Spotting something new at the store for me, Fage Total 0% with Cherry Pomegranate. I had a feeling it was going to be delicious, but I had to buy it, (ya know just to make sure ;] )

So I put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so, and then took it out. This yogurt was separated into two parts- one of just yogurt, and another of a liquid-like fruity side.  I took a scoop of the yogurt and was amazed how THICK it was.

looks just like ice cream!

I tried the greek yogurt part first- it was plain, but not too tart, which I liked. It was soooo thick, almost like a paste! The fruit part was de-lic-ious. The perfect balance of cherry and pomegranate flavors, it was sweet and slightly tart. There were also actual shreds of pieces of fruit in there! And of course, when eaten together? A creamy treat, that knd of reminded me of what a cherry pie would taste like in yogurt form. MMM!

Overall, a winner for me. Looks like I’ll add this to my list of yogurts to buy when I go shopping (which, is quite long, but always room for more!!). 4 1/2 stars

What’s your favorite way to eat pomegranates? I’ve only ever had the seeds, which is QUITE messy to eat. I vaguely remember getting pomegranate juice, everywhere. Ooops!!

1 container is 120 calories, 0 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar and 11 grams of protein.

It’s apparent of my love of yogurt, greek or regular, so there was no way I would turn down some free coupons to get some greek yogurt by Yoplait! Of the ones  I picked out, Honey Vanilla Greek Yogurt was one of them.

A few things to point out before I start, I noticed that this one had 40% Calcium needs (nice!!), and, like the container stated, it is “Gluten Free”.

I put this yogurt in the freezer for 20 minutes or so to get it super cold, and then took it out to enjoy. I noticed it was very thick and to me, resembled regular vanilla yogurt, except a bit thicker. At first bite, unfortunately, I really was not pleased. It had a very funky taste to it, and then there was a bitter/sour aftertaste, like a honey-flavored “zing”. It was very unexpected, and I didn’t taste that sourness until after I ate a spoonful of yogurt. I also detected a very weak vanilla flavor.

Overall, I can’t say I was a fan of this particular flavor. Perhaps I will enjoy the other flavors more. I did like that it had a good amount of calcium in it, but I wasn’t in favor or the flavor. 1 1/2 stars

1 container is 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 18 grams of sugar and 14 grams of protein.

What’s your favorite flavor of any yogurt?

One of the greatest inventions of food for me was definitely yogurt. But not just any yogurt- real, natural yogurt. One of my favorite brands is Stonyfield Farm- they produce some really delicious and organic products!

Today’s review? The Organic Mango Honey Yogurt. I  usually eat yogurt with some cereal, or something like a slice of banana bread for a snack before dinner.

I opened up this container and gave it a stir. It was  a creamy yogurt, that was a pale yellow in color. I took a scoop and really enjoyed it- no overpowering flavors at all. Just a tinge of honey and a tinge of mango. Just enough were it was sweet, but not sugary tasting. It had a very fresh flavor to it, and was actually quite delicious. The honey gave it a bit of a tang, and the mango provided a slight aftertaste as well.

Overall, this one gets 4 stars from me. Nothing like real yogurt. Stonyfield Farms has my heart (and my spoon) forever!

1 6oz cup is 130 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein.

Whats your favorite Stonyfield Farm yogurt (if you tried one?) My favorite is the Banilla!

Oh yeah- YOGURT MAKER!!

A little while ago, the generous folks at CSN gave me a 30$ giftcard to get the item of choice on their websites. I chose the Tribest Yolife Yogurt Maker, seeing as I LOVE yogurt and totally loved the idea of making any flavor I wanted (I’m thinking of doing a “peanut butter and jelly” the next time I try this machine!!)

So, I opened up my box, washed the containers and got ready to go.

Uh-oh. One thing missing. I needed yogurt cultures! So, I packed up the yogurt machine and went looking for yogurt cultures at some stores.

So after some searching  I finally found some. Hooray! Now I can make tasty yogurt from home!

What kind of flavor did I want to make? Fruity? Savory? Sweet? (I ended up using 1/4 cup sugar, a little bit of stevia, 1 tablespoon of banana extract, and a little bit of vanilla extract as well to the milk.)

I heated 4 cups of skim milk in a pot (before a boil) and let cool. This whole process took about an hour or so.

Then I had to put the cultures in a separate cup with a little bit of the heated then cooled down milk, and stir. I noticed that it sort of smelled like cheese! Then I added that little cup of milk back to the pot, and mixed again.

I ended up filling 6 of the little jars that the yogurt maker came with the milk mixture, and put them in the yogurt machine (without the jars’ lids on), and then placed the cover on the machine. I plugged it in, set the timer for 12 hours and well. Now all I had to do was wait!

The whole process took about 16 hours. I started at 4pm Friday and took it out around 8 am Saturday. Then of course, I had warm yogurt, so I had to stick it in the fridge to cool off. I let it sit for 24 hours in the fridge, and then took one out. It sort of had a silken tofu appearance, or resembled when I once had a soy yogurt. It looked firm on top, but then when I scooped some with my spoon, it kind of fell apart. It sort of looked like watered down cottage cheese in a way. Perhaps the next time I try it I’ll leave it in the yogurt machine longer? Or use different ingredients?

Overall, this gets 3 stars. It was a little time consuming, and didn’t really give me the texture I wanted. I do like the concept of being able to make custom flavors, and  being able to control the nutrition.

So, a question(s) for you readers! What flavor should I make next? Do you have any exciting or good ideas? Please leave a comment below if you’ d like to give me some ideas! =)
*also-Has anyone used a yogurt machine maker and can give me some advice on how to get firmer yogurt? I would appreciate it!

We all know (or hopefully know) how much I looooove yogurt! It’s my healthy and usually sweet treat I make sure I eat everyday! Along with regular yogurt, I also enjoy greek yogurt. Although I normally go for flavored ones, Chobani sent me their 0% Plain Greek Yogurt to try.

The first thing I noticed was that a 6 oz cup is ONLY 100 calories, and 18 grams of protein! I was immediately impressed by that, since I’m not a big meat eater and need dairy/soy/eggs for my main sources of protein. PLus, that is very LEAN protein! No fat, and only 100 calories! Nice!

The texture was super thick and creamy, just like I like it. Unfortunately, I do not really enjoy greek yogurt plain. I did try some of this without anything mixed in or added, and found it rather tart for my likings. So, what could I mix with this? Well, I took some regular chocolate frozen yogurt and mixed it with the greek yogurt and let it freeze for a bit in the freezer. Voila! Yummy chocolate taste, and a boost of protein, with an additional creamier texture.

Overall, I give this 4 stars. Although I would probably never eat it as is, I can always mix something in to sweeten it. I have in the past also used those ranch seasoning powder mixes with plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and found that to be an excellent swap. I love that this is high in protein, low in calories, has 0 grams of fat  per 6 ounce serving.

Which makes me curious…
What do you like to mix in with plain greek yogurt? If you’d like to leave a comment, please do so below! : )

1 6oz yogurt is 100 calories, 0 grams of fat, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 18 grams of protein.

Cultured Pasteurized Nonfat Milk.

HappyBaby- I chose the HappyBites Mac + Cheese Bites. When I purchased them from the store, they came in a pack of three Mac + Cheese Bites. However, the company recently updated the product to have 9 bites per box. I actually quite enjoyed them. They reminded me of homemade baked macaroni & cheese. A really good and “gooey” cheesey flavor, with little lumps or pieces of what I imagine was both butternut squash and noodles. I do wish it was a bit saltier tasting, as it tasted a bit bland. I simply put a grind of sea salt on top and voila! Instantly better. Tasty, too! 4 stars

Happy Baby-  I also tried their frozen fruit of Smarter Squash + Wiser Apple. While I haven’t tried the Smarter Squash yet, the Wiser Apple was quite tasty. I am a really big applesauce fan, so I thought I would like these. They came in little compartments, so I defrosted and had 3 of them for a serving. The texture was sort of slushy, but also smooth. It was really sweet, which I absolutely loved, and barely any tartness whatsoever. It sort of reminded me of a “candy” applesauce- but the ingredients were JUST organic apples. Nice!! 4 1/2 stars
I also found out from Helen Bernstein who provided me the coupons something about the frozen HappyBaby. “Since these are for baby, there is never any salt, sugar, coloring or preservatives added.  Babies certainly do not need it and additives only train their tastes to eat processed food high in sodium and sugar. ”

YoBaby- I picked up a pack of the apple and blueberry flavored multipack. They were small sized 4 oz yogurts.

That makes me feel good eating such a pure and great product! : )

The Apple flavor was very mild. It sort of tasted like a plain vanilla, with a slight bit of tartness and slight cinnamon flavor. I also thought I detected a bit fo lemon flavor. I did like that it was thick, but sort of wish it was sweeter. 2 1/2 stars

I liked the Blueberry flavor much more. Again, same awesome thickness, with a nice tang. Good blueberry flavor, and it also tasted like I was actually eating cream! Very rich and delicious. I do wish it was a bit sweeter, but overall, enjoyable. Too bad it was a smaller size than what I’m used to! 4 stars

Now, onto the giveaway!

There will be TWO winners, one for HAPPYBABY prize, one for YOBABY prize. each below. I was e-mailed the prizes that will be given from Ms. Bernstein, who said
“HAPPYBABY
2 free trial coupons for HAPPYBABY, HAPPYBELLIES, HAPPYBABYPUFFS, HAPPYMELTS, HAPPYBITES
1 FAQ on DHA & Probiotics
1 Infant & Toddler Nutrition Guide, co-authored by Dr. Sears
1 HAPPYFAMILY Recipes

YoBaby
2 free trials for YoBaby 6-packs or YoBaby Drinkables 4-packs
1 Eric Carle Growth Chart”

You can enter by (please leave a comment for EACH)
*MANDATORY*
1. Do you eat baby food products? If so, which ones are you’re favorite/which one’s do you buy? (if not, you’re entry can simply be “no”)

Optional:

2. Add me to your blogroll/reader
3. follow me on twitter/ tweet about this giveaway!
4. for TWO entries, blog about this giveaway! (please leave a comment with the link).

Contest Ends FRIDAY, August 20th, 2010 12 PM. Open to US residents only.

I feel as if I start all my yogurt reviews the same way- saying how much I like love yogurt. So instead of doing that again (which…I guess I already did!), let’s just review! : )

Voskos Greek Yogurt sent me some of their yogurts to try, and of course I was excited! These yogurts are all natural, gluten free, and come in a variety of flavors. What I liked about all the flavors I tried was that each was thick and creamy,  and sweet without being too sweet.

Honey Vanilla Bean- this one was good. Thick like sour cream, it even had little black specks, which I would imagine is from the vanilla bean! It had a real vanilla flavor, that was sweet without overpoweringly so. It had just the right amount of a honey aftertaste too. DELICIOUS! 4  stars

Greek Honey- definitely more tangier than the Honey Vanilla Bean, and a much stronger honey flavor. It wasn’t as sweet as I had expected, surprising to me because I find honey very sweet. Still thick and creamy, and pretty good. 3 1/2 stars

Wild Strawberry- yum! This yogurt was awesome! I really liked that it tasted like one of those non-greek strawberry yogurts, but still had the creamy texture of a greek yogurt! Not only was there a really fresh and delicious strawberry flavor, there also was a slight pineapple/peach flavor. My favorite I tried! 4 1/2 stars

Wild Blueberry- aw, man. I really did not like this flavor as much as I had hoped. It sort of had a very mild blueberry flavor, but it was almost tart tasting and really not that sweet. I did add a little bit of stevia to sweeten it, and found it a little better. On the bright side, it still was quite creamy and thick! 2 1/2 stars

Overall, these were pretty good! I can see myself buying some Voskos Greek Yogurt in the future, if I see them in stores by me!

For more information about flavors, ingredients and nutrition, you can click here