Yogurt Trickery

As part of the mad dash to solve “what's for dinner”, and oh by the way, “we need milk”; I run to Whole Foods to pick up 4 items 1) Milk 2) Chobani yogurt 3) Fruit 4) Rotisserie Chicken (sound familiar?)  Hmmm….there is no Chobani yogurt at (this) Whole Foods.  

At that point, I am looking for another yogurt option to replace my typical 6 oz - 4 pack Chobani blueberry yogurt purchase.  (My default is Chobani based on a few considerations such as 1) The taste and texture is good 2) It does not have much added sugar by comparison 3) My kids like it and will eat it.)

I am selecting based on price and value, and so I compromise.  With all yogurts considered and based on my criteria, I decide on the more reasonably priced Stoneyfield Greek style yogurt, vanilla flavored, 0% fat in the 16 oz. container.  I thought I could spoon that on top of my fruit in the morning and add it to smoothies for my kids.  I also thought that a change will taste good.

Allow me to back up and set the stage:

• I typically read EVERY ingredient panel, and specifically, I read my yogurt ingredient panel to avoid buying added sugars, artifical sweeteners (includes Stevia, in my world), and added colors  
• I give grocery store tours for goodness sake!  I give “how to shop the supermarket” presentations, what to look for, what foods and ingredients to avoid, food science and food confusion, super foods  and also share that grocery stores are ultimately in the business of selling foods, the more the better I might add (financial strength), and our government is knee deep in politics as it could possibly be
• Having said all of that, I didn’t read the ingredients!  I settled based on value, price and I compromised.  My mistake

Fast forward, I open the container the next morning.  I look at the label and ingredients to see what they list as a serving size, how much protein, how many calories and there it is!  Boom! SUGAR!  So much added sugar!  So disappointing.  The serving size of 1 cup, more than I would eat on top of fruit anyway, is 200 calories packed with 28 grams of sugar.  What a bummer.  I expect sugar in the obvious treats such as ice cream, and not in my healthier foods.  Not a good choice for yogurt.


What you can do:

1. Know what you are eating.
2. Read ingredient panels and labels.
3. Better yet, limit buying foods that have a label! 
4. Know that 4.5 grams of sugar equals 1 tsp. of sugar.
5. Stoneyfield is owned by Dannon, and Dannon manufactures many yogurts, including the desert kind marketed as healthy for kids such as Danimals.
6. Know that the US market has plenty of room for growth in yogurt sales, and you will see more and more yogurt marketing- as yogurt manufacturers target you to buy their brand.
7. Choose wisely and don’t believe everything you hear or read.
8. Real yogurt, less sugar the better, is good for you…  
9. …and so are many other foods.  Realize that ONE food, no matter what it is, will not make or break you.  I have shared this thought so much, that my kids use this one on me.  My playful message that “broccoli will save your life!” has been weakened!
10. Food manufacturers want to sell you more food-buyer beware.
11. Our government tells us to eat more of this and eat more of that.  Why?  Can you imagine the backlash from our dairy council and our beef council if the message were to “eat less”?  That is why.  Honestly- most of us could eat less food than we currently do, and it needs to be in the right portions and with the right choices (plant based) most of the time.

In closing, when buying yogurt, the very best choice would be plain yogurt.  With plain yogurt you can add your own honey or fruit to sweeten to your taste.  However, yogurt doesn’t need to be sweet.  It can be used in place of sour cream, or in recipes that include colorful vegetables.  Brands such as Frage have two compartments; one side is plain yogurt, and the other side has sweetened fruit or honey.   You can add the sweet to the plain, and try out your taste.  Your goal is the less sugar the better. 

Health Inspires.

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