Thursday, January 05, 2006

Greek Style Plain Yogurt

I've always been a pretty big fan of yogurt, but I've never liked those fruit on the bottom or fruit mixed in yogurts. They always tasted really sweet to me and this was way before our current hate-affair with sugar. My mom invented her own home-made yogurts by mixing plain yogurt, sliced bananas and sugar. I liked this concoction better than the premade yogurts but it always turned out a little soupy to me, regular plain yogurt was just too thin.

Then my friend Cassandra introduced me to the magic that is TJs Greek yogurt. When she described it to me ("its like yogurt with the thicker consistency of sour cream") I knew I would love it, it's that thicker yogurt that I had always been dreaming of.

Trust me a little bit goes a long way. The serving size is 1 cup but I usually probably only have 1/2 a cup because its very very rich. And its pretty tangy (my boyfriend Paul makes that unhappy puckering face whenever he accidentally eats some of this yogurt, he's not a big fan) so be generous with the added sugar, fruit or honey. I like to add about three teaspoons of sugar and some fruit (usually TJs Pear Halves or Peaches since all types of other fruit always get eaten before I can remember to save them for my yogurt treat).

Growing up I actually didn't know that you were supposed to put sour cream on baked potatoes because in my house we always used plain yogurt (weird but true and by the way mom and dad I've never met anyone else who puts yogurt on their potatoes). So I use the greek yogurt on baked potatoes and dips for chips and basically anything that requires sour cream. A quick google just confirmed my thinking that the greek yogurt is a little better for you than the sour cream (1 cup of sour cream has roughly double the calories and double the fat of 1 cup of greek yogurt).

TJs has a bunch of pre-mixed flavors of Greek Yogurt that aren't actually all that bad, they are still a little too sweet for me. The fig Greek Style yogurt actually tastes pretty yummy, even though it seems a little weird. And come on how can you not love something that takes you "on a journey to the land of ancient gods and ruins?" (see: back of the container) My first official shout-out to the awesome product copy writers at TJs.

Cost: $1.99 per 16oz container

Nutritional Info:
Serving Size 1 cup (trust me that's too much)
Calories: 260
Total Fat: 20g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 12g

Back of the container:

Ready for something a little unusual and completely delicious? Come with us on a journey to the land of ancient gods and ruins, where yogurt is a thick, creamy concoction with the consistency of sour cream. The tart flavor is similar to yogurt, but with more bit. Serve Trader Joe’s Greek Style Plain Yogurt with fresh berries or granola for breakfast, or sweeten it up with a bit of honey for a satisfying snack anytime.

Store Location: In the fridge section near the other yogurts

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful, and informative blog entry. I must say that I do love the Greek Yougurt (sp?) they sell at TJs but I'm more of a fan of the authentic stuff... the TJ knock of is not as tasty to me. So, if you're trying it for the first time pick up one of each... that way you can choose the one you like better. YUM!

Unknown said...

That is a very very insightful comment because the "real" Greek Yogurt that TJs sells is a bunch more tasty than the TJs knockoff. But I think its also a bunch more expensive. So if you are like me and buy Greek Yogurt once a week, it would start to add up if you got the fancy stuff. Definitely try both though!!!

Anonymous said...

I'll add this to my healthy/tasty fods list that I keep in my head. I usually consult this list when shopping at TJ's.

Kartik said...

I suspect, but do not have a regular yogurt container in front of me, that the Greek yogurt is way worse for you than plain yogurt. Also more delicious, I am sure.

But I do have to back Carole and Ron up here because I have heard several times that you should use yogurt instead of sour cream on your potatoes, particularly if you are on a diet, because it is much healthier.

I just discovered these new Yoplait Thick and Creamy Light yogurts at Safeway. The new part is the Thick and Creamy. They are indeed thicker and creamier, and also more delicious, with the same number of calories and fat as the regular! This will not help you however, as they do have the fruit mixed in. Fruit on the bottom is so lame. I feel like there is some reason that some have fruit on the bottom, but maybe it is just because they are too cheap to buy mixers.

Unknown said...

kartik: have you discovered the magic of La Creme? It's some delicious Dannon yogurt that I heart a lot a lot a lot.

Anonymous said...

It would be nice if TJ made a fat-free version like Fage puts out. Fage's Total 0% is outstanding.

Unknown said...

TJs does have a Fat-Free version! It's awesome! But you have to be careful not to buy the full fat version. They look exactly the same.