Week 5: Greek Yogurt Review

Week five was super easy for me. I think I only broke the rule twice, and neither time was at a meal per se. The first was at a staff meeting Monday, I ate half a cookie. It was my monthly imperative.  My second break from the rule was at the doctor's office Friday when they handed me a Valentine with a chocolate attached. Feeling sorry for myself for having a cervical lymph node sticking out much like one of Frankenstein's neck bolts, I gobbled the chocolate down like a starving man on a desert island. Nothing like mixing metaphors on Valentine's Sunday.

During the past few weeks I have discovered the joy of Greek-style yogurts with their active cultures and high protein count.  As I slurped these daily for breakfast wherever I happened to be, I jotted down my thoughts on post-its and stuck them to the inside of my planner. Yes, I use a physical planner. Despite having an internet addiction as bad or worse than most peoples', I still use a physical planner, spiral bound and made of paper.  It's classy. It has dog cartoons from the New Yorker.

What follows is the Greek-style yogurt break down.  I skipped the infamous Trader Joe's brand because it does not come in individual containers. Traveling somewhere different daily, I don't want to have to worry about refrigeration of the rest of the container, nor bringing an extra bowl, nor worrying about washing the container if I end up staying the night in a hotel room. Those of you greener than I can surely poke gigantic holes in this approach. Sorry, it is what it is right now in my life. Yogurt convenience wins over the greenness of bulk packaging.

Fage 2%: Creamy and thick. Extremely tart, at the tarter end of the tart continuum.  260 calories (really, probably a double serving container, but sometimes I eat the entire container anyway), 5g fat, 17 grams protein.  Not my favorite, but universally available.  And if you calculate that this is a double serving, you are really only getting 8.5 grams protein per serving. $1.99 for 7 ounces.

Voskos 0%:  Comparatively liquidy. 140 calories, 24 grams protein (wow), 0 fat, 9 grams carbs.  I wondered if the lack of creaminess is because there is zero fat, but I tried a couple other fat-free Greek-style without the same liquidity.  Live active cultures, the label does not say which ones.  However, no rBST, rBGH, or GMO. In other words, no hormones or steroids from dairy cows that have not been genetically modified.  Does the "no GMO" include the feed for the cows as well? Pollan would want to know.  The label states that there has been no proof that using these in cows harms people in small doses, but nevertheless Voskos has none. And despite the assertions that these ingredients have not been proved harmful to people in small doses, I still wonder what has caused cancer in more than half a dozen people close to me? I digress. $1.99 for 5.3 ounces.

Chobani 2%:  Not quite as thick as Fage, a little wetter but not as liquidy as Voskos.  130 calories, 17 grams protein, 3.5 grams fat, 7 grams carbs.  Five active cultures, although their website only refers to two.  I like Chobani, and sometimes you can get it for around a buck-twenty. Like Fage, it is pretty universally available.

Siggi's 2%: Siggi's is an Icelandic style yogurt, strained with high protein. I really like this one. It is extremely thick, almost as thick as a ricotta cheese. However, I have only seen it at Whole Foods.   100 calories, 17 grams protein, 0 fat, 6 carbohydrates.  At $2.49 it was at the pricey end for a 6 ounce container. I thought it was worth it. This and a piece of fruit still brings breakfast in at around three bucks.

Oikos 0%:  Middle of the road in terms of texture. Not as thick as Siggi's, not as runny as Voskos. Pretty similar to Chobani.  80 calories, 15 grams protein, 0 fat, 6 grams carbohydrate for 5.3 ounces.  Again, the emphasis here is on availability and price.  $1.29 and at both Whole Foods and Gelson's.

I eat my Greek yogurt with agave nectar, it is too tart for me to eat it plain. When at home, I add fruit. Bananas, berries, this week cara cara orange or blood orange segments.

Why Greek yogurt? Why yogurt at all?