Greek Yogurt Gets a Makeover

There's something about Greek yogurt--the tanginess, I think--that just doesn't appeal to me. Oh, but it's like sour cream, you say? I don't like sour cream, either. And the thickness, let's not forget the thickness. It's like trying to eat a spoonful of peanut butter, it just coats and sticks to every surface in my mouth. I tried to jump on the Greek yogurt bandwagon about 10 months ago and just couldn't do it. More protein, less sodium and less sugar just weren't enough to get me to choke down 4-6 oz of it on a daily basis.

I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, so when I found a snack "recipe" on Self.com that adds half a packet of no sugar added hot chocolate mix and a packet of sweetener to a single serving of Greek yogurt, I figured I'd give it another shot.

Chocolate (Greek) Yogurt

6 oz plain Greek yogurt (I prefer nonfat)

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1 pkt sweetener

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1/2 pkg no sugar added hot chocolate (Swiss Miss is good)

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I like to freeze it for 2-3 hours before eating; it's like eating chocolate pudding or ice cream.

The verdict: not bad. Is there anything on the planet that isn't made better by a little chocolate? It's still a bit thick for my taste, but the fact that it was palatable enough for me to eat twice in 2 days made me start to think about how I could really make this work for me.

I've know for a while that for me temperature can be a big factor in a food. I prefer hot meals to cold ones. I'll drink regular V8 chilled, downright cold or any other temperature, but the low sodium version only tastes good to me if it's room temp. That's what prompted me to put my Greek yogurt in the freezer. The taste difference (between Greek and regular yogurt) is less startling to me at colder temperatures, and it feels like it's almost a dessert.

Frozen (Greek) Yogurt with Fruit

6 oz plain Greek yogurt (I prefer nonfat)

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1 pkt sweetener

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a squeeze of lemon juice (I squeezed in 1 lemon wedge)

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Freeze for 2-3 hours

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Fresh berries
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1 t sliced almonds

I had some salted caramel sauce leftover from Saturday's Chocolate with Shortbread and Caramel experiment so I drizzled a little in, swirled it around and stuck it in the freezer, too. It was okay, but not spectacular. I love coffee. Coffee-flavored anything makes me happy. (I even have cafe au lait scented shower gel, I love it so much.) For the coffee in the versions below I mixed 2 t Folgers instant coffee granules with 6 oz hot water, so it's a bit stronger than the jar directions.

 

Frozen Coffee (Greek) Yogurt

6 oz plain Greek yogurt (I prefer nonfat)

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1 pkt sweetener

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1 t strong coffee, cooled to room temp

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Freeze for 2-3 hours

Frozen Mocha Chip (Greek) Yogurt

6 oz plain Greek yogurt (I prefer nonfat)

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1 pkt sweetener

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1 t unsweetened cocoa powder
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1 t strong coffee, cooled to room temp
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1 t chopped dark chocolate

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Freeze for 2-3 hours

Frozen Vanilla Cappuccino
(Greek) Yogurt

6 oz plain Greek yogurt (I prefer nonfat)

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1 pkt sweetener

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1 t instant vanilla cappuccino powder (I use Hills Bros sugar-free french vanilla cappuccino powder)

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Freeze for 2-3 hours

 

And just when I thought I was done experimenting...Necessity is definitely the mother of invention. I was running out of strawberries to top my yogurt with and it was the end of the week (which means my fridge was near empty), so I scrounged around my pantry for a fruity alternative, and this is what I found: Crystal Light drink mix powder. One of the great things about flavoring the yogurt with drink mix powder is that you don't need any additional sweetener. I found that half a packet was a good ratio for 6 oz of Greek yogurt (one packet is about 1 t, just for reference). Increasing the powder will intensify the flavor so if you choose to add extra powder, do it a little at a time. I used Crystal Light's pomegranate lemonade and it was pretty good. Even though I forgot to freeze it the first time (I blame allergies and the allergy meds) it was still tasty enough to eat, so I'm sold!

Drink Mix (Greek) Yogurt

6 oz plain Greek yogurt (I prefer nonfat)
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1/2 t drink mix powder

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Freeze for 2-3 hours

On freezing times: Since nonfat yogurt doesn't have any fat (redundant much?) to keep it from becoming a solid block of ice, I recommend freezing it for 2 hours to 2 hours and 30 minutes. Much more than that and it'll be too solid to eat immediately. I forgot about one and left it in the freezer for an extra 40 minutes and had to set it in front of my space heater for a minute to thaw it enough to eat. If you're using 2% Greek yogurt, 2-3 hours is fine, as the fat content in the yogurt will give it a little more room to stay mixable.

My favorites were the mocha chip, plain with lemon and whole fruit added, and the drink mix. You can really mix almost anything into Greek yogurt, but if you're going the coffee route be careful with some mixes; some powders aren't meant for cold preparation (only hot) so they don't dissolve as well. Now I'm thinking of making these into popsicles. I'd love to hear what you all think of some of these concoctions!

For more information on the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt vs regular yogurt check out these articles:

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diet/articles/2011/09/30/greek-yogurt-vs-regular-yogurt-which-is-more-healthful

http://www.livestrong.com/article/86488-benefits-greek-yogurt/

http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/smart-choices/take-two-plain-yogurt-greek-yogurt-00400000037639/