I’m always paying attention to food crazes, and in the past year or so I have noticed that Greek yogurt has really taken off. Once only found in health food stores and specialty markets, Greek yogurt is now in the smallest of grocery stores in a variety of flavors. But what is Greek yogurt? Why all the fuss? And how do you eat or prepare it for a tasty breakfast, snack or dessert?
Greek yogurt is still yogurt, a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Greek yogurt is strained an extra time or two, which removes significantly more whey (the liquid that remains after the initial straining).The extra straining process makes Greek yogurt much thicker and creamier than the “regular” yogurt you grew up with. Traditional Greek style yogurt is often made with sheep’s milk, which has a different amount of milkfat than cow’s milk that is more common in America, but you’ll still need to read labels carefully to find this in the United States.
Greek yogurt is not as sweet as traditional American-style yogurt, giving it a trademark tang. For anybody watching their sugar intake, Greek yogurt might be a nice alternative to the overly sweetened (often with high-fructose corn syrup) American-style yogurt. Greek yogurt is also very, very high in protein but fairly low in fat, so it is a pretty filling treat. My favorite Greek yogurt, a vanilla flavor, has 16 grams of protein (36% of your daily value!) and 13 grams of sugar (about 25% of your daily value) in a single serving. In contrast, vanilla Activia yogurt has 4 grams of protein and 18 grams of sugar in a single serving.
Some of my favorite sweet and savory “recipes” with Greek yogurt bases:
Vanilla Lemon Blueberry Parfait
You’ll need: one single-serving container of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt,one tablespoon of lemon curd (you can find this with the jams & jellies or in the baking section of your local grocer) and 1/4 cup of fresh blueberries. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, swirl together & enjoy—a little sweet, a little tangy and full of fresh fruit. Less than 300 calories!
Tzatziki Dip & Veggies
Plain Greek yogurt is the perfect low fat, high-protein base for dips and sauces. My favorite it tzatziki, a Greek dip that is fresh and tangy and perfect for dipping carrots, cucumber and pepper slices into. You’ll need: 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic minced, 2 heaping teaspoons of cilantro (or dill) chopped fine, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 cup of finely chopped green onions. Combine in a bowl, adding 1 tbsp of olive oil if you’d like and enjoy with fresh veggies. A perfect high-protein, low-fat alternative to the over-served ranch dressing and veggie trays.
Yogurt & Granola
Yogurt & granola is probably the easiest way to enjoy Greek yogurt. Pick any flavor you’d like and add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of your favorite granola. Here I’ve mixed Greek yogurt and honey (you can buy this flavor) with my favorite spiced pumpkin granola—delicious. Combine in a bowl and enjoy!
Have you jumped on board the Greek yogurt fad? How do you enjoy it?
Daisy is a lawyer married to a lawyer (insert lawyer jokes here) living in a small condo in a big city with a new baby and beagle. She breaks up the legal-speak by blogging about life in Chicago, which is filled with escapades of urban living. In the summer she enjoys patio dining and in the winter wonders what she was thinking when she moved here. You can read more from Daisy on her blog, Just Daisy.
Greek yogurt is terrible…in my opinion. I just can’t get past the thickness (thats what she said.) I feel like I have to literally chew it. Oddly enough I like cheese made with goat milk?
Interesting! I love goats milk cheese as well, maybe you’d like Greek yogurt made with goats milk? I’ve seen it at Whole Foods, but have yet to try it.
I like it, but I can’t eat it plain like I can “regular” yogurt. It must be mixed with something like granola or fruit. My daughter loves tart things and it is her favorite type of yogurt.
You’d probably like it with lemon curd than which is very sweet (and lemony, obviously). I can’t get enough of it!
I just started eating Greek yogurt. I can’t stand reg yogurt, but the thickness of greek, for some reason, makes it bearable to me… but it must have blueberries. Never seen lemon- I will be on the lookout for it now.
I may have to give this a shot. I don’t eat yogurt, the texture makes me gag but maybe this thicker kind will work better for me!
Give it a go, but if texture is your thing, definitely try it with some granola & don’t buy the kind w/ fruit in it.
OK I like this, BUT….I HATE the fruit inside ones they sell prepackaged at the store. It’s like greek yogurt with fruit the consistency of jelly inside it. It’s vomit inducing, I prefer my fruit fresh and chunky.
I can’t tell you what the fruit yogurt’s remind me of becuase it is too vile & disgusting. Needless to say, I buy vanilla, plain & lemon yogurt & mix my own fruit in.
I am a greet yogurt newb and am in LOVE. Like pregnant girl eat a whole large carton in one sitting in love.
I SO love Greek yogurt. The first one I tried, however, was a savory flavor with weird stuff, so I stayed away for a while. But now that I’ve discovered the blueberry, strawberry and pomegranate flavors, I love it. Plus, the granola makes it extra yummy.
Yummm! Have you tried vanilla? It is my favorite.
Well, let me be the first guy to make a posting here on the topic of Greek Yogurt. My wife and I have always been huge healthy dieters and absolutely love Greek Style yogurt. If you are looking for one that is NON-Fat and High Protien, look no further than Costco Wholesale. We were buying Chobani brand for as long as they heve been carrying it. However for some unknown reason they stopped. Since we needed yogurt, we decided to try the new Kirkland Brand Greek Yogurt, and I’ll tell you this we’ll never go back to Chobani! This stuff is fantanstic, very creamy and rich. Although it is only available in Plain, not to worry, use 1 Tsp of Honey and FRESH fruit only to make a great healthy snack and is Weight Watchers approved. For some other flavors use Pure Vanilla Extract (or if you can afford to indulge get some fresh dried Vanilla Beans (two pods either from Madagascar #1 or Mexico #2) slice the pods open, carefully scrape all of the seeds and pulp from the pod and mix it into the 32oz container of Kirkland Yogurt. Don’t throw the pods away use them to make a great tasting Vanilla Chai Tea (0 Weight Watchers Points!). When you are ready to eat a serving of yogurt you can add the teaspoon of honey to sweeten. Enjoy!
Keith: I am a huge fan of Chobani (literally and figuratively) but I will have to look for Kirkland. Thanks for the recommendation.
I totally agree that making your own “flavors” is best, but I’m definitely going to have to try Kirkland yogurt.
I love Greek yogurt. I crumble low-fat, chocolate chip granola bars into it for a dessert.
And, by the way, LOVE your cute bowls!
Aww thanks!
Right this very minute, I’m eating Greek Yogurt, with some blueberries (frozen, but I froze them from fresh) and a squirt of local, organic honey. It’s perfect. I love greek yogurt and before it was so widely available, I would strain regular yogurt to make it thicker.
Greek yogurt really is SO creamy, I love it!
I’m obsessed with Greek yogurt. Chobani is my favorite brand. I love the pommegranate and pineapple flavors, but I usually use the plain and sweeten it myself (with a little honey, in true Greek style) to cut down on the sugars. I also use the plain as a substitute for sour cream in cooking.
I like Chobani a lot too!
The only Greek yogurt I have sampled tasted like sour cream…and I like sour cream…but this stuff was gross! But I think I may have to try the flavored kind just to give it a second chance.
Yuck, I love sour cream too but I know what you mean. Definitely try vanilla or lemon, they have a nice flavor to them! (I like Chobani the best). I also like the little Oikos vanilla cups with caramel topping.
I love Greek yogurts! The only one I am not a fan of is the Chobani brand and I am not sure why. I think it’s the aftertaste. Right now, I am obsessed with all things Dannon Oikos. The texture is right, the flavors are awesome and it doesn’t have a lot of aftertaste. If I want a Greek yogurt that is plain, my default is Fage – been eating that yogurt for years.
I like Chobani but I don’t like the Greek Oikos (not the Dannon) very much. Go figure!
Try it with walnuts & honey. Yum. And because it does taste a bit like sour cream, I like to mix it with salsa for a low cal dip. It works great in smoothies too. Adds a creaminess.
I love adding it to smoothies, gives it a nice thick texture.
love me the greek yogurt! i buy plain and sweeten with maple syrup. add a little fruit (strawberries are my favorite, blackberries in a close 2nd) with a granola on top. Yum! My kiddos love it too.
Love the maple syrup idea!
I love Greek yogurt! It tastes much better than the awful artificial yoplait crap.
Agreed!
Hello from Greece
I use Stumble application and it brought me here!
I am glad and proud that so many people so far away love Greek Yogurt.
I have to tell you, that here in Greece only a few brands have greek yoqurt with fruits, they often offer simple yogurt with fruits. Anyways! I would like to share with you the original tzatziki sauce which is ideal with french fries and steak ( my favorite combo ).
So we need, 500gr greek yogurt, 1 large cucumber grated, 3-4 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, salt – pepper.
Place grated cucumber in a strainer and add some salt in order to remove most of the cucumber’s water. Put the strained yogurt in a bowl. Add drained cucumber. Finely chop the garlic (some people here in Greece grate garlic as well or they smash it with mortar and pestle, i like to smash it ). Add all the remaining ingedients and mix them very well. Let the tzatziki sit in your fridge for a few hours and voila
.
Tzatziki shouldn’t be that waterish but thick and creamy.
My best regards,
Angela
Angela, thanks so much for the recipe! I’ll be making it soon, it sounds delicious, especially with steak and french fries!! I’m glad you found our site, hope you come back soon!
Im new to greek but the one I bought just didnt taste right, it was a vanilla flavored. I mixed 1/2 cup yogurt with a bit of honey toasted granola (for added sweetness) and it tasted like sour milk. To be fair, I am a huge fan of American yogurt (not the light, cant stand artificial sweetners)… does this sound like a normal tastebud shock, or did I get a bad batch?
I think this is normal tastebud shock- however, if you want to give it another go, I found that the Dannon and Stonyfield Greek yogurts are sweeter than the Fage brand. The Trader Joe’s store brand is good too!
I just tried Kirkland Greek yogurt and I really liked it. I think it is healtier that Activia greek yogurt. What is your opinion? I think if you want something sweeter you can add a little fruit spread or I like the idea of vanilla extract but if you add fruit you may not need any of the other stuff.
Well one serving of plain Kirkland Greek yogurt has 7 grams of sugar while the Activia vanilla (they don’t seem to have plain) has 29 grams of sugar…I think you are much better off buying the Kirkland plain & adding a little honey or fresh fruit. Much healthier, at least from the sugar stand point!
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