Ok so a food rant….
Like many trends in food, I watch and notice things.
This recent observation of mine, Greek yogurt. It’s been around for awhile now but it’s been getting more hype and as food companies go, they all want to get in on the market, well cash in on it, let’s be honest.
A year or so ago I did my own personal review on a few popular brands of Greek yogurts. ( you know I love being a Guinea Pig 😉
Honestly, there wasn’t such a vast amount of it on the market then.
But one day (recently) they had a different brand on sale… which I was looking at… then saw it had 32 grams of sugar in it’s tiny little carton! Eek. For yogurt? no thanks.
Now the companies are wanting to capture the consumer with the whole “Greek yogurt” hype but they are making them with “add ins” and other stuff and the calorie and sugar content for a little carton is ( in my opinion) ridiculous.
If I want that much sugar, I’ll have a piece of chocolate cake.
In many cases you might as well forget the health benefits of it being Greek yogurt with all the added sugar, candies, granola, chocolate chunks, “fruit” etc the are putting in it.
On a healthy level, Greek yogurt without all that stuff is a wonderful high quality, hunger satisfying, protein packed food. Not only that it’s loaded with the “good” bacteria your system thrives on.
My current “go to” is Chobani non-fat plain Greek yogurt. With only 130 calories for a cup and a whopping 22grams of protein with 6 grams of sugar it’s a breakfast staple for my mornings I eat while I’m getting ready. I add in whatever fresh fruit I have on hand ( lately it’s been blackberries 🙂 I toss in some raw almonds ( more protein) and it makes a satisfying quick breakfast that is loaded with protein and minimal sugar. ( ok we’ll talk more on protein in another post and why you should have a decent amount of it in your daily intake)
With sugar in almost every product we buy how can you determine what’s the good kind of sugar ( naturally occuring and offers some health benefits like what’s found in fruits, dairy etc) and what has added sugar?
Try this to figure out how much sugar is added to a product with naturally occuring sugars… like milk or yogurt…. compare the nutrition label of a plain version with that of a flavored.
For example, 8 ozs of low-fat milk has 13 grams of sugar ( in the form of lactose) . The same amount of low-fat chocolate milk has 24 grams of sugar, subtract the 13 grams of lactose and you’re left with 11 grams of added sugar to that product.
Take control of your health and be aware of how much sugar is added into the products you consume. If sugars are listed in the top five ingredients it’s letting you know a big portion of that product contains sugar. Consider if you really need it.
Greek yogurt on it’s own is a wonderful, healthy protein and dairy source. Being mindful of added sugars in the products you eat is a big step to success in a healthy lifestyle and weight loss.
Do you like Greek yogurt? Do you prefer plain or mixed with fruit or other stuff? Do you have variations you use if you like plain yogurt?
sassyfitnesschick 
I noticed in Japan that the yogurt is sold with the sugar in a satchel that can be added at the eaters discretion. Thought it was a smart way to control the sugar intake. Great post.
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What? That’s like crazy and smart! I’ve never heard of such a thing. Talk about having a sugar visual to help you manage it =) thanks for sharing that.
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