Doesn't that fruit look mouthwatering atop a bowl of yogurt?
I have never been a big fan of plain yogurt. I'm in total agreement with Bill Cosby when he said it "tastes like bad breath". Back in the days when I attended TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meetings, plain yogurt was touted as a wonderful substitute for sour cream on everything from baked potatoes to enchiladas.
Sorry. I'd rather have sour cream.
But if you offer me lowfat fruit yogurt or the fruit and yogurt parfait McDonald's offers, I'm sure to thank you.
I'm very careful when looking for yogurt at the local grocery store. I want to buy lowfat low calorie yogurt with a flavor and with active cultures (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus). I avoid yogurt which says it is sweetened with Nutrasweet (aspartame) or other artificial sweeteners. I know the FDA says they are safe but didn't they say the same about saccharin and cyclamates?
There are many who would tell me that those kinds of yogurt are calorie heavy and have too much sugar. They would say I should have a piece of raw fruit instead.
You see, I don't use yogurt as a diet food. I eat it as a dessert after meals. When I eat it as a dessert I savor each bite. It can take me five minutes to consume a 6 ounce container of yogurt. Of course, it can take me the same amount of time to savor each bite of a piece of coconut layer cake or apple pie a la mode. Which has more calories, though?
The key to purchasing yogurt is to check for the amount of calcium one serving gives you (20% of the recommended daily dietary allowance is good; 30% is better), see how many calories a serving size is and make sure it has active cultures and no artificial sweeteners.
Measured by that criteria, I'm afraid my McDonald's fruit and yogurt parfait falls short. As far as calories, one 5.4 ounce serving contains 160 calories and 21 grams of sugar. It also gives only 15% of the RDA for calcium.
Meanwhile, a 6 ounce container of Yoplait Key Lime Original Style Yogurt has 170 calories, 26 grams of sugar, and 50% of the Daily Value of calcium and vitamin D. I don't purchase the Yoplait Light yogurts because they use aspartame as a secondary sweetener to high fructose corn syrup, the third ingredient on the label.
I sometimes buy Land O Lakes lowfat blended yogurt in the 6 ounce containers. One container of vanilla yogurt is 160 calories, 26 grams of sugar, and gives 20% of the Daily Value of calcium and vitamin D. It contains active yogurt cultures. The second and third ingredient on the list are sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
I have made my own plain yogurt at home but it does take some time. It tastes good and you know exactly what you have put in it.
Yogurt is a healthy addition to your diet because of its calcium, vitamin D, active probiotic bacteria cultures and protein content. It doesn't have to taste like bad breath. Until next time, think healthy, think fit.
The health benefits of yogurt explained on webmd:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-yogurt
If you have the ambition to make your own yogurt at home, here are two articles to get you started. The first by Angie Mohr uses raw milk (if you have access to a dairy farm) and the second by Cindi Oldham uses milk from the grocery store.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5768706/how_to_make_raw_milk_yogurt.html?cat=22
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1672478/making_easy_homemade_yogurt.html?cat=22
Sorry. I'd rather have sour cream.
But if you offer me lowfat fruit yogurt or the fruit and yogurt parfait McDonald's offers, I'm sure to thank you.
I'm very careful when looking for yogurt at the local grocery store. I want to buy lowfat low calorie yogurt with a flavor and with active cultures (Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus). I avoid yogurt which says it is sweetened with Nutrasweet (aspartame) or other artificial sweeteners. I know the FDA says they are safe but didn't they say the same about saccharin and cyclamates?
There are many who would tell me that those kinds of yogurt are calorie heavy and have too much sugar. They would say I should have a piece of raw fruit instead.
You see, I don't use yogurt as a diet food. I eat it as a dessert after meals. When I eat it as a dessert I savor each bite. It can take me five minutes to consume a 6 ounce container of yogurt. Of course, it can take me the same amount of time to savor each bite of a piece of coconut layer cake or apple pie a la mode. Which has more calories, though?
The key to purchasing yogurt is to check for the amount of calcium one serving gives you (20% of the recommended daily dietary allowance is good; 30% is better), see how many calories a serving size is and make sure it has active cultures and no artificial sweeteners.
Measured by that criteria, I'm afraid my McDonald's fruit and yogurt parfait falls short. As far as calories, one 5.4 ounce serving contains 160 calories and 21 grams of sugar. It also gives only 15% of the RDA for calcium.
Meanwhile, a 6 ounce container of Yoplait Key Lime Original Style Yogurt has 170 calories, 26 grams of sugar, and 50% of the Daily Value of calcium and vitamin D. I don't purchase the Yoplait Light yogurts because they use aspartame as a secondary sweetener to high fructose corn syrup, the third ingredient on the label.
I sometimes buy Land O Lakes lowfat blended yogurt in the 6 ounce containers. One container of vanilla yogurt is 160 calories, 26 grams of sugar, and gives 20% of the Daily Value of calcium and vitamin D. It contains active yogurt cultures. The second and third ingredient on the list are sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
I have made my own plain yogurt at home but it does take some time. It tastes good and you know exactly what you have put in it.
Yogurt is a healthy addition to your diet because of its calcium, vitamin D, active probiotic bacteria cultures and protein content. It doesn't have to taste like bad breath. Until next time, think healthy, think fit.
The health benefits of yogurt explained on webmd:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-of-yogurt
If you have the ambition to make your own yogurt at home, here are two articles to get you started. The first by Angie Mohr uses raw milk (if you have access to a dairy farm) and the second by Cindi Oldham uses milk from the grocery store.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5768706/how_to_make_raw_milk_yogurt.html?cat=22
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1672478/making_easy_homemade_yogurt.html?cat=22
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