The Wild Wild World of Yogurt

I am a HUGE fan of yogurt. I eat one almost every day. I love the fact that there are a ton of flavors available. I will say this though. You must beware of the yogurt point spread!! What I mean is that there are so many different brands and the point value is SO different for all of them!! I see many people post about greek yogurts and a ton of posts about Chobani in particular. I love some of the flavors they have to offer with that line, but a point value of 4 seems high to me for a yogurt. Please understand that I usually eat my yogurt as a morning snack after I eat my oatmeal and that is why I try and keep the point value low. I like the greek yogurts because they carry more protein and make it easier to tide me over until lunch without crazy points.

I have really started to favor the Yoplait 100 Greek because they are only two points and they are a little creamier for a greek yogurt (I can't stand that chalky feeling in your mouth with some of the others). Some of the other reasons I tend to lean to that one is for the price point as well. I can pick them up on sale for $1 each and usually pair that with a coupon for a decent deal. There is only one down fall and that is that there are only about 6 flavors. So that leads me to see what else I may find out in the world...

Part of my discovery of awesome yogurts started with this one..

Muller frutUp is made by Quaker. They were on sale for $.80 each at Safeway one week and I thought I would give it a try. They come in at 4 PP a piece but let me just say that I thought they were COMPLETELY worth every point. It is a nice creamy yogurt with a fruit "mousse" on top. Let me just say that this is not just the syrupy fruit you normally find on the bottom of a "fruit on the bottom" cup of yogurt. It is a lovely, airy, fruity gem that is a LARGE layer of the top of the cup. This comes in 4 flavors. Strawberry, Lemon, Blueberry, and Peach Passion Fruit (which is my absolute favorite). They must have impressed a lot of people with this one because for at least two weeks after the first time I tried it, all three Safeways in my area were sold out of the Peach Passion Fruit!! If you haven't given this one a try, go out and find it. I would also recommend that you try it for dessert...YUM!!

While on my hunt, I also decided to give Trader Joes a look to see what they had. I have found that the prices at TJs can be pretty good if you pay attention to what you are getting. They have some greek yogurt there that is very delicious.

I will start with their Greek Yogurt. These little guys are a standard size for a greek yogurt, come in at 3 PP a piece, come in about 6 or so flavors and cost $1 each which is an average price in the market. I love the texture of this yogurt too. No chalkiness and they have a nice thick texture that we have all come to expect from a nice greek yogurt. I tried this Honey flavor and it was just OK for me. I also tried the Pomegranate which I thought was pretty good and I found to be a nice change of flavor from the standard ones everyone seems to put out. However, HANDS DOWN, my favorite was their Vanilla Bean. I am honestly considering doing a little Pinterest trick I found and putting one in the freezer to make "frozen yogurt" because that one feels like I am eating ice cream or pudding. Nice little specks of vanilla bean....ohhh so tasty...

Trader Joe's should also get another honorable mention for this guy here as well..

This one comes in at 4 PP a cup and also comes in the Pomegranate flavor. This is not a greek yogurt and is LOW fat not NON fat but it has a great fruity flavor and their granola was nice and crunchy. I really enjoyed this one as well and have purchased it again. Another different flavor to keep it interesting!!

I hope I haven't bored you with yogurts. I just know that these days it seems like there are so many brands and flavors and they are all so very different so I continue to try them all to always keep it fresh. I have found that I do so much better when I have variety in my food choices. I never get bored and that way I never need to fall back into old terrible habits. Find your way and move ahead. Each day is a new challenge and each day I face it with a little yogurt to make me smile...what can I say, it's the little things!!

Snack Time: Trader Joe's Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip

I will have to say that since I have been on Weight Watchers, I am more inclined to try new foods. I am constantly looking for something new and exciting. I believe the way that we don't get bored with food is by constantly changing it up. Plus, how will you ever know if you are missing something FANTASTIC?? If we always eat the same thing every day we may get bored and then fall back into old routines. I don't know about you, but my old routines are what got me to a place that made me need the Weight Watchers program. Not looking to go back there any time soon (plus, I already gave my fat clothes to Goodwill!)

So let's get to business. I took a trip to Trader Joe's this weekend (watch for more great posts this week about all of the delicious looking stuff I bought to try) and while my 4 year old was busy telling me how she and Daddy "needed" the chips and dip that I just let her try out at the sample counter, I realized that there had to be something good for me to dip into too. I think that too often when people go on a diet they tell themselves that there are all these things that they can and can't have. The thing that I love about WW is there is nothing that I can't have because it is a lifestyle change that I am making. I can eat the Sea Salt Ridge Potato Chips with Bacon Cheese Ranch Dip that the little one loved and wanted to take home to Daddy. But, instead, I made a CHOICE to find something better for me.

Spinach Dip is something I love at parties and I always have. Usually, it is made with some sort of full fat sour cream of some kind sitting inside a delicious bread bowl surrounded with bite size pieces to dip in. You all know what I am talking about...yummmm...the crunchy french bread. Sorry, forgot where I was. Anyway,  Trader Joe's has a delicious Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip.

The cost on this tub is $3.99 and it is 1 PP for 2 TBSP. Yes, only 1 PP which makes it a great snack. I thought that the dip had great flavor. I noticed quite a few of these "reduced guilt" labels around the store as well. Be careful when you see those and actually put things into your calculator. I picked up a meal that said that and it was 9 PP which didn't seem to reduce much of anything to me. Now you can choose to pair this up with some baby carrots for no additional points or you can do what I did. I paired it with this new found snack from Walmart.

These little guys come in at 2 PP for 6 crackers. They are a decent size cracker and although 6 crackers doesn't seem like a lot, it was enough to eat the 2 TBSP of dip. They also came in a Mediterranean Herb flavor that I am disappointed I did not pick up. My husband loves pita chips but he likes them plain (I told you...picky eater!!) and I figured I better get the standard Sea Salt flavor in case I didn't care for them. They were on the saltier side, but since I was looking for a salty chip replacement, I didn't mind it.

 You could add the carrots along if you would like too. The chips were $2.50 a box and I paired it with a $.70 off coupon from coupons.com and it made for a nice little deal at $1.80 a box to try something new.

Here's my 3 PP snack for the afternoon. For those of you paying close attention to detail, I am aware of the fact that the picture is only showing 5 crackers. Do you also see the small missing section of dip?? I was so excited to try it all that I dug in before a snapped the photo. I also think this would be great to bring to a party if you wanted to make sure there was an appetizer that everyone, including you, could enjoy. 

Can't wait to show you all the other great stuff I grabbed. Enjoy!