So I am irritated with the world of yogurt.
For example, this:
I confess a fondness for Yoplait Light. The apple cobbler flavor… way too delicious for its own good.
Nutritionally, a Yoplait Light (and most “light”- fat free and artificially sweetened- yogurts are comparable) provides 100 calories, no fat, or cholesterol, 14 grams of sugar (and screw you FDA for not requiring manufacturers to tell us how much are from natural sugars and how much are added), and 10 and 20% of ones daily needs for protein and calcium, respectively.
Sometimes, with a fruit flavor like my beloved apple cobbler, I can fool myself into thinking I am eating milk, live cultures, fruit, and very little else.
However, red velvet? One cannot puree the red velvet fruit.
I forced myself to read the highly depressing ingredient list:
Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Nonfat Milk, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Modified Corn Starch, Nonfat Milk, Kosher Gelatin, Aspartame, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Potassium Sorbate Added To Maintain Freshness, Citric Acid, Red #40, Yellow #6, Vitamin A Acetate, Blue #1, Vitamin D3.
Everything that is not milk on that list is upsetting to me.
The obvious solution, should I want a sweet, flavored yogurt, is to buy a regular, non diet-ified one. Taking out fat leads to the addition of weird thickeners (gelatin, cornstarch) and taking out sugar leads to potentially carcinogenic artificial sweeteners (aspartame, ick).
A regular Yoplait is equally good at providing protein and calcium, and comes with a reasonable 1.5 grams of fat. I am not a fat-phobe.
However, it also provides a STAGGERING 27 grams of sugar. That is 13 grams MORE than the light (which is not by any means devoid of added sugar, in the form of oh-so-lovely high fructose corn syrup).
A plea to the yogurt makers of America: STOP PUTTING CRAP IN YOUR YOGURT.
Surely it is possible for an enlightened manufacturer to look at the American appetite and realize yes, there are people whose taste buds are deadened by junk food and need 27 friggin’ grams of sugar in their yogurt.
There are also, however, people like ME and hopefully YOU who like unsweetened yogurt but also might like something fruity and subtly sweet with their lunch. Why can’t someone manufacture a yogurt that’s just plain yogurt and a naturally sweet fruit puree?!
I guess the argument is that high fructose corn syrup is cheap, and fruit is not.
However, look at the direction juice is going in- consumers freaked out over HFCS and as a result the trend in manufacturing seems to be going towards 100% juice. Why can’t the same happen in yogurt?!
And don’t tell me I can buy some naturally fruit-sweetened thing at Whole Paycheck for $3 a serving. I’m talking normal yogurt I can buy at a grocery store!
Okay, end of rant.
So that yogurt is not a yogurt. It is a dessert.
To that end, I turned it into froyo.
I began by straining it, my rationale being that since it was fat free it had a higher water content that would form excessive quantities of ice crystals.
That highly unnatural color does not inspire a lot of confidence, does it?
However, a whirl in the ice cream maker later (along with some unsweetened cocoa powder, trying to add something vaguely natural and a little more complex tasting than just SWEET SWEET SWEET) and it was less frightening looking.
We shall see.
Lunch was much more up my speed- filled with local produce and devoid of crap!
A 100% whole wheat bagel (kudos to Thomas’s for a product with a pretty reasonable ingredient list), broiled with tomato and cheese.
Toasted almonds, done at the same time as the bagel.
A pristine peach.
Still learning the new camera. Couldn’t decide whether I liked the bluer or the yellower better. Vote!
8 comments:
Amen Sista! I no longer buy the regular yogurts b/c of the crap they put in there. You think you're eating something healthy and good for you b/c you're eating yogurt, but not always so. I am a plain yogurt gal anyway and prefer the Greek yogurts which are thicker, higher in protein, lower in sugar. If I want fruit or want it sweeter, I add in my own fruit and stevia with cinnamon.
eeek yea yoplait definitely cares more a bout the marketing of their products than the health aspect of them. i agree with Heather, gotta stick to the regular all natural pure yogurts, and with ur creativity, u can make them taste 100 times better than anything yoplait could <3
AMEN.
stop putting crap into our food!!!
have a relaxing night, dear!
love, becca
http://fromheretothereinpurple.blogspot.com
What about Stonyfield Farms? I have always found them to be reasonably priced and with decent ingredients--although they're a bit harder to find in the average supermarket out here in the Midwest than they were in Boston.
Oh, how I wish I could eat yogurt! Frankenfood or no, it still looks tasty.
"A plea to the yogurt makers of America: STOP PUTTING CRAP IN YOUR YOGURT."
THIS.
also, i vote for yellow.
i like stonyfield's lowfat vanilla yogurt. i mix in my own fruit and granola.
The yogurt overseas is much better with less ingredients. The additives are mostly to help the product last longer which for some people is a good thing when it saves on cost from waste. That is mostly why our food supply has so many preservatives. When more women entered the work force, food shopping every few days was not really the norm any more, and foods needed to last longer. Sadly, little research was done on some of these things before they hit the market and some are proving to be unhealthy, but not all. I think you were wise for passing on that as a yogurt. There are lots of better options out there. In the end, it is all about balance.
Amen, girll! WHY do they need to add all that CRAP?! It's gross.
<3 jess
xoxo
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