The Skinny on Greek Yogurt

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own.

For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

There is no denying that I love Greek Yogurt and especially when I can substitute it for anything creamy like mayo, sour or whipped cream.  So when I heard that I was selected to review new Dannon® Oikos® all I could do is scream O PAH !!!

Which went on for days since hurricane Irene came and there was really nothing else to do around here but count my blessings and scream O PAH !!!

I have electricity when some of my friends are still waiting.  O PAH !!!

Moving on….

If you are still wondering what a Greek Yogurt really is or how it differs from regular yogurt the answer is the process.  Greek yogurt has been strained by filter, cloth or paper removing the extra whey giving it a consistency between yogurt and cheese.

Dannon® Oikos® is created through an authentic Greek straining process which gives it a rich and creamy-thick texture.  It can be made into Herbed Yogurt Cheese Dip by straining it more and forgetting the calories and fat found in cheese.

It can also easily substitute Mayonnaise and Sour cream into a nice flavorful dressing like the one we used in Zucchini with Mint Dressing Salad.

I know what you are thinking: Yogurt Savory?  NAH !!! I like mine sweet, with fruit, maybe even a pretzel.

Dannon® Oikos® Plain and Fruit on the Bottom contains 0% fat, while the Dannon® Oikos® traditional blended varieties contains about 3% fat. Both are an excellent source of protein, twice that of most regular lowfat yogurts.

So you can have your Protein and Fruit too.

Which may be problematic.  You see as I was dancing around doing my O PAHs all the fruit on the bottom yogurt disappeared from the fridge and all I could hear from the other room is. Ummm, Ammm.

Then came time for my 3 year old daughter who loved it and loved especially spinning it around. I pulled her away from TV to film it, so at the end she says “I wanna watch”.  No wonder she liked it Dannon® Oikos® 0% Fat Berry Flavors beat Chobani 2-1 in a taste test!

It had a perfect creamy texture and small pieces of fruit.  The peach one tasted like a ripen peach and not anything made in a laboratory.  In actuality second ingredient on the list after low fat milk was Peaches.

For me the fruity yogurt was a little bit sweet but so is anything you find on the shelves.  Due to my highly developed palette (hum hum, NOT) I do not like things that are remotely sweet or salty, my family always adds sugar and salt to everything I serve them.  So what is a girl to do?  Mix some plain yogurt with fruit on the bottom one.  Eureka !!

I mean O PAH !!!

But you don’t have to take my word for it you can get your own snack Dannon Oikos is offering a coupon for a free cup on www.facebook.com/oikos.**

Side Note: I can’t seem to write a post without wondering what does Oikos mean, you know just in case it is something strange, or an exotic island I want to go on vacation to.  Well it is neither according to Wikipedia  Oikos in ancient Greek means household, house of family.  It’s all Greek to me, but this House Yogurt is much better then any House wine I ever tasted.

I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series.  I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product.  However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.