Yogurt

[ginger]

What kind of yogart do you guys eat? I can't find any sugar free and fat free yogart at the store. The only thing I can find is fat free but it is loaded with sugar. What brand do you guys eat?

[Kai]

I eat Dannon fat-free plain drained at least 24 hours in the a yogurt strainer. On P1, I mix it with Da Vinci sugar-free syrups but will add berries in P2. I love it!

[CarolG]

There was a Daily Dish about this several months ago; there's no such thing as sugar-free yogurt!

New Rules About Yogurt

(Published 2/25/04) Ever wonder why you can't find sugar-free yogurt at the grocery store? That's because it doesn't exist. Yogurt contains a natural, low-glycemic sugar called lactose. But if yogurt contains sugar, when is it OK to eat yogurt on The South Beach Dietâ„¢?

Thanks to recent research pertaining to calcium's role in weight loss, Dr. Agatston has updated the diet to include yogurt in every phase. Not all yogurts are created equal, so follow these Phase-by-Phase guidelines for yogurt consumption:

During Phase 1, limit yourself to fat-free plain yogurt. Avoid any sweetened yogurts, even those with artificial sweeteners, but feel free to flavor your yogurt as you would a ricotta crème.

During Phases 2 and 3, you may also introduce artificially sweetened, nonfat flavored yogurt. To identify yogurt that's been artificially sweetened, look for the words "light" or "lite" on the label. Limit to 4 ounces daily.

I still use Dannon's fat-free plain yogurt, and add Splenda and flavoring (vanilla, lemon, almond, etc.). Sometimes I'll stir in a few frozen blueberries, too.

[audreyh1]

All yogurt contains some sugar (lactose) - what you want to find is NO SUGAR ADDED. So check the ingredient lists - don't worry to much about the nutritional specs.

Audrey

[OldGreyBob]

I eat Dannon fat-free plain drained at least 24 hours in the a yogurt strainer. On P1, I mix it with Da Vinci sugar-free syrups but will add berries in P2. I love it!

Finally, someone else who likes yogurt cheese. I strain mine in the fridge with a colander lined with cheese cloth and put a small on top to press it. The colander sit atop a bowl to collect the whey. Once you get top P2, it is great with blueberries!

[audreyh1]

Hey Bob - check out this Donvier yogurt strainer. It works beautifully plus it's very space efficient. Then you wouldn't have to deal with the cheesecloth:
http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=110326

Of course if you are totally happy with the way you do things now nevermind - I just didn't want you to miss this if you hadn't seen one.

Audrey

[Kai]

Bob -- yogurt cheese is the best thing to happen to me since the v-neck sweater! I love it.

Audrey -- I use the Donvier and love it! I had a lot of trouble with the cheesecloth technique as more yogurt landed on me than in the container.

[Penny]

I love the Dannon Light N Fit Carb Control Yogart.. It comes in a 4 pack.
The Vanilla Creme is my favorite, but they have Blueberry, Peachs and Creme, and Strawberry..

I'm not sure of the exact sugar content, but it was the lowest that I could find..

[audreyh1]

I realize that a lot of folks choose the carb-control type yogurts because it has the least grams of sugar on the label, but that is not the best way to choose your yogurt for SBD.

The natural milk-sugar in yogurt (lactose) is very low GI and perfectly OK for SBD, so having a product that removes some of this sugar provides no benefit. Yogurt itself is a super low-GI food - even with the lactose in it!

And the carb control yogurts lower the lactose content by adding CREAM to the yogurt - this is saturated fat, and makes the yogurt now a higher fat dairy product, not a low-fat or non-fat dairy product like we are supposed to eat in SBD. I eat low-fat yogurt, and I noticed that the carb-control products had 2.5X the amount of saturated fat. Not a good tradeoff for a little less lactose IMO.

What is worse for you - lactose or saturated fat? I would say saturated fat is the item that is clearly far worse for you.

Audrey

[OldGreyBob]

Bob -- yogurt cheese is the best thing to happen to me since the v-neck sweater! I love it.

Audrey -- I use the Donvier and love it! I had a lot of trouble with the cheesecloth technique as more yogurt landed on me than in the container.

Thanks for the hint on the Donvier, I have to check it out. It looks like it will take less space in the fridge than my method.

[audreyh1]

Yes, it's really quite compact. Mine appears to be a 6-inch cube yet it can drain up to 3 cups of yogurt. It also has a lid which is nice (you can set something on top).

Audrey

[OldGreyBob]

I just looked up their directions for the yogurt cheese maker and they mentioned reserving the whey for other uses. I have always been throwing that away.

Any ideas of what can be done with yogurt whey?

[spiffikins]

I realize that a lot of folks choose the carb-control type yogurts because it has the least grams of sugar on the label, but that is not the best way to choose your yogurt for SBD.

The natural milk-sugar in yogurt (lactose) is very low GI and perfectly OK for SBD, so having a product that removes some of this sugar provides no benefit. Yogurt itself is a super low-GI food - even with the lactose in it!

What I've found, reading the labels, is that a lot of the "fat free" or "low fat" flavoured yoghurts have things like High Fructose Corn Syrup *and* Aspartame in them!!!

It's not the lactose that I'm worried about - it's the corn syrup!

However, I've finally found a few brands that are sweetened artificially and don't have corn syrup - the Lucerne Light yoghurt at Safeway, and the house brand (sorry don't know the name) at Nob Hill.

Hope this helps!

[Kirian]

Ok - quick question to add here..where do you get the Da Vinci Syrups?

As for yogurt - I eat Blue Bunny (can be found at Super Walmarts) Lite 85. It is made with Splenda and has no added sugars (such as corn syrup). All the flavors I have tried are great. My fav is the vanilla mixed with a bit of almond butter. GREAT snack and very filling

I agree with the carb control yogurt's not being SB friendly. In fact the nutritionists on the paid SB site state that over and over. It is due to the cream and added fat. All yogurt is going to have sugar (naturally from lactose) and quite a few of them do add corn syrup. The added corn syrup is the reason they state you can only have 4oz of flavored yogurt a day in Phase 2.

[blosinlv]

I just looked up their directions for the yogurt cheese maker and they mentioned reserving the whey for other uses. I have always been throwing that away.

Any ideas of what can be done with yogurt whey?

Why not use it in place of some of the milk in our favorite zucchini muffins? BTW, I made a batch this morning and used quite a bit more zucchini because I didn't want to throw it out. They came out fine. The recipe is very forgiving.