How to Choose a Healthy Yoghurt

How to Choose a Healthy Yoghurt

I know it's winter (and cold!), but I love yoghurt, and I eat it at least once a day - no matter what the season! I get asked a lot of questions about yoghurt (how to pick out the healthy pots from the less than healthy ones) and so I thought I'd try to help out!

The idea for this blog post came about after Total Greek sent me some of their new split pots to try.. and having tweeted a few pics about them I had a few questions and comments amount the amount of 'sugar' in them... now, although looking at the 'sugar' content for baked/processed products is usually useful, when it comes to foods such as milk, yoghurt and fruit the rules change slightly. This is because they contain NATURAL fruit sugars and milk sugars - with these foods providing an array of nutrients - namely calcium and protein from yoghurt. Yoghurt also contain live cultures and probiotics which have been shown to boost immunity and improve digestive health. Just one pot of yoghurt also contains 1/3 of your daily calcium needs.. essential for bone and teeth health.

Total Greek Blueberry Split Pot.. 140 calories, fat-free and 20g sugar (A ok!)

So.. now we've sorted the sugars out what about the rest? If you're watching your weight then I would recommend a low calorie yoghurt - one that provides less than 100 calories per serving. The ones that normally fit this 'rule' are the ones labelled 'light', 'diet' or 'fat-free'. If on the other hand you're trying to gain weight then go ahead and buy the full fat / thick and creamy yoghurts. Greek yoghurts are the highest in protein -  often containing DOUBLE the amount in comparison to normal yoghurts.. watch out though.. choose fat-free if you're not trying to gain weight.

So, to sum it all up the healthiest yoghurts are going to be those that are...

• Labelled light, diet or fat-free
• Low-fat and contain less than 20g of sugar per serving
• Greek yoghurts (for more protein)

Yoghurts make the perfect snack or healthy dessert.. try adding extra fruit and a sprinkle of low sugar home-made granola - yum!

I often substitute Greek yoghurt for cream in recipes such as Eton mess... it dramatically reduces the calorie and fat content of the dish and is so creamy you would never notice the difference!

And to answer everyone's question.. the split pots (170g) are around 140 calories each and contain ~20g of sugars.. with the exception of the honey pot (tastes amazing though), which contain 190 calories per pot and a whopping 33g of sugar. If you like honey then you're probably better sticking with the regular fat-free Greek yoghurt and adding a teaspoon of honey yourself.. but if you're not calorie or carb counting then munch away (I did!!) - after all, it's still healthier than most desserts!

I hope you've found this post useful! I'll be filming more YouTube videos about how to keep healthy and avoid the Christmas weight gain soon so don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I have also planned some great (soup) recipes and Christmas gift ideas (edible and non-edible!) for my blog so look out for those too!! I'm so excited for Christmas.. are you?!

Nic x