Plain yogurt vs. flavored yogurt
In college, I spent a summer teaching in China. My students would grill me for hours about American culture, while I was just as fascinated to learn about theirs. I’ll never forget one conversation talking about the different sights and smells in China: the meat and smoke and oil and noodles. Everything, including the people, carried these smells. I asked the kids what Americans smelled like to them. The answer? SOUR MILK. Ha! At this point in the conversation, I had the opportunity to teach my students the new phrase: conversation killer.
I guess it shouldn’t really surprise us. You are what you eat, and Americans love the dairy section. Seriously, pay attention to it the next time you are in the grocery store. We have 101 different choices when it comes to milk or cheese or ice cream.
Check out the yogurt case! Would you like nonfat, lowfat, or full fat? Soy milk, cow milk, goat milk, almond milk, or coconut milk? Whipped, Farmstyle, Greek… squeezable tube? Key Lime Pie, Blueberry Acai, Coffeehouse Blend, Pineapple Upside Down Cake? Before you know it, you’ll be able to buy Apple Turnover or Cinnamon Roll yogurt flavors. Oh wait, too late. Already available!
However, with all of these different options on the front of the yogurt cartons, we rarely spin them around to read the Nutritional Facts and Ingredient Lists on the back. I am currently on a mission to drastically cut my family’s sugar consumption (more on that soon!), and yogurt seemed like a good place to start. I’m obviously not a dietitian or doctor, but here are some interesting things I learned while reading the backs of yogurt cartons.
Flavored Yogurt Ingredients & Nutritional Facts
Sugar
While most 6-oz. containers of flavored yogurt contain around 26 grams of sugar, some brands have up to 34 grams of sugar per serving! That’s more than some 8-oz. energy drinks and slightly less than a 12-oz. can of Coca Cola. Light yogurts typically add low-calorie sweeteners to cut the calories and sugar (12-15 grams per 6 oz. serving). These can include Stevia, Aspartame, or Erythritol. Greek yogurt has significantly less sugar, but it’s still around 15 grams per 5.3 oz. serving.
Calories & Protein
Most flavored yogurts are around 170 calories and only 5-7 grams of protein. Thicker Greek yogurt contains around 120 calories and 12 grams of protein per 5.3 oz. serving. While light or nonfat yogurt varieties have significantly reduced calorie counts (around 90), many contain artificial thickeners and sweeteners.
Additional Ingredients
- Corn starch, pectin, locust bean gum, or gelatin are often added as thickeners. By the way, these additives are a clue that your Greek yogurt is not the real deal, as authentic Greek yogurt is strained, not thickened.
- Carmine or cochineal extract is now clearly listed as a red food coloring on many brands of yogurt. It comes from dried, crushed cochineal beetles. Yes, bugs. About 70,000 bugs produce a pound of dye. I’ll never understand why we are so obsessed with colored food, that we’ll eat bugs or coal/petroleum byproducts (Hello, Red No. 2 & 40.) just so our yogurt is pink.
- Citric acid is often listed and functions as a flavor enhancer and preservative.
Plain yogurt, on the other hand has fewer calories (around 11o), fewer ingredients (milk & active cultures), and no added sugar (my favorite brand contains 7 grams of sugar and 12 grams of protein per 8 oz. serving*).
So for many of these reasons, our family has made the switch entirely to plain yogurt. At first, I felt like I was eating bowls of sour cream. Ugh. Where are my 34 grams of sugar? Now I find that I prefer the tangy taste of plain yogurt. It satisfies my hunger instead of my sweet tooth. Flavored yogurt actually tastes overpoweringly sweet to me now.
Start spinning those cartons around and look for yogurt that is low in sugar, high in protein, and short on ingredients. Take the plunge into plain yogurt! You really can train your body to crave and enjoy less sugar. Ease into it by adding things like chopped fruit, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, or a scoop of Maple Cluster Granola.
* Doesn’t it drive you crazy how packaging sizes keep shrinking? The often more expensive yogurt varieties come packaged in smaller 5-6 oz. containers, while the more economical 32 oz. containers list serving sizes as 8 oz. Hm.
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Now that you know what’s in store-bought yogurt why not make your own? Follow our step-by-step guide to making your own yogurt here.
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I switched to plain yogurt originally because my toddler was very sensitive to citric acid and can’t have citrus, and I realized what you have realized. I actually don’t prefer the flavored anymore except as a periodic buy. But then I always remember that I don’t really like it anymore.
I also use sugar free jam or jelly to flavor my plain yogurt.
Costco’s Kirkland plain Greek yogurt is awesome too! If I remember correctly, you get two of the large containers for less than $6. Plus I personally think it tastes the best of all the other brands I’ve tried.
Have used Nancy’s Yogurt for about 45 years….greatest probiotic…I use the whey to make fermented lemonade….(when I strain to make Greek style)….also Kombucha tea is great probiotic as are natural vegetables like Kimchee or sauerkraut….
Thanks Jan.
Thanks-I have had yogurt questions-so very timely 🙂
I have been trying to eat it daily for the good bacteria, as I can be iffy
intestionally & this helps. I like the plainer types also & compare labels-vanilla/honey can vary quite a bit sugar wise (forget which is better).
Also sometimes I get the plain & add fruit/granola, or some homemade jam-which at least you know what is in it & can limit the amount.
Also am currently adding ground flax seed & some olive oil (to increase omega 3’s-hoping it will help with arthritis)-tastes fine-fruit is good too.
My question is-do all yogurts have the bacteria in them? I read labels a lot now & see not all note that.
I know they don’t. Must have been made with the “mother”. My question is: Do the sugars “eat” the probiotics as my mom would like to have me believe?
Not all yogurts have the beneficial live or active cultures in them, which are helpful for maintaining “friendly” bacteria in our digestive systems. Some companies heat treat yogurt after it’s been fermented to lengthen its shelf life. Heat kills active cultures. The confusing/frustrating part is that some of these are advertised as “made with active cultures” which is technically true, even though the benefits have been heated out. Look for labels that read “active yogurt cultures” or “living yogurt cultures.” I’ll cover this more in depth in next week’s post on making your own yogurt!
Very helpful thanks! Looking forward to the next post too. I learn so much at frugalliving 🙂
What Is your favorite brand?
My favorite plain yogurt brands are French Village from Trader Joe’s or Mountain High. My favorite flavored brand is Cascade Fresh from Seattle, instead of sugar they use fruit juice to sweeten their yogurt
FAGE!!!! I am totally addicted to this stuff. Plain ol’ yogurt that is smooth, creamy and not to many calories in an 8oz serving! The surprising part is that the sourness associated with yogurt is almost totally absent. I’ve always eaten plain yogurt, but I have to say that many types are really sour. Nancy’s and Mountain High are two that come to mind.
A special treat is honey or blueberries on your kids plain yogurt? I grew up the same way and rebelled by sneaking sugar every chance I got. Now that I have kids I’m trying to find the middle ground.
So many yogurts have gelatin in them, too. I guess to thicken it? Ugh, I don’t need cow/pig bones and hooves in my yogurt, thanks.
Gelatin & crushed beetles, what a lovely combination! 🙂
Our family loves plain yogurt. A nice option is Nancy’s Honey Yogurt…it’s got just a touch of honey in it. Not sweet, just a nice flavor. Or, sometimes as a special treat for dessert we have plain yogurt with just a little drizzle of honey or agave syrup on top!
Carmine just freaks me out. It is in so many Dannon and Yoplait products. Disgusting!
Make your own, people! It’s so easy and economical.
What’s your favorite kind that you referred to in the post?
Pretty sure she is referring to Nancy’s as that is in the picture.
I made the switch a while ago originally due to my toddler being extremely sensitive to citric acid and citrus. And I have found that I generally prefer the plain now. I do add a bit of sugar to it still, but even then it is leaps and bounds better.
I thought the same thing! Even adding some straight sugar to plain yogurt, you are better off than buying the sweetened varieties that have done it for you. I just measured it out and 2 T. of refined sugar = 29 grams. That’s about how much is in a small carton of flavored yogurt (Of course, some is natural sugar from the fruits, but Tillamook’s vanilla bean yogurt is one of the worst offenders with 33-34 grams of sugar/6 oz. carton).
After eating plain for a very long time I tried the Tillamook vanilla and thought I was going to gag it was so sweet. If I’m going to indulge in sugar that is not going to be my first option.
My favorite plain yogurts are Trader Joe’s European Style and Nancy’s (made in Eugene, OR). I look for brands with no added sugar or stabilizers/thickeners (nonfat dry milk is often used to thicken yogurt but that’s it).
that drives me nuts too…how a cup is 5-6 oz but if you get a tub a serving is 1 cup which it always used to be before the big shrink ray hit it.
i think when the new label laws kick in that may be a thing of the past perhaps. and then too the manufacturers have to list added sugars separate from natural sugars that are already present.
i have been trying to wean myself down from the sugary yogurts by mixing the fruity ones down with plain yogurt. for a while it was a half n half blend, now it is with more of the plain.
i am really not fond of anything with that sour type taste like yogurt or sour cream, cream cheese, ranch type dressings. So far the only yogurt I can stand to eat fully plain is FAGE brand greek yogurt. I wish i knew what was different about theirs vs the other leading brands like Chobani. I inherited a yogurt strainer thing that makes quick work of straining reg yogurt into a thicker style but it still doesn’t taste as perfect as the FAGE to me.
Yeah, it’s crazy how good that stuff is. Ruined all the other plain yogurt for me….
Thanks for the post – I was mortified when I realized a couple of years ago the “healthy” yogurt snack I was feeding my two toddlers was more like a dessert. We’ve switched to the Fred Meyer brand organic plain yogurt because it was reasonably priced and has a nice consistnecy, it took about 2 months of blending to convert over the taste buds from all the sugar, but now they are content to just sprinkle plain cinnamon on top or stir in fresh blueberries as a treat.