Gone Greek

In recent years, it seems that countless numbers of diets, cleanses, health food trends, etc. have been popularized, phased out, & popularized again.  But one health food trend that emerged 2-3 years ago - the Greek yogurt - seems to be sticking around; at least for the next little while anyway.  First popularized as a snack, the Greek yogurt's utility has expanded & it is now a widely promoted substitute for mayonnaise, sour cream, & creme fraiche.

Just exactly what is Greek yogurt?  From my research (a.k.a. Wikipedia), Greek yogurt is a type of yogurt called strained yogurt.  Strained yogurt is exactly what its name says; it is yogurt that has been strained through a cloth or filter in order to remove the whey & excess water.  By doing so, the end product is thicker & has a more substantial texture.  So Greek yogurt = dried regular yogurt, what's so special about that?  According to LiveStrong, Greek yogurt is superior to regular yogurt in 6 ways:

1. Greek yogurt can have 2x as much protein as regular yogurt.
2. Greek yogurt can have up to 50% less sodium than regular yogurt.
3. Greek yogurt has about 44% less carbohydrates than regular yogurt.
4. Greek yogurt contains less lactose which makes it easier to digest.
5. Greek yogurt has more utility in cooking than regular yogurt.
6. The rich texture of Greek yogurt leaves eaters feeling more satisfied.

Recently, I have hopped onto the Greek yogurt train because I really do enjoy its tangy flavor & rich full'bodied texture.  But I have realized that there are quite a number of brands of Greek yogurt out there.  In order to make sure that I pick the best one for the long run, I conducted a taste test using all blueberry flavors & here are my evaluations:

Specimen #1: Yoplait Greek
     4 ounces
     110 calories.  0g fat.  18g carbohydrates.  13g sugar.  8g protein.
     Purchased as a 4 pack, each container has plain Greek yogurt with a blueberry "sauce" on the bottom.  While the "sauce" is made of real blueberries, it was not blueberry'y @ all.  The yogurt had a fairly thick consistency & it was tart; however,the tangy'ness was short lived.

Specimen #2: Fage Total 0%
     5.3 ounces
     120 calories.  0g fat.  18g carbohydrates.  16g sugar.  13g protein.
     This was a blueberry & acai flavor & it was a container of plain yogurt with a separate container of "sauce."  I thought the design of the container was very clever since I could add as much or as little of the "sauce" as I wanted.  The yogurt was very thick & it was tart even after I added in the fruit.

Specimen #3: Trader Joe's Nonfat Greek Yogurt
     5.3 ounces
     120 calories.  0g fat.  16g carbohydrates.  14g sugar.  13g protein.
     This yogurt came already mixed together & it smelled really sweet.  The texture was thick but it was a bit gritty & it was not as tart as Fage.

Specimen #4: Chobani 0%
     6 ounces
     140 calories.  0g fat.  20g carbohydrates.  20g sugar.  14g protein.
     The yogurt was mostly mixed together but there was extra blueberry @ the bottom.  It was too sweet & not very tangy.  It was also very smooth like regular yogurt.

Specimen #5: Oikos Organic
     5.3 ounces
     120 calories.  0g fat.  16g carbohydrates.  15g sugar.  13g protein.
     This was another one that had the fruit "sauce" at the bottom.   While it was not very sweet, it didn't taste like blueberries.  The yogurt was think & it was very much like regular yogurt.

Specimen #6: Lucerne Greek Nonfat Yogurt
     6.0 ounces
     140 calories.  0g fat.  24g carbohydrates.  22g sugar.  11g protein.
     The yogurt itself was sweet, runny, & did not taste anything like blueberry.  In terms of nutrition, it has disproportionately more calories, more carbohydrates, more sugar, & less protein; this is everything you don't want in a Greek yogurt.

As you can probably see, the nutritional content across different brands is pretty similar; except for the sugar so that's definitely something to look out for.  In terms of flavor and texture, the Fage was definitely my favorite, albeit it was the most expensive one.  I will be continuing my search in order to increase my sample size, but in the mean time I am going to grab a Fage out of my fridge & have a little mid-afternoon snack.

     

Getting Canned...Again

Earlier this year, I wrote a post on the Boy's behalf about his taste test of canned coffees.  After trying 3 different brands, he had to stop his experiment because (1) they were all really gross tasting & (2) the high amount of sugar within each of these drinks could seriously cause Diabetes.

On a recent trip to the East Village, we discovered a cozy little Asian market where the Boy's eyes once again fell upon a can of coffee.  I don't know if he's just stubborn of if he just didn't learn his lesson the last time, but here we go again...

Specimen #4: UCC Hawaii Kona Blend with Milk
     At the price of $1.49 & 15.6g of sugar per 8oz, this specimen was...that's right...too sweet! But @ least it was tolerable enough that he drank the whole can.  Unfortunately, like all 3 of the original specimens, the texture of the drink was no match to one that is freshly brewed.

Although this attempt was the best of all the attempts, the verdict still stands that coffee in a can is a no-can-do.

Weekend Dinner - Super Healthy Veggie Chili

Being on a meatless diet means I eat twice as much as I usually do; but at least it's vegetables that I am putting into my system.  Still...I don't like looking @ a great big bowl of food & the feeling of eating that much quantity'wise.  So I came up with the idea to make something hearty so I can feel full without eating like a beach whale.

I found this recipe on Healthy Endeavors & I made some adjustments according to my taste.  Even though the overall cook time was a bit long, the prep was pretty painless & it was mostly just watching over the pot to make sure bad things weren't happening.

The list of ingredients is not too long...
     2 zucchini.  Something non'traditional to make the chili more filling.
     2 red bell peppers.  You can use any color but I like red.
     1 medium yellow onion.  I think 1/2 is enough because the whole one was a bit much.
     2 Beefsteak tomatoes.  Get a few more if you're going to use a Roma.
     1 lemon for its juice.
     1 teaspoon of garlic paste.  No real garlic because they will just sprout in my fridge.
     1 can of diced tomatoes.
     1 can of kidney beans.
     1 can of garbanzo beans.
     1 can of corn kernel.
     1 package of Chili mix.  I got lazy & didn't buying all of the individual spices.
     1 teaspoon of chipotle powder.
     1 tablespoon of Sriracha.  To give this chili a real kick.

And the steps are quite simple...
     Dice the zucchini, bell peppers, onion, & tomatoes.  I cut them kinda big so they wouldn't get cooked down to little itty bitty bits of nothing.
     Heat up some oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add in the garlic paste & after the garlic starts to smell a little, add in the onion, the zucchini, & the bell peppers.  Sautee them for about 7 minutes until the onion turns translucent.
     Reduce the heat to low & add in the tomatoes & the can of diced tomatoes - along with the juice & half a can's worth of water.  Stir everything around & then toss in the package of chili mix.  Stir again to make sure that it's all dissolved into the liquid.
     Cook this over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
     During this time, drain & rinse your beans & corn kernels.
     Once the time is up, add in the beans, the corn, & juice of the entire lemon.  Season with the chipotle powder, the Sriracha, & some salt/pepper.
     Mix everything together & let this cook over medium-low heat for 15 more minutes.

And you're done!  You can eat this alone or you can have it with a bit of rice.  You can even scoop it up with some bread.  A spicy, delicious, & super filling way of eating healthy yet creative.

Quick & Easy - Tomato Grilled Cheese

To stay the course with a meatless diet, creativity is almost a requirement.

Feeling a little under the weather, I knew I wanted some soup but I also knew that I was going to be hungry an hour.  So I got a little creative with my fridge & came up with the perfectly accompaniment - grilled cheese.

You only need 4 ingredients to get this thing going...
     2 slices of bread.  I use whole wheat or whole grain because they have more nutrition.
     1 Roma tomato.  You can use any kind of tomato you want but the 1 Roma was perfect.  Remember to remove the seeds so the sandwich doesn't get all watery.
     2 slices of cheese.  I used Swiss but any kind of melty cheese will work.
     Sandwich spread.  I had some garlic herb sandwich spread on hand but you can leave this out or you can use anything else like butter, mayo, or mustard.

And it only take 5 minutes to make...
     Put a little bit of sandwich spread on 1 slice of bread.
     Put down 1 slice of cheese; trying to keep it away from the edges.
     Slice the tomato up and place it on top.  Layer on the other slice of cheese & the other slice of bread.
     In a pan, put in 1/2 teaspoon worth of oil.  As the pan is heating up, wipe around the bottom of the pan so a thin layer of oil is covering the entire bottom.  This will help the bread get evenly toasted.
     Once the pan is hot, carefully place your sandwich in and just let it sit there over medium'low heat for 2 minutes.  I put a pan lid on top to apply some pressure for the melting of the cheese.  If you want to get fancy, you can wrap a brick in foil and place that on top.
     After a couple of minutes, flip the sandwich over & repeat the step above.

Depending on your stove & your pan, you might have to adjust the time; but the goal is to toast the bread without burning it.  Another way to do this is to use a George Foreman grill or a pannini machine.  Be aware, however, that the overall cook time should be cut by half since the sandwich would then be heated on both sides @ the same time.

This sandwich is quick, it's easy, it's cheap, & - when paired with a hot bowl of tomato soup - made the perfect Sunday lunch.

Lent - Week 1 Update

It's been a week since Ash Wednesday & I've got to say I'm pretty proud of my progress!

The first few days were really tough, especially since I was away @ a work conference where my eating schedule was wacky & the choices for food were sometimes limited.  But since coming home, I've been really good about sticky to my plan.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that my mother cooked me a bunch of food so I can just reheat them mindlessly.  I must confess, however, that I did break lent.  I did it by accident!  It was mid-afternoon & all I had was half a bag of pretzel snacks so when I saw popsicles...I got a little too enthusiastic.  But I had just one Push-up; just one.

The lack of meat consumption is treating me well except I have to eat a larger amount to feel not hungry; but at least I am eating vegetables or egg whites.  The lack of sugar - on the other hand - has been harder to adjust to.  I think my body is starting to get used to it by now but I still rely on sugar'free chocolate mousse & natural apple sauce to satisfy those cravings.  To be honest it was a little shocking to realize how dependent my body was on sugar for it to have such a large withdrawal effect.  I was one grumpy, crabby b***h last week.  On the good side - I lost 2 pounds already!

I am running low my prepared vegetarian meals so I have to think of something to make over the weekend to eat next week.  Vegetarian chili perhaps?