What's your take on flavored Stonyfield Yogurt -- good snack or too sweet?

[Doran]

Our youngest has recently decided that she likes yogurt - again. I haven't been able to get her to eat it for years, but she "discovered" the little varieties made by Stonyfield Farms that I've always considered more like a sugary treat than like yogurt. Mocha latte. Caramel. Chocolate. She'll also eat some of the fruit flavors, like blackberry and lemon. She doesn't like the "chunky kinds" (fruit on the bottom), so adding pure fruit or jam to plain yogurt isn't an option, and it also eliminates a number of the other yogurt brands.

This is the child who eats almost hourly. She's a half-pint, full of muscle and energy, and I have suspicions that she may have blood sugar issues because of the foulness of her mood when she's hungry and the frequency with which she eats. So, I like having a protein snack available for her - which is why I like the idea of yogurt.

But, if I might as well serve her ice cream instead....:D

What do you guys think? Is the stuff just a glorified sugary treat? Of course, the Stonyfield website insists that they add half the sugar of other leading brands. Hmmmm.

Doran

[melissel]

IMO, it's too sugary, but to each his own, I guess. My kids like the fruity ones, but I dump the cups into bowls and secretly throw away the "jelly" stuff at the bottom :coolgleamA: We recently bought a big tub of the regular strawberry, and they didn't like it! I prefer the vanilla, which does still have a good amount of sugar, but not as much as the others.

I don't know. I think if your daughter prefers yogurt over other, equally or more junky snacks, I'd stick with the yogurt.

Oh! Could you do a similar thing to my sneaky trick? Maybe put the yogurt in a bowl and cut it with some plain yogurt?

Mmmmm, yum. Now I'm going to make myself a bowl of yogurt and granola...:leaving:

[Doran]

IMO, it's too sugary, but to each his own, I guess.
Oh! Could you do a similar thing to my sneaky trick? Maybe put the yogurt in a bowl and cut it with some plain yogurt?




Nope -- she's too old for that (sorry, I still haven't managed to take time to get my kids' ages into a signature. She's eleven and simply would not miss that little trick. :D






BTW, I love this little purple guy! He makes me giggle every time I see or use him.
:leaving:


Doran

[Philothea]

We buy the big bulk tubs or just vanilla or strawberries. I noticed that this particular brand has more types of active cultures than the other brands. I like that because it is important to me for the kids health that they eat yogurt, especially if they have been sick.

We add granola or cut up fruit to ours to make it more nutritious.

[Plaid Dad]

We treat those flavors as a special dessert, not a regular part of dd's diet. For everyday, we buy plain yogurt and add vanilla extract and a little sweetener (stevia; we were using Splenda until we read iffy reports about it). Our dd doesn't like fruit mixed in, but she will eat fresh strawberries alongside the yogurt.

[MJN]

are too sweet. I've tried fresh strawberries or peaches on plain yogurt and it's really good to me.

HTH!

[klmama]

I buy the plain variety, and we sweeten and flavor it with flavored stevia drops. It tastes good that way, and I know they aren't getting the ups and downs in blood sugar because of all the sugar in the flavored yogurt. Sometimes we'll add in fresh fruit, especially bananas.

[Janet in WA]

She's a half-pint, full of muscle and energy, and I have suspicions that she may have blood sugar issues because of the foulness of her mood when she's hungry and the frequency with which she eats. So, I like having a protein snack available for her - which is why I like the idea of yogurt.If she's like me, the ill effects of the sugar will negate the benefits of the protein.

[Karen sn]

Well - I wish they would not have changed their "formula."
Used to sweeten it with maple syrup. Now it's sugar and maple syrup.

I love the creamyness of Stonyfireld farm. For a kid as active as your yours - I don't think one a day can hurt.

[abbeyej]

For *me*, too much sugar. For an active child, I think one a day is probably fine (assuming the rest of her diet is pretty good). But yes, I'd consider them more of a "treat" than a "health food"... As health food, they're pretty poor. As treats, they're fabulous! (And yes, much better than ice cream -- especially because of all the active cultures in the yogurt.)

[*anj*]

If she's like me, the ill effects of the sugar will negate the benefits of the protein.

Same here.
I was thinking that her desire to eat with such frequency may be a result of the sugar burning off and making her want to eat more often, especially if the yogurt is low fat.

Could you try swirling a couple of tablespoons of plain whole milk yogurt into her "dessert yogurt?" It would cut back on the sugar, but add back some really good protein, plus a little fat to give her a feeling of satiety.

Oh, and here's another idea. I know you said she won't go for jam mixed into plain yogurt, but how about agave nectar drizzled over plain and then you add a drop of vanilla extract? She'd still have the smooth texture she likes, but only 15g of "sugars" per tablespoon.

[Jane in NC]

Agreeing with the dessert camp crowd.

By the way, I have a new favorite yogurt, so I just removed the quart container from the fridge to inspect the carton. No wonder I like Seven Stars Farm maple yogurt! Whole milk flavored with real maple syrup! Fat city! Gosh, this stuff is good!

Jane

[Doran]

No wonder I like Seven Stars Farm maple yogurt! Whole milk flavored with real maple syrup! Fat city! Gosh, this stuff is good!


My dh (and I hear Mamagistra's dee-aitch when I write that!) eats Seven Stars plain yogurt with granola almost every single day for breakfast. It's great stuff! Maybe I'll see whether dd will go back to eating that with maple syrup. Once upon a time, she loved that. :confused:

Doran

[Mamagistra]

(And yes, much better than ice cream -- especially because of all the active cultures in the yogurt.)

I did read an independent source somewhere which stated that Stoneyfield contains super-high levels of culture compared to other brands.

My ds loves their vanilla flavor, but I have recently stopped purchasing it because I can only find the low-fat version locally (we're dropping low-fat items for real stuff). I intend to make my own yogurt at some point, but I'm not quite there yet. :blush: And Whole Paycheck is a haul from here.

LOL, Doran, at dee-aitch...I'm telling you, I may have to start calling him that instead of 'hunny' or 'BYbee' (I procure a bit of an accent when I call out the latter...must be the humidity). ;)

[Tracy in Ky]

What do you guys think? Is the stuff just a glorified sugary treat?

It is too sugary for a treat around here, unless it is eaten very, very infrequently.

You might try this--we like plain yogurt with a little maple syrup in it. It doesn't take much syrup, and that is a better sweetener than what is probably in the yougurt (although I haven't looked to see what kind of sweetener Stonyfied uses.)

Something else to try--blending some yogurt with frozen berries, whole milk, a little vanilla, and a touch of sweetener if needed. She might like that, especially if you freeze it into popsicles OR put it into an icecream maker and make a sorbet out of it. We did that and it was really yummy. Of course it will be better in the summer. ha.

I'm on the lookout for some creative ways to get more yogurt into my crew. This will be a good thread to watch for ideas :)

Blessings,
Tracy

[Colleen]

I don't often buy yogurt since I make my own. Aside from the cost and added ingredients in store-bought yogurt, buying it adds up to so many plastic containers ~ and there are only so many of those babies you can re-use, kwim? Any-hoo, when I do buy it, I go for either Cascade Fresh, which is fruit-juice sweetened, or Wallaby organic, sweetened with organic evaporated cane juice. The reality is that all of these yogurts ~ the Stoneyfield you mentioned and the two noted here ~ have roughly the same amount of sugars (20g).

Back to the question at hand, I wouldn't promote eating sugar-sweetened yogurt as part of a healthy lifestyle. Getting your sugar grams from chocolate chip cookies is clearly the way to go.:tongue_smilie:

[HeatherH]

Speaking of Stonyfield -

Have y'all seen that there's a recall on the fat-free Blueberry? You can read about it here -

http://www.stonyfield.com/Aboutus/MoosReleases_Display.cfm?pr_id=166

It only affects a few dates - check your containers!

That's all. Back to lesson plans!

[*anj*]

Back to the question at hand, I wouldn't promote eating sugar-sweetened yogurt as part of a healthy lifestyle. Getting your sugar grams from chocolate chip cookies is clearly the way to go.:tongue_smilie:

And this is the time to start teaching your dd that sugar eaten for medicinal purposes (PMS) doesn't count. Which is why I'm about to have a brownie.

[Mamagistra]

And this is the time to start teaching your dd that sugar eaten for medicinal purposes (PMS) doesn't count. Which is why I'm about to have a brownie.

C'mon, *anj*! You know better: one brownie is hardly medicinal. Have you never heard the doctor's order to take two and call him/her in the morning? (Or was it three?...) ;):lol:

[*anj*]

C'mon, *anj*! You know better: one brownie is hardly medicinal. Have you never heard the doctor's order to take two and call him/her in the morning? (Or was it three?...) ;):lol:

Well, yeah, that's true.
So, I guess you could tell right through the monitor that I actually ate three, huh? http://pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/emoticons1/040.gif (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/%5Bimg%5Dhttp://pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/emoticons1/040.gif%5B/img%5D)

[Doran]

Well, yeah, that's true.
So, I guess you could tell right through the monitor that I actually ate three, huh? http://pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/emoticons1/040.gif (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/%5Bimg%5Dhttp://pages.prodigy.net/bestsmileys1/emoticons1/040.gif%5B/img%5D)



People, I'm trying to start a sensible eating and exercise routine here, I'm trying to teach my kids healthy eating habits, I'm trying to set a good examp....

Um....





....hey....anj?








Could I have one of those brownies?




Doran ;)

[*anj*]

Could I have one of those brownies?



Sure.
If you can pry it out of my cold, hard hand!!!!!

http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage08/8.gif (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/%5Bimg%5Dhttp://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage08/8.gif%5B/img%5D)