You can call me obsessed if you want

Chobani has made quite a few appearances on my blog over the last couple of years and for good reason, it is simply amazing yogurt. If you don't eat greek yogurt currently you just have to try it. Greek yogurt is actually nothing like the "yogurt" most of us are used to but its a thick, decadent, creamy treat. I love this yogurt for so many reasons-- a high protein snack is what I usually have it for but its also awesome in the morning layered with fruit and granola, in the afternoon mixed with ranch seasoning and used as a dipper for your veggies or a creamy layer on your wrap and as a dessert for sure (you can see my Chobani recipes here, here, here, here or here). Chobani was kind enough to send me a great assorted case of their O% fat and low fat yogurt selections in great flavors like strawberry, honey, plain etc... AND here is the great part-- one lucky reader can win the exact same selection that I was able to score. So what do you have to do to win? Go ahead and visit the Chobani website, after you are through send me an email with a Chobani factoid  and I will randomly select a winner. Get our email to me by next Friday at midnight and I will announce the winner on Saturday. Good luck!

Headliners—New Healthy Indulgences

Finally, a healthy flavored yogurt has come onto the market! Stonyfield makes my favorite line of Greek Yogurt to begin with, the Oikos line which includes: strawberry, honey, blueberry, vanilla, plain and now introducing Caramel and Chocolate! I am always adding mix-ins to my yogurt but with these new varieties I have no need! Now, I have looked at all the typical flavored yogurts and their nutritionals compare more to a dessert than a healthy snack or meal-time addition. Not something you would want in your daily diet but these are very different—packed with protein and low on calories all while getting a thick, chocolate yogurt. The sweetness of the yogurt was perfect as well as the chocolate flavor—all very balanced. The Caramel, although second to the chocolate for my taste buds, is also excellent. High in protein and flavor it is creamy and delicious. I mixed this one up and stuck it in the freezer for a ice cream like treat.

Crazy Combo

What does Siggi’s Yogurt + Nahualli’s Chocolate Seeds equal? Sheer delight! Yum this was such a luscious combo I have to give myself credit for after peering into the fridge and cabinets for 10+ minutes. Take your Siggi’s Yogurt flavor of choice, stir in a bit of water and sweetner (Siggi’s is very thick, I set some to the side to use as a sour cream swap for later and make more room in my cup), then stir in some awesome Nahualli’s Chocolate Seeds and you have a great combo worth getting excited about!

Lifeway Kefir + Ice = Heaven

Last night I opened up my strawberry Kefir by Lifeway and stared in the bottle. Kefir is not the most common item in the USA. We typically have yogurt or milk—not an in between. I took a smell of it though and I could not wait to try it! I took a little sip and my tastebuds were jumping up and down. It was so good. A little tart like yogurt but sweet, creamy and a perfect strawberry flavor. I thought wow this is better than ice cream! Oh wait—this could be a healthy ice cream in no time. So I got out my blender and did this:

1 cup Lifeway Strawberry Kefir
½ cup water
A few packets of sweetner
Dash of Xanthan Gum (thickener optional)
Ice Cubes
Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Even yogurt haters aka crazy people would love this. It is my new “thing”!
Lifeway is really the only brand of Kefir that I ever see—and for good reason. Their blend is amazing. They have a bunch of flavors that I am dying to try—peach, blueberry, mixed berry etc… Imagine the ice cream possibilities. Tomorrow though my kefir will be on top of my cereal! I could make overnight oats with it… WOW!

Double Dipping

I mentioned this a while back but you can make so many great dips using plain greek yogurt as a swap. I love using Stonyfield Farms Plain greek yogurt variety for dipping! Especially during the holidays when lots of dipping is done making this swap saves so many calories and adds so much flavor. Check out this post for more details. And don't forget this post for a great fall treat.

Strawberry High Protein Frozen Yogurt

1 single serving container of your favorite strawberry yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farms Greek)

1 serving strawberry protein powder (Jay Robb's Strawberry Whey)
1/4 cup milk (Hood's Carb Countown)
3 packets sweetner of choice

Mix all ingredients and freeze for 1-2 hours. ENJOY! (Perfect for your pre-bed meal or any other time)

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Probiotics: All the rage

If you listen to the news, read the paper or are alive you have heard something about probiotics. The health benefits range from aiding in digestion, warding off cancer and helping your immune system. Sooo I tried the Stonyfield Farms Probiotic Vanilla variety and was shocked that I could get all these benefits and enjoy a cup of creamy, smooth, real vanilla tasting yogurt.

Feels like cheating...

Pudding and cookies for a snack! Well how about that for under 300 calories! Take Chobani vanilla 0% greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa powder, sweetner of choice and stir like mad.

On the side, have two huge Nutridel Pecan cookies.

I am so addicted to this new pudding creation. Here is another stellar combo:

Chobani Plain 2% + Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa + NuStevia White Stevia Powder

Stonyfield Farms yogurt is consistently thick, rich and delicious. This vanilla, organic greek variety was no different. One single serve container has 110 claories, 0 grams of fat and a whopping 15 grams of protein.

Throw Jay Robb’s Chocolate Egg White Protein handy single serve pack, a tiny bit of NuNatural’s NuStevia No Carb Blend and you have a creamy chocolate pudding!

A little bit about Jay Robb’s protein powders—they taste great but also are free of refined sugar, corn syrup, artificial flavors, sweetners, colors, fat, cholesterol, gluten, wheat and chemicals.

Visit Jay’s site and find a plethora of great information.

The NuStevia is great because you only need a TINY bit to get your desired amount of sweetness and I like it SWEET! The No Carb blend is great when you are watching your carbs because even with the average no-calorie sweeteners the carbs do add up if you are looking.

Finished Product:

Crispy Green Crispy Bananas + Chobani Greek Yogurt = True Love

I love bananas-- just love them! They are such a great fruit that comes in its own little wrapper! For this reason I was slightly skeptical when trying these but they were sensational! The only ingredient is-- BANANAS! Each bag equals approximately one large banana.

They were airy, sweet and crispy, just great for muching. The first time I had them, I just ate them plain out of the bag. Today for "snack time" I used a Chobani 0% Greek Yoghurt with the bananas.

Here is the recipe for my "banana split morning yogurt":
1 bag Crispy Green Bananas-- crushed

1 Chobani Greek Yoghurt cup

1/8 teaspoon banana extract

2 packets sweetner

1 tablespoon cocoa nibs, crushed

Mix yoghurt, extract, sweetner. Top with bananas and cocoa nibs. YUM!

Visit the Crispy Green website and find out more about their products and where you can purchase them. Its such an easy way to add more fruits to you diet!

Sweet Potato Fries with Dipping Sauce

Slice a giant sweet potato into thin strips. Bake in a 400 degree oven on a Pam sprayed cookie sheet until the outsides are crisp, flipping once. Prepare sweet dip using 1/4 cup greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a packet of sweetner.

Frozen YO! Gurt w/ warm berry sauce

Take 1 or 2 containers of the Carb Control Vanilla Light and Fit Yogurts (only 45 calories each) and freeze them for a couple of hours until semi frozen. Stir to frozen yogurt consistency. When you are ready to eat take a full cup of frozen mixed berries or any sort of berries and sprinkle splenda on the top. Warm them in the microwave stirring well, they will become saucy-- pour over "fro-yo".

Greek Yogurt Dips

Plain greek yogurt has a tang to it when unsweetened. It can make so many great dips!

For veggies:
Get a packet of ranch dressing mix and stir 1/4 of it into a container greek yogurt.
You can also use italian dressing mix.
OR just use Mrs. Dash

For fruit:
Make it sweet by stiring in a little SF/FF pudding mix or even SF strawberry jello mix
Or some waldens farm caramel dip
Or a little cocoa powder and sweetner
Some PB2...

It can also serve as a great sour cream replacer. Make tacos or a baked potato and top with greek yogurt.

Greek PB Cup!

1 single serving container Greek Yogurt
2 Tablespoons PB2
Sweetner of choice
Cocoa Nibs or SF Chocolate Syrup

Mix Greek Yogurt with PB2 and small bit of water to get mixing. Pour into muffin tin and top with either melted Cocoa Nibs or Chocolate Syrup. Freeze. PB Cups!