Tuesday, September 17, 2013

overeducated.


i just finished watching the premier episode of fox's new tv show "sleepy hollow."  it is definitely as fun and campy as everyone says.  like the episodes of x-files where the sneaky sense of humour came out.

but the end, man... ok, first, it's the Revelation to John, not Revelations, argh!  second (being a seminary graduate and all), i've read Revelation (and Good Omens :)  and that's not what it says.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

greek yoghurt adventures.


**updated**

so i have always been a fan of yoghurt, and the new greek styles pack that loverly protein punch along with the "live and active cultures."  i have been eating quite a lot of it recently, but my local supermarket tends to be inconsistent with its selection, so i am exploring the various brands.  i'm up to 3 so far.

my favourite flavour is honey, so that's the one i've been trying.  i like it for a couple reasons.  1) i have always found that the jams you stir into yoghurt change the texture to something weird and kind of grainy.  2) mixing in or pouring honey is a traditional way to eat yoghurt, strained/greek or not. 3) in a pinch, i can make it myself by buying plain yoghurt and just spooning in honey :)

so.  here are my experiences in my greek yoghurt adventure:

first:  all of these were 0% fat with the same 5 standard live and active cultures in yoghurt, so none of that is going to show up in my discussion.  they are also all true strained yoghurts with the high protein content.  always read the nutrition labels, kids; some "greek" yoghurts have only half the protein of others because they are not strained, just thickened with additives.

stonyfield
stonyfield is my favourite.  it is creamy and tangy and organic.  although "organic honey" is really impossible because you have no idea where the bees have actually gone. 

pros:  organic!  organic!!  no hormones, no antibiotics in the cows.  i'm really trying to get away from animal products with antibiotics.  fairly low calorie count.  creamy texture.  tangy yoghurt.  good honey flavour.
cons:  the honey is mixed with pectin and carob bean gum as thickeners.  my supermarket carries this flavour about every other week.  wtf?  expensive except when on sale.

chobani
i must be the only person in the world who doesn't like chobani.  i find their flavours with fruit mix-ins to be excessively grainy.  their pre-blended honey yoghurt was chalky instead of creamy and had little flavour.
pros:  actually a 6oz cup, so better value.  no thickeners with the honey.
cons:  chalky.  weird texture.  little honey flavour.  no tang.  bleh.

fage
this one is very interesting.  like stonyfield, you mix the honey in yourself, but unlike stonyfield, the honey is just plain honey and comes in its own compartment.  this is nice because then you don't have to eat all that sugar, although honey is very good for you.  i found about half the honey in the compartment got the yoghurt to a sweetness i like.
pros:  no thickeners with the honey.  separate compartment makes it easy to customize.
cons: no tang.  messy and hard to mix in the cup.  if you don't eat it, you end up throwing out the honey, which makes it impossible to recycle the container. also food waste is sad :(  if you do eat all the honey, fage has the highest calorie count.  this will probably be my backup.

voskos
this one is... weird.  it has the most liquid whey of all of them, but it also has one more gram of protein.  usually these two things are mutually exclusive; it is the straining of the whey that makes greek yoghurt more thick, creamy, and concentrated.  voskos honey also has a tangy flavour that crosses the line into "weird and funky" with an equally funky aftertaste.  like chobani, this is pre-blended, and while the sugar content is comparable to the others, it has the least sweet taste.  i liked this one the least.  (note: i do see an organic option on the website, but i only found the conventional in my supermarket)
pros: no thickeners with the honey.  an extra gram of protein.
cons: chalky.  really weird, funky taste and aftertaste.  no real honey flavour.  soupy whey on top.