Fruit and Yogurt

Don't you LOVE it when you're at Sam's or Costco and they are giving out samples?

The other day they were handing out yogurt samples - I'm not sure the brand exactly, but they were definitely marketed to the youngins and I of course, checked the nutrition label.  Over 30g of sugar in each little cup.  Seriously?!  That's insane!  It was the first time Te-Man had eaten store sweetened yogurt and to my surprise he didn't show much more interest in it that he does at home.

What does that tell me?  All of that extra sugar isn't necessary!

>Insert long rant about sugar....blah blah blah<

I'm not saying that our family is the epitome of health and that we only eat healthy foods.  What I am saying is that I can tell you > 90% of the food we eat does not come out of a box or a can which means I can control everything that's in it, and I feel pretty good about that.

This is a simple way to make sure you are in control of the amount of sugar in the yogurt your kids are eating.

Fruit and Yogurt

What's In It:
2-3 c Full Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 t vanilla extract
1-2 c Fruit of Choice, frozen or thawed
Sweetener (optional)

What To Do With It:
Blend fruit until pureed.  Mix into yogurt, add vanilla.  Play with the fruit to yogurt ratio until you are satisfied with the flavor.  Add sweetener if desired.  

I know the recipe is vague, but that's kind of on purpose.  I like to keep yogurt in the fridge because I use it for so many things.  And we are always looking at fruit that's about 3/4 eaten and I know that in a day or two I'm going to have to throw it out and I HATE throwing food away.

So, I've started freezing the fruit on a cookie sheet and putting it in baggies.  I can then take the fruit out when I want a smoothie or some yogurt and I don't have to worry about what kind of fruit I have on hand.  I do this with berries, bananas, pineapple, cantelope, mangoes, cranberries, grapes, etc.  I can then mix and match for any flavor I want.

I'd say that in a full 3 cups of yogurt we only add maybe a tablespoon of honey - but you can play with that too.  Probably in the beginning you'll want more and then over time you can start to gradually cut it back and no one will notice. :)