Oh hi guys! Welcome to your regularly scheduled Wellness Wednesday post! Today’s how-to was inspired by me wanting to cut out excess sugar in my diet a few years back. First, I started reading the nutritional labels on everything I ate. Turns out that nearly 15+ grams of sugar were coming from my morning or afternoon greek yogurt snack. Yep, it’s true!
Did you know that most of the fruit-based greek yogurts out there add cane sugar and/or syrup to sweeten the yogurt? That’s so unnecessary, don’t you think? I mean I’ll admit I love a sweet afternoon snack but when realized HOW MUCH sugar they really added I was disturbed. Surely I could find another way to enjoy greek yogurt without spoonfuls of added sugar, right?
First I started experimenting by just eating plain greek yogurt, but it was way too tart for me. I couldn’t even eat more than 1/4 of a cup without wanting to throw it away. The yogurt needed a little something else in there to make it more appealing.
I stumbled upon making my own naturally sweetened yogurt when I was preparing my meals for the week. I added a cup of greek yogurt and some really ripe, juicy strawberries in a container and placed it in the fridge. The next day when I was ready for a snack, I noticed that the fresh strawberry juice had mixed with some of the liquidy whey goodness sitting on top. I stirred it into the yogurt and was pleasantly surprised by how delicious and fresh it tasted.
I started doing this again and again with different type of fruit such as raspberries, blueberries, mango, cherries, and blackberries. Finally I found out the perfect method to achieve a naturally sweetened yogurt and wanted to share it with all of you! I absolutely love it because I mix up a few in the beginning of the week and then have them to pull out of the fridge anytime. It’s much less expensive than buying the containers and you can mix and match flavors.
STEP 1: Start by adding 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt to a mason jar or a container.
STEP 2: Add 1/4 cup of your favorite fruit on top. Make sure the fruit is nicely chopped or smashed. This allows for their natural juices and sugars to release and mix in with the yogurt. The best fruit to use is ripe, organic berries. I also love tossing my berries with 1/4 teaspoon of natural vanilla extract to enhance the flavor. Trust me, it’s good!
STEP 3: Layer another 1/2 cup of greek yogurt on top, then add another 1/4 cup of smashed/chopped fruit.
STEP 4: Cover and place in the fridge overnight at least 12 hours. When ready to eat, give the yogurt a nice stir to incorporate the fresh fruit juices. Then I recommend sprinkling it with chia seeds or stirring in almond butter.
I usually make about 2-3 of these on a Sunday night to enjoy throughout the week. They are wonderful and FILLING.
Let me know if you try this method out. I didn’t include nutritional info on this one but typically 1 cup of plain greek yogurt is equivalent to about 130 calories and 20g of protein. A 1/2 cup of berries is about 40 calories.
I’d love to hear what your favorite way to enjoy yogurt is!
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I love Greek yogurt! This looks so good, definitely have to try this out!
I only had plain yogurt so added stevia vanilla flavour and 1 tablespoon of orange marmalade – was delicious !!
Would it work to use “frozen” fruits with the greek yogurt. Adding it the night before just as you would fresh fruit and letting it sit overnight?
Absolutely! I do that as well. 🙂
Thank you Monique! Right now my yogurt of choice is Greek Yoplait 100 calorie and it has the fruit in it so I want to try this as I know it will be a better choice.
I love Greek yogurt! Sometimes I make mine in different flavors–chocolate with cacao powder, peanut with peanut butter, and many more!
I had the same realization about the added sugar when I was in a big Greek yogurt phase. I started buying plain yogurt and then mixing in a spoonful or two of jam or unsweetened apple butter or TJ’s pumpkin butter and topping with a sprinkle of chopped nuts. I know that’s still adding sugar, but at least I could control how much and from where. Plus, it was delicious.
Loving this idea! Berries with yogurt is my kiddos’ favorite!
I love this! I do not like yogurt, however, my daughter loves it. She also prefers Greek yogurt so I need to try this, and soon!
You definitely have to try the overnight cold oatmeals. You just combine yogurt, oats, milk and whatever flavoring combos you like. You refrigerate them overnight and you have a yummy breakfast, lunch or snack. I love peanut butter/banana but berry kinds are delicious as well.