Culture Club

It's the simple things that really make me happy lately, and I love eating yogurt in the morning. It's just an easy, quick way to get a filling breakfast and you can do a million things with it; basically, it's Summer's oatmeal.

At New Season's there's a dessert that I always loved and it was a Swedish Cream with lingonberries on the top; so good! That dessert is exactly what I thought of the first time I tried Greek Yogurt (Greek style has just been drained so that more of the whey is removed). If you've not changed up your morning yogurt routine by branching out to other types, now is the time. From Australian to Greek then back to the good ole US, there are so many yummy varieties.

I've tried Fage, Chobani and Oikos, which is made by Stonyfield Farms, and all of them are so thick and creamy. Greek-style yogurt has about 50% more protein than regular yogurt and has less lactose so may be a good option for people with sensitive tummies. It's important, however, that you opt for the low-or non-fat as it is higher in fat than the standard. Don't worry, with fat-free you'll still get all the texture and taste but you'll save on the guilt (Speaking of guilt, Happy Good Friday!), and because I get the plain yogurt, I have endless flavor possibilities. When we went to Warren Farms, I had real maple syrup to drizzle over it and some strawberry slices; yum!

My current favorite is the Archer Farms Blueberry Granola with Flax (Target) mixed into about 1/2 cup of yogurt. It's filling and tastes really good.

If your store doesn't carry Oikos or Chobani, look for Fage (pronounced Fay-uh), as it seems to be the most widely available brand. Of course, if you don't want to pay the extra (because it seems like it does cost more) there's a way around that; you can just buy low-fat plain yogurt and strain it overnight. Before writing this post, I found that little nugget and am going to try it out myself to see how I like it...I'm always up for saving a little more on my grocery bill.