Giant Eagle Greek Yogurt

I'm not sure when I started to eat yogurt, but I can remember in high school that I would bring it to lunch several days a week. You see, one of my friends, who was also a 'cool' kid brought in yogurt and well, I wanted to be part of the group. I remember at the time, I pretty much would only eat lemon. There was something about the lemon flavor that 'masked' the yogurt for me. Maybe it was because I expected a sour flavor, that it helped detract from the astringency of the yogurt.

Over the years, my tastes have matured and I have rather come to enjoy yogurt. There are so many more options, both in varieties and flavors, than there used to be. I tend to stick with the low fat/no-fat regular varieties of yogurt. I tend to stick with blended yogurts if I am getting regular yogurt, but like the 'stacked' parfait style yogurts with sprinkles.

My children were introduced to yogurt at a young age and it is a go to hold me over to dinner snack, when we are running out the door for sports and meetings, before we can eat a dinner. They also like it as a 'dessert', a lunch box treat, and a middle of the day snack too.

One of the types that I have been trying lately are the Greek Yogurts. I really like the idea of Greek yogurt - "which is strained extensively to remove much of the liquid whey, lactose, and sugar, giving it its thick consistency—does have an undeniable edge. In roughly the same amount of calories, it can pack up to double the protein, while cutting sugar content by half."

For a while, the only one that I could enjoy eating was a Key Lime flavor. Again, much like my high school experience, I was using the lime flavor to mask the yogurt. My experience with the Greek yogurt was that it was more astringent than regular yogurt - or maybe, because it was thicker it would hang on my tongue that extra bit and makes it seem more astringent. Either way, I felt a bit like I was forcing myself to eat it (sometimes grimacing as I did), because I knew it was probably that little bit better than a standard yogurt.

Much like my experience with regular yogurt, my tastes matured (or I got used to the change in texture and astringency) and started to branch out to other flavors. I have concluded that if there is fruit that I prefer it on the side or the bottom, not mixed. I am okay with the vanilla yogurt, but feel like I need to have some fresh fruit on the side.

I recently discovered a new Greek Yogurt on the shelf at Giant Eagle, Giant Eagle Greek Yogurt. "Giant Eagle Greek Yogurt has 0% fat, is gluten free, an excellent source of protein and comes in seven delicious varieties: Pineapple, Black Cherry, Strawberry, Peach, Raspberry, Vanilla and Plain." It carries their 100% satisfaction or Double Your Money Back Guarantee, too.

Currently, it is on promotion at 10 for $10. When we stopped in the store to pick up cheese for dinner the other night (we were having pizza and were out of mozzarella!), I grabbed a few varieties to check them out. My daughter chose Strawberry for her flavor and I grabbed Peach, Vanilla and Plain.

I was very pleased with the flavor and texture of the yogurt. The 6 oz cup was the perfect size. With 14 grams of protein (the plain has more), it really helped me on my way to meeting my daily target of protein. In fact, that is more protein in the cup of yogurt than some of the protein shakes I use and at a lower calorie content - I just might have to make a swap to eating my protein.

The vanilla was a little astringent to me, but when paired with some fresh berries, it was very balanced. (As an aside, I was at a party this weekend and someone had a bowl of fresh fruit and reached into the fridge and added a scoop of vanilla yogurt to the top - that is a great idea, I never would have thought of that. I frequently will have fruit on the side because I pack both in my lunch, but never really on top of my fruit like that.)

I really enjoyed the flavor of the peach fruit. The peach is on the bottom of the cup. I don't actually stir my yogurt, I dig down to the bottom on the first bite and then scoop a bit of the fruit with each bite. I feel like it delivers more fruit punch per bite that way. The size/shape of the cups allowed me to easily eat it in this fashion (I'm sure that I am strange for not mixing it - but, so be it).

I can't wait to pick up some of the other varieties to check out.

No compensation was received for this post. Giant Eagle provided information about the product and promotion, as well as a gift card so that my family and I could experience the new product. All opinions expressed are solely my own or that of my family.

Silk Fruit and Protein

My kids love to try new things. So, it was no surprise to me that as soon as my husband picked up a container of Silk Fruit & Protein that they would be all over trying it. They both really enjoyed it. My daughter started requesting it as fruit milk. I thought this was a great way to look at it. She saw it as the same as having 'strawberry milk', but I knew that she was getting a little more out of it than just that. Silk Fruit & Protein is a Good Source of Protein, and an Excellent Source of Calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin C. We tried the Mixed Berry and each 1 cup serving of Mixed Berry is packed with 5 grams of Protein, 100% Vitamin C, 20% Calcium and 25% Vitamin D.

For those with allergies, it is good to note that according to the package, the product is free of lactose, dairy, cholesterol, eggs, casein, MSG and worries....this message is sandwiched between "It's Free" and "You still have to pay for it", which I found to be cute and caused a light chuckle when I read it. Of course, it's protein source is from soy, so if you are allergic to that, well, it's not a good option.

"Silk Fruit & Protein: The great taste of fruit juice plus the power of protein."

As I noted, we tried the Mixed Berry, but Silk Fruit & Protein is also available in Strawberry Banana and Mango Peach. To me, the Mixed Berry delivery felt a bit like a drinking yogurt. It was smooth and creamy with a nice fruit flavor. I can't wait to try the other flavors, which I consider more 'breakfast juice' like and see if their delivery feels more like a juice or a drinking yogurt.

My kids have been pretty entertaining. One night at dinner, I asked, what do you like about the product. My daughter started off talking about the fruit flavor of the fruit milk and wound up sounding a bit like a commercial, even ending her comment with a 'so go buy it now!' When we laughed and commented that she sounded like a commercial, my son decided that he was going to write a commercial and include all of the Silk products in our refrigerator. He asked my husband if he would film them, which of course he said that he would. The next morning, I came into the kitchen to see four 1/2 gallons sitting on my counter while he was busy writing down the flavors (Vanilla Coconut Milk, Vanilla Almond Milk and Dark Chocolate Almond Milk, in addition to the Fruit & Protein). I have yet to see the script or the commercial, but I can't wait.

It's funny how once you try a new product you have a tendency to share it with friends and/or suddenly know who would love/use this product. I was walking with a friend one day and she was mentioning that she worries about her daughter getting enough protein, because she is not a big meat eater. I suggested that she might try the Silk Fruit & Protein as a drink at meals to increase protein intake easily. Another friend has a daughter that is allergic to milk. I haven't had a chance to talk to her since we tried it, but I have a couple coupons ready to share, because I think this would be a great alternative for her and allow her to get some extra calcium too.

Want to learn more? You can find out more by checking out the product pages for each flavor: Silk Fruit&Protein Mango Peach, Silk Fruit&Protein Mixed Berry, and Silk Fruit&Protein Strawberry Banana. You can read about the Silk Love It Guarantee, check out other reviews on their Facebook page. Now through March 28th, you can enter the Product Giveaway on Facebook, where they are selecting 60 people per day to try the New Silk Fruit & Protein for Free.

Coupon
Get $1 off - you can find a printable coupon for $1 off Silk Fruit & Protein on the Silk Fruit&Protein website.

Giveaway!

Courtesy of Silk, I have the opportunity to giveaway to one A Busy Mom of Two reader a set of coupons to try each flavor (3 Free coupons, plus several $1 coupons to share or use) of the new Silk Fruit & Protein.

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