Once A Runner…

Yogurt with Stones!

Roughly a month ago, I discovered Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt and I had to (rightly) conclude that its nonfat, low carb, mighty superior extra-high protein content is just too damned good to pass up. I can’t believe I never found this stuff before. This stuff is like yogurt with cajones, I mean it, really… some serious stones — not some foo-foo frilly custardy stuff.

But… the most nutritional bang for my buck is the plain variety.  And it’s roughly the consistency of — and some say the taste reminds them a lot of — sour cream, which I really can’t stand at all. Damn. Double damn.

Hiding a 4-ounce container of all that tangy high-protein goodness in smoothies made with fruit juices and frozen fruits was a half-decent solution for me, but it’s neither really quick nor convenient. And it wasn’t really all that wonderful or delicious that way anyway.

Then while halfheartedly searching for recipes that would be friendly to both my weight loss efforts and my slowly ramping-up exercise regimen, I stumbled across a site whose owner had been down the tortuously hard weight-loss road and was now more heavily into strength training.

He dealt with his dislike of the available yogurt forms and flavors by coming up with a new twist — very nicely DIY, too! He took Greek yogurt and just added a serving of Comstock No Sugar Added Cherry Pie filling. A third of a cup of that stuff is only about 35 calories, no fat, lots of good tastiness though.

Anyway, I tried it that guy’s way today after a lunch of a small piece (2-oz) of turkey breast diced into baby spinach with a Tbsp. of olive oil vinaigrette and a cup of unsweetened green tea.  I made one small adjustment, though: I just went half-half and mixed one 4-ounce container of Greek yogurt with half-a-cup of the cherry pie filling. The tang is still there, but the taste is well within my tolerance — much better than anything else I can get.

And before you dismiss me for a madman or bash the idea, the numbers for a one-cup serving of my Frankenstein yogurty delight look like this:

• Calories — 116
• Fat — 0g
• Sodium — 60mg
• Potassium — 180mg
• Total Carbs — 17g
• Sugars — 11g
• Protein — 12g

I can accept having to take in the sugars there to get to the  protein, since I apparently need the sugars to make it palatable to me.  The proverbial spoonful of sugar to make the (nonfat) liniment go down.  It’s all good.