I did a whole series a while back about reading the labels on foods you eat and this concept could not have been more appropriate than when I was shopping this week. I'm perusing the greek yogurt section, trying to get the best band for my buck. There are a bunch of options... flavored, plain, "light", organic etc. I just wanted plain, unflavored, unsweetened yogurt that was high in protein. As a bargain hunter, I usually go for the cheapest option (generic) unless the taste is dramatically different. At Safeway though, there is a store brand "Lucerne" and the store brand "Open Nature". Open Nature was $1 more expensive and the packaging made it seem more organic/natural with no artificial flavors/colors and no artificial ingredients.
But then i'm thinking ... wait... isn't plain yogurt just.. yogurt? Cultured milk? Both packages said that the yogurt was made from cows not treated with growth hormones. So how could they really be that different? So I read the label...
I first looked at ingredients. Lucerne had some ingredients I didn't expect like Milk Protein concentrate and modified corn starch. Those sound like fillers to me. The Open nature brand just had milk and live cultures (what I would expect from yogurt)
Then, I looked at the Calories, Protein, Sodium, and Sugar. As you may remember in my read the label series, Fat, Salt and Sugar are hidden in lots of foods you wouldn't think...
Calories were pretty comparable. Open Nature is 10 calories more per serving - but when I see that I immediately know to look at the protein content. See, if your calories are coming from protein, you're golden. If they are coming from carbs or fat - not so good.
You can see that Open Nature has 24g protein per serving where Lucerne only has 19g. So that's only 10 more calories for 5 more grams of protein?? That's an easy decision any day.
My next step was to look at sugars. Many flavored yogurts have TONS of sugar. More than ice cream sometimes. Fortunately in plain yogurt the sugar to protein ratio is okay, not offensive. Open Nature had 10g of carbs with 1g from fiber and 3g sugar. Lucerne has 13g of carbs, with no fiber and 11g of sugar. THIS IS PLAIN YOGURT... WHY SO MUCH SUGAR???
...and finally sodium. It's double in the Lucerne version. Why?! Party foul.
The verdict?
i bought the more expensive "natural" version because it's going to give you a healthier bang for your buck. More protein, less sugar and sodium. Easy pick.
Then, I looked at the Calories, Protein, Sodium, and Sugar. As you may remember in my read the label series, Fat, Salt and Sugar are hidden in lots of foods you wouldn't think...
Calories were pretty comparable. Open Nature is 10 calories more per serving - but when I see that I immediately know to look at the protein content. See, if your calories are coming from protein, you're golden. If they are coming from carbs or fat - not so good.
You can see that Open Nature has 24g protein per serving where Lucerne only has 19g. So that's only 10 more calories for 5 more grams of protein?? That's an easy decision any day.
My next step was to look at sugars. Many flavored yogurts have TONS of sugar. More than ice cream sometimes. Fortunately in plain yogurt the sugar to protein ratio is okay, not offensive. Open Nature had 10g of carbs with 1g from fiber and 3g sugar. Lucerne has 13g of carbs, with no fiber and 11g of sugar. THIS IS PLAIN YOGURT... WHY SO MUCH SUGAR???
...and finally sodium. It's double in the Lucerne version. Why?! Party foul.
The verdict?
i bought the more expensive "natural" version because it's going to give you a healthier bang for your buck. More protein, less sugar and sodium. Easy pick.