Greek yogurt is growing in popularity and seems to be popping up for sale at every grocery store. Aside from being thick, rich and high in protein, Greek yogurt has intense versatility. You can use it to cook with or in place of condiments that might be higher in fat and calories. At Diets in Review, we like to lean toward Chobani and Fage for our Greek yogurt purposes. The possibilities with this product are endless and it can all be done with zero percent fat, plain Greek yogurt.

We recently spoke with recipe developer, cookbook author, lifestyle blogger and President of Ingredients, Inc. Alison Lewis about some of her favorite uses for Greek yogurt. “I love to use it instead of sour cream in dips, tacos and fajitas. I also love to use it in spreads, dressings and in baked good recipes for muffins, cookies and quick breads,” Alison said.

You may be wondering about substituting and if it will affect the taste of your items, so I asked Alison if she noticed a difference in flavor when using Greek yogurt. “Actually I think it gives all of the foods a richer, tastier flavor. My kids cannot even tell when I have replaced it on top of baked potatoes or tacos. I think it adds even more moisture and fluffiness to baked goods,” she said.

Using Greek yogurt in some of your favorite recipes can definitely help you cut fat, calories and add protein without sacrificing flavor. Below are some suggestions for using plain Greek yogurt in your favorite dishes.

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By Jennipher Walters for FitBottomedGirls.com

I have such an on-again, off-again relationship with yogurt. I’ll eat it daily or twice daily for a month and then, out of the blue, drop it like a hot potato. Which is dumb. Because that “hot potato” is full of good-for-your-tummy bacteria, calcium and deliciousness. Whether it’s a flavored yogurt or plain yogurt that you snazz up with some mix-ins, I have now realized that I should have never broken up with yogurt, even if it’s just for a weekend. Hopefully, yogurt will take me back. Check out our ideas below to keep your yogurt-relationship full of surprise and nutritious excitement!

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A recently aired special on CNN by famous doctor Sanjay Gupta discussed the possibility of using food as medicine. I was intrigued by this idea and thought I would look into the foods and flavor ingredients that have dual purposes mentioned in the special: yogurt and turmeric.

Turmeric is a spice mainly found in Indian and Pakistani dishes often used in making curry with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and possibly anti-cancer properties. Curcumin is a component in turmeric that some studies have found can stop the growth of different kinds of tumors.

It couldn’t hurt to add this spice to some of your cooking, especially if you’re into hot and spicy foods. Some stomachs may not be able to handle turmeric. You’ve probably seen movies spoof people having diarrhea after going to an Indian restaurant- turmeric is spice to blame. Most girls will remember a certain episode of Sex and the City when Miranda goes on a date and udders the phrase “You’re just not that into me” after her dates cuts things short after dining on Indian cuisine.

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By Karen Sherwood for NutritiousAmerica.com

These early fall mornings all we want to do is crawl back under our warm covers and sleep for an hour longer. Late, we usually run out the door forgetting the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

We’ve all been told the statistics about how breakfast ignites the metabolism (literally breaking the fast) and how skipping breakfast is associated with obesity; but when we are late for work and still half-asleep statistics are easily ignored. As are nutrition labels. So when we don’t skip, we grab something unhealthy but convenient that puts us at a nutritional disadvantage all day.

But don’t stress. You can still hit the snooze button. You can still run out of the door at the last second possible. We at Nutritious America will keep it simple. We will review three convenience-type breakfast products and give you some healthy, also convenient, alternatives.
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A group of major food companies, including General Mills, ConAgra Foods and Kellogg, have announced that they will be voluntarily setting new advertising standards in order to cut back on marketing unhealthy foods to children. This comes after rejecting similar guidelines proposed by the federal government.

Under these new self-imposed standards, the food companies can still market their products to children, but only if they meet specific nutritional criteria. If they still want to market to children, some foods may have to make their ingredients more healthful.

“Now foods from different companies, such as cereals or canned pastas, will meet the same nutrition criteria, rather than similar but slightly different company-specific criteria,” said Elaine Kolish of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, a group formed by the food industry.
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