Need Ideas to Flavor Plain Yogurt
 

My Dr. has me on a diet. I can't eat my usual flavored yogurt, I have to eat the plain yogurt. I need ideas to add some flavor to it. I tried lemon extract (not bad) and thawed frozen strawberries and berries (better), but I'm hoping I can get some more ideas from my crafty friends on the board. Thanks for your help.

Chopped pineapple and unsweetened coconut. Cherry and chopped almonds are good as well. I'm assuming you aren't eating sugar...have you tried stevia? I use it a lot. Truvia brand has no off flavor.

Try different brands of yogurt .... you may find that other plain yogurts are more palatable.

I prefer plain yogurt to pre-flavoured, and add in fruit of any kind, fresh or thawed.
For a little sweetness I add maple syrup.

You mentioned using lemon extract, try other extracts, especially vanilla.

You haven't mentioned the diet requirements and restrictions, so it is hard to know what to suggest.

vanilla extract or almond extract is great, also try mint. It is amazing how good it is.'

Mix in a package of sugar free instant pudding mix.
Some like it a lot ... some not so much ... or like one flavour, but not the other.

My go to breakfast (nearly every day) is non fat, plain greek yogurt. I add fresh or frozen blueberries, almonds, & chia seeds. I use Fage' . Another favorite is "over night refrigerator oatmeal". 2 cups of steel cut oatmeal, 2 cups plain yogurt, 2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk, slivered almonds, chia seeds & fruit of choice. Mix and pour into Mason Jars. Refrig overnight and you have grab and go breakfast. This will fill 4 jars. It keeps 4 or 5 days.

I add unsweetened applesauce to my Fage non fat greek yogurt. Homemade is best. Add apple pie spice to the mixture for a change. If you are not restricted on sugars, apple butter is pretty tasty too. If you are restricted on sugar, try a bit of sugar free dry jello, any flavor you like. Crushed pineapple is good too.

NOt sure on calories but like a little honey

I also like just a little honey. Maybe a teaspoon. It's super good especially if you choose Greek yogurt.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Love the idea of the sugar substitute and the sugar free instant pudding mix. Never thought of applesauce or pineapple or sugar free jello mix. I really appreciate the help, everyone.

Not sure what the intent is for you to be eating yogurt,
or whether you want to consider other ways to eat yogurt ....


It makes a great topping on baked potatoes, instead of sour cream.

Make a jello ... mix the jello with 1/4 to 1/2 the liquid required.
I usually go with closer to the 1/4 so that I have a good "stiff" jello and get lots of flavour.
Let cool slightly then stir in yogurt, equal to 1/2 the liquid requirements.

It makes a nice snack/treat.
Haven't had it for awhile ... and now that you reminded me, it'll be made today.
My favourite is lime!

A little cocoa powder and a packet of Splenda really changes up the game.

Also, have you tried So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt? Lo cal, light, slight coconut taste, really yummy with fruit.

The Dr. did not tell me to eat yogurt specifically. I like yogurt, but I like flavor in mine and I'm trying to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet so flavored yogurt is out because it's got a lot of sugar in it.

I put a bit of either sugar free or regular jam/jelly in them. Also, cinnamon is good. Blueberries are excellent. A bit of maple syrup. Hubby is diabetic so we get sugar free as much as possible. We use all of the sugar free products sparingly. I also like to use it in smoothies and on top of potatoes or Mexican foods in place of sour cream/crema. Also, use in coleslaw or in salads. I always have some Greek style in my fridge.

Seems like most of these additions would also be adding sugar. You would need to check that carefully if less sugar is your goal. If you read the labels on the various brands and types of yogurt you will find a very big difference in the amount of sugar in each one, each flavor. Some are made with artificial sweeteners, if don't mind those.

My favorite breakfast, when I have time is Fage fat free yogurt. I add some fresh fruit, whatever is in season or frozen. I add just a pinch of stevia and some Fiber One cereal, not the flake kind. Sometimes I add some extract, vanilla and lemon are my favorites. The FIber one cereal kinda tastes like nuts and gives it some crunch.
Some of the flavored yogurt is so full of sugar etc it isn't even healthy anymore. I was doing Weight Watchers for a while, some yogurts have more calories and sugar than ice cream.

My favorite way to eat plain yogurt is with honey, preferably local. It's awesome and honey is good for you as long as you don't use too much.

I love plain yogurt with fresh or frozen grapes.

There's a Just Fruit jam/jelly made by Smuckers. Just a bit will add flavor to yogurt,oatmeal & rice.

The powdered drink mix packets for flavoring water can be found in sugar free or stevia sweetened. I buy the small packets that you add to 16-20 oz water bottles. I add it to taste and keep the remaining powder well sealed for later.

I use plain nonfat yogurt all the time but use it in smoothies...I will add slimfast powder sometimes, frozen fruit (from a package), frozen bananas (adds a lot of flavor). Works for me.

I just discovered the Almond Coconut milk...it is so delicious and only has 30 or less calories per 8 ounces. Yum.

I like the combination of half-thawed frozen blueberries, the original Fiber One cereal, and Walden Farms Calorie Free Pancake Syrup with my plain Greek yogurt. It has been one of my favorite breakfasts ever since I heard someone from one of those extreme diet shows speak. He demonstrated how weighing each serving of the ingredients in a bowl on a kitchen scale saves a bunch of dirty measuring cups.

I buy the plain Greek yogurt from Costco. I have to buy the Walden Farms Syrup online since I can't find it in local stores. It's worth it because it tastes exactly like maple syrup.

Going in a totally different direction here...I make a sauce with yogurt, fresh lemon juice, garlic powder and a bit of cayenne. Then mix up some canned salmon with minced garlic, onions, parsley, bread crumbs and an egg. I shape it into patties, and brown them in a skillet with just a drizzle of olive oil. I serve them with the lemon yogurt sauce. It makes for a quick and tasty lunch.

I take care of my mother, who needs to, but absolutely refuses to, make changes to her diet. We had some really big arguments when I tried to make changes to her diet. I finally realized that I could not change the way she eats, so I had to change the way that I cook for her, so I have had to find sneaky ways of making her eat a little healthier without changing the taste or texture of her food.

Some of the things I do:

I make my own yogurt, and add extra powdered milk to the regular milk for the extra nutrients and blend into the sour cream and mayonnaise.

For scrambled eggs and omelettes, I substitute soft tofu for half of the eggs.

For rice dishes, I started using half rice, half quinoa.

I grind oatmeal into a powder and add it to pancake mix.

I've started using more ground beef, except I substitute half of the meat for one of two things: TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein), or I mix it with grated carrots, zucchinni, chopped spinach, add an egg and some bread crumbs to bind it together, and a dash of Worchestershire for flavor. The TVP does make the meat a little more dense, but I can usually get away with it. With the grated vegetables, however, no one has ever noticed them at all.

She automatically adds salt to everything, even before she tastes it, so the sneakiest thing I did was cover up half the holes in the salt shaker!

A teaspoon of raspberry freezer jam really packs a lot of flavor. It makes it taste like the stir in sweetened kind.

I also like a tiny bit of honey, with cocoa powder... makes it taste like chocolate pudding. Delicious used as a dip with fresh strawberries.

Peaches with nutmeg and cinnamon really gives a peach pie kind of flavor, too.
If you haven't guessed, I eat a lot of fat free plain greek yogurt;-)

Any type of jam or fruit spread is great. You can even use sugar free.

Wow, everyone has some great ideas. I hope you keep them coming, especially the ones used in cooking.

I've been on a diet since Novmber of last year and I have lost 54 pounds. I am starting to get tired of having the same things over and over. These new ideas are really a help.

I frequently make home made yogurt. Yes, I heat the milk, add the starter that has active cultures and put it in the incubator for 6-8 hours. I make 1/2 gal at a time about every 2 weeks. Since I am lactose intolerant, it is a way for me to be able to have milk. I do not like sweet things, so no sugar or sweetener for me. (The store bought yogurts are too sweet for me.) My favorite flavorings include any berry (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry--fresh or frozen), peaches (fresh or frozen), apple with cinnamon, or banana. Adding vanilla or almond extract added to the taste. Peaches with almond extract is fantastic. Sometimes I add chopped walnuts or pecans.

I love nuts! So you could try different chopped nuts-- I am thinking you may not be able to use granola due to the carbs. I make my own granola, and it is always good in yogurt. The sweetener I'd suggest also the Stevia. Extracts can be overpowering, so I too would recommend the vanilla or almond. I would use these when flavoring ricotta cheese for a mock ice cream when on South Beach Diet. Cinnamon might also be a possibility. You could also try banana. Fruit dips with yogurt lime juice, and stevia are good. Fruit smoothies with fresh or frozen fruit, yogurt, stevia, and protein powder are good. You can add spinach or baby kale to the smoothie as well. Frozen drinks like fruit smoothies seem to want more sweetness to taste it in my opinion.

greek yogurt is very popular, but I find it very sour, especially without sweetness.

add a little stevia, and maybe a little sliced berries.

No artificial sweeteners here! To make plain yogurt palatable - I do like sweet, I use a small amount of flavored yogurt mixed with the plain. After a few days, I like the mix better than the regular flavored kind.

I love the new Vanilla Bean Paste. It is excellent for flavoring. Also I found that adding a tiny squirt of the Milo flavoring for drinks make a big taste difference. And you can mix sweetened whipped cream with yogurt, not much sugar in that but the taste is there.

When I still ate yogurt, I bought a large tub of the plain at Costco. It was like $3. I normally added fresh pineapple, or honey, or small bit of jam or jelly. The best is buckwheat honey.

Honey, granola, raisins, or fruit -- I love them all in Greek yogurt.

I make homemade yogurt and love to eat it plain so that I don't have any extra sugars or calories. The texture of commercial yogurt is very off-putting to me now, so I only use it for my culture. I can make a gallon of yogurt in an Instant Pot every 10 days and store it in the refrigerator in glass Mason jars.

If you want to get exotic, try honey and garam masala (an Indian spice blend made up of cinnamon, cloves, anise, ginger etc. It's very similar to pumpkin pie spices.) I find garam masala in the bulk section of our grocery store, but you might have to order it online from an Indian foods store.

~ C