Monday, June 28, 2010

Let's compare: Yogurt

Many years ago my husband and I stopped buying yogurt brands like Yoplait and Dannon in favor of yogurt from Trader Joe's. To be honest it was the message about no artificial growth hormones and the absence of artificial sweeteners that made me switch. A few years ago, we switched again. In line with our love for Clover brand products, my husband started buying Clover Organic yogurts. I landed on Brown Cow conventional yogurt.

Clover Organic: Cultured Certified Organic Low Fat Milk, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Pectin, Organic Vanilla Flavor, Cultures.

Brown Cow: Cultured Pasteurized Reduced Fat Milk, Evaporated Cane Juice, Tapioca Starch, Vanilla Extract, Natural Flavor, Vanilla Bean Specks, Pectin. Contains Live Active Cultures.

Trader Joe's Organic: Organic Cultured Pasteurized Reduced Fat Milk, Naturally Milled Evaporated Cane Sugar, Organic Extract of Vanilla, Organic Locust Bean Gum, Pectin, Live Active Cultures.

Yoplait Original: Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Low Fat Milk, Sugar, Strawberries, Modified Corn Starch, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nonfat Milk, Kosher Gelatin, Citric Acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Pectin, Colored with Carmine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3.

I couldn't find a list of ingredients anywhere on the Yoplait site however I was able to find them on another blog. Thanks Fooducate!

There are some big differences. And looks to me like my husband (as he always does) chose a great one. My Brown Cow isn't too bad but does have a longer ingredient list. The Yoplait contains extra junk such as High Fructose Corn Syrup and is colored with Carmine? I was curious about what Carmine was so I looked it up. Um, no thanks.

As for price, the Clover is most expensive at $1.29 container. Brown Cow and TJ's are 99¢ and Yoplait is typically 79¢. My husband eats a yogurt everyday, at least Monday through Friday so it does add up. Luckily, Clover does occasionally go on sale for $1 each, that helps. I also feel like I'm saving us money by buying Brown Cow for myself. At 79¢, I understand Yoplait is more budget friendly but the thing to keep in mind is there's stuff in it that we shouldn't be consuming on a daily basis. It contains more additives than real food. Buy the "light" version and get Aspartame too.

In regards to Dannon, I wanted to say although I didn't use them in this comparison, they do offer an "All Natural" version that has a decent ingredient list. The flavors are limited but in a pinch, I'd opt for Dannon All Natural over Yoplait.

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