Think of all the high protein food swaps, low-calorie "cheat meals," and anabolic dessert recipes you see on your for you page. What do most of these recipes have in common? There's one ingredient that comes to mind—protein powder.
Personally, I choose not to invest in protein powder (for now at least). So every time is see a beautiful new high-protein, low-calorie brownie recipe, I remember I mustn't get my hopes up.
"One tablespoon zero-calorie sweetener." Yes, I have that. "Two tablespoons oat milk." Yes, I got that too. "One tablespoon almond flour." Yup, just bought it. "One scoop chocolate whey protein powder." Oh. Well I don't have that. Guess I can't make it.
This scenario has happened far too many times. At least six a day, to be exact. If you're someone who takes protein powder, that's wonderful. I have nothing against you. I'm happy for you. I've just always found an excuse not to. At first, I was scared to try it, uncertain of any side-effects. I treated it like some magic powder that only body-builders were allowed to use. Over time, I learned that that was far from the truth. When I finally considered purchasing it, I simply looked at the price tag and knew my bank had already started dialing me. I wasn't about to let them finish, so I got as far away from the supplement aisle as possible.
I have quickly come to to terms with the fact that I will not be buying protein powder any time soon. And it has not at all been a challenge. Here's why—non-fat Greek yogurt.
I know what you're thinking, they couldn't be more different. The color, texture, and, though I've never tried protein powder, taste are wildly different. Okay, so maybe yogurt isn't exactly a powder, but other than that, they're essentially identical, right? In all seriousness, if you're really trying to eat healthier, Greek yogurt is a must-have. Not just any Greek-yogurt though. Non-fat or low-fat are excellent sources of protein for not that many calories. Non-fat would be ideal, but low-fat will do.
Let's take a look at the macros of one serving of non-fat Greek yogurt:
One serving (3/4 cup or 170g)
90-100 calories
16-18g protein
5-8g carbs
0g fat
The exact amount of calories and macronutrients depends on the brand and source of the yogurt, but this is a rough estimate.
There is no set amount of protein you should be consuming each day. The specific ratio is heavily debated. Some sources say one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight, some say 80% of your weight in pounds, etc. For me, I try to get at least 70% of my target weight (in pounds). In other words, if my goal is to weigh 110 pounds, I'd try to get a minimum of 77 (70% of 110) grams of protein per day.
Here is a trick I use to determine if a food is high in protein. Take the number of calories per serving, and divide it by 10. For the food to be high in protein, the grams of protein per serving should be at least as much as the number you just got. For instance, if a serving of milk is 125 calories, for it to be high in protein, it should have a minimum of around 12 grams (give or take a few). If it has at least 12, I know that it is, in fact, high in protein. When I first heard about this trick, it was a game changer. Previously, when I looked at a nutrition label, I never thought to compare the ratio of protein to calories. If I saw that a food had 30 grams of protein, it didn't matter to me if it was 500 calories. I immediately assumed that it was a good source of protein. This rule increased my awareness about what foods are actually high in protein. If you didn't already have a sense of this, my hope is that it can do the same for you.
This is just a reminder that everything I share here is just my opinion and has worked for me. I'm not a nutritionist or health-expert of any sort, so it's a good idea to do your own research and find out what you need.
Anyway, going back to Greek yogurt, let's use the trick mentioned above. A serving of non-fat Greek yogurt has 90-100 calories, so it should have at least 9-10 grams to be high in protein. If we go back and check, we can see that it has 16-18, which is nearly double! From this, we can conclude that Greek yogurt is an excellent source of protein.
In addition to the wonderful macros, Greek yogurt is extremely versatile. Remember how I was comparing it to protein powder? I'd say it has even more uses than protein powder.
Traditionally, yogurt is a breakfast food that can be enjoyed with nuts, berries, honey, granola, oats, and whatever else you can think of. However, in many cultures, it's a lot more than that. For example, in South Asian food, yogurt can be added as a side or mixed in with dals, lentils, and even rice. In fact, curd rice is a staple of South-Indian cuisine. In Turkey, it's added alongside a hot meal. In France, it's served as a dessert (Sifferlin, 2015). I myself consume it twice a day at least. As someone who had followed a vegetarian diet for most of my life, Greek yogurt was (and still is) a life-saver. Without any meat, it was very difficult to get my daily intake of protein in. When I learned of the insane macros of Non-fat Greek yogurt, I just had to gets my hands on some.
I know I've been praising it in every other sentence, so if you haven't already tasted it, I should warn you. If you have tasted it, you probably know where I'm going with this. Here the thing: non-fat Greek yogurt is disgusting. It's sour, not at all sweet, and the texture is a tad iffy. So how is it such a big part of my diet then? How do I even tolerate it? As much honey, fruit, and granola you're thinking of adding—forget it. Maybe it'll be different for you, but I had to add copious amounts of honey just to make sure that I didn't destroy my tastebuds for the rest of the week. By that point, it didn't even taste like yogurt anymore. There's one simple ingredient I use to fix this issue. I don't need to add ridiculous amounts of it and it adds barely any calories—zero to be precise. This "magical" ingredient I'm referring to is zero-calorie sweeter. This could be stevia, erythritol, monk fruit, or something else. I like to add around eight to 10 grams of sweetener per serving of yogurt. After this, you can add whatever toppings you'd like to, or even just have it plain. Sorry for going off topic for a moment, but I had to warn you.
Once you're good with the taste, the next step is figuring out how to use it. Sure, there's nothing wrong with having it plain, but there are so many other options to choose from. Why shouldn't you make your food more fun to eat? There are hundreds of ways to eat a food or use an ingredient. Here are ten:
Add any toppings you want to make a yogurt bowl
Use it in baking as an alternative to oil (in pancakes, waffles, cake, etc.)
Blend it with frozen fruit for a smoothie bowl
Combine with flour to make dough (for pizzas, cinnamon rolls, bagels, etc.)
Add it to burritos or burrito bowls
Make a dipping sauce by adding honey and condiments
Blend it into a pasta sauce by adding sweetener, milk, cheese, and spices
Spread it over a graham cracker crust to make a cheesecake
Add any fruit, milk, or other mix-ins; blend; and freeze for protein ice cream
Try making your own creation
Have fun with this. Look up any recipe you want online. There's nothing that doesn't exist on the internet these days. If for some reason it doesn't, make your own.
Whether or not you're trying to eat healthier, I hope this post was of some use to you. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors, with or without Greek yogurt. Go try a new recipe, have fun with it, and let me know how it goes.
References
Sifferlin, Alexandra. “How People around the World like Their Yogurt.” Time, Time, 20 Feb. 2015, time.com/3716717/global-greek-yogurt-preferences/.
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