Yogurt

By: Amelia Attwood, RD, LD

The sky's the limit with the endless flavors and food products to try with yogurt. It’s no wonder that yogurt is available in so many different variations because it is packed with nutrients. In recent years yogurt has been heavily researched for its probiotic benefits. Prebiotics are primarily derived from fibrous foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Probiotics are good bacteria that aid in digestion of meals, especially meals containing prebiotic rich foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Some probiotic foods include yogurt, frozen yogurt, Greek yogurt, and kiefer. Making a habit to include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy regularly can help maintain regular bathroom habits.

Yogurt is a nutrition dense dairy product containing high quality protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, probiotics, and fat-soluble vitamins in whole milk varieties. Animal products such as dairy are a high-quality source of protein because they contain all the essential amino acids. Phosphorus is a mineral stored in the bones and teeth that supports metabolism. Fat soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K, these vitamins require dietary fat in meals to be digested and absorbed.

The producers of the yogurt featured at school this month are known as Country View Dairy located in Hawkeye, Iowa. They are a dairy farm selling yogurt, milk, sour cream, and frozen yogurt. Their yogurt is sold through retailers, hospitals, schools, and other institutions within the Midwest. Their yogurt gets delivered across seven states. The Iowa Food Hub is one of their many distributors, delivering healthy and locally grown food to schools in North Iowa in recent years. Mennonite family, Dave & Carolee Rapson, recognized the need for local, nutritious, and cultured foods in Northeast Iowa in 2011, so they began to expand their offerings to include yogurt. You may now find they offer plain or vanilla yogurt, plain Greek yogurt, or fun flavored single servings.

Yogurt may serve many purposes in smoothies, salads, and sauces. Greek yogurt makes a great food for substitutions. Greek yogurt can limit your trips to the grocery store and shorten the length of your shopping list. The most common way to use Greek yogurt is as a substitute to mayonnaise and sour cream. This creates a great base for sweet or savory protein rich dips.  For a sweet dip mix a 1:1 ratio of yogurt and peanut butter with chocolate chips, a teaspoon of honey, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. For a savory dip combine Greek yogurt, dill, and a Hidden Valley ranch seasoning packet. At school the ranch provided in the cafeteria is made from a low-fat Greek yogurt base. This month at school students will taste test several different flavors of yogurt.