Goin' Greek

Before you get all excited...no, I'm not running away to Greece with a handsome Greek man.  I'm not that lucky.  (Just kidding, honey!)

I'm sure you've all heard about the Greek yogurt craze that has been going on for a while.  I have been SO reluctant to buy into it.  Yeah, sure it's healthier for you...it's yogurt...but can it really replace my Yoplait?  I doubt it.  Well in an effort to get healthy...I caved.  I bought three different brands of Greek yogurt to see if it was all it was cracked up to be.  The verdict: not a fan.  Honestly, it's not bad, but it doesn't taste anything like 'regular' yogurt.  I suppose my expectation was my first problem.  It's not the same thing, so why should it taste the same?  I found that it's much more tangy than yogurt and if I'm going to eat it say, for breakfast, I'd go with the Fage that has a 'two compartment' container where the larger compartment contains plain yogurt and the other, smaller side has a fruit jam that's pretty tasty.  I like it separate so that I can customize how sweet I want my yogurt.

Something I did notice while eating the plain yogurt...it tasted a lot like sour cream, but creamier!  Now, after thinking I'd had an epiphany, I read online that there may have been a few who caught on before me.   Nevertheless!  I'm excited...I'm trying this out.

I decided to try my new sour cream substitute out on a classic...tacos.  Taco night is sacred in our house.  It must only come on a night where my boyfriend does not have to work the next morning.  He claims this is important so that he can take his time eating and enjoy a few beers with his meal without having to worry about getting up the next day.  If it's not bad enough that I have to schedule taco night, he's painfully picky about his tacos and their toppings.  He MUST have Taco Bell packets (chilled, of course), onion diced very small (chilled) and black olives sliced (also chilled).  Also, the sour cream must be in a bag with the tip snipped just right for easy application.  His mother assures me that his pickiness isn't her fault, and I'm inclined to think she's right...he must just be unbalanced.  I digress...

Since my dear boyfriend has been such a good sport with my other cooking adventures, I opted to offer him his regular sour cream and just try the Greek yogurt myself.  Of course, seeing something new in the kitchen usually piques his interest...he asked what the heck I was putting on my taco that wasn't sour cream.  He tried it and said that, to him, it didn't taste quite like the real deal, but **gasp** BETTER!

Holy crap.  He likes it.  Hallelujah!  So we've made the switch...healthier, keeps better, and I can add fruit and eat it for breakfast.

And in case my word isn't good enough reason for you to go try it, let me just say that 2 tablespoons of the regular Greek yogurt is approximately 28 calories.  Two tablespoons of regular sour cream is about 60 calories.  So by making this little switch you'll save yourself 32 or so calories!  Doesn't sound like a lot...but it adds up!  Let's just say you make this switch everyday for a week...that's a total of 224 calories.  You could 'spend' those calories on a Coconut Creme Frappuccino from Starbucks.  You know...if you're into that sort of thing...

Sources:
Greek Yogurt Nutrition Facts
Sour Cream Nutrition Facts
Starbucks Nutrition Facts

Greece Photo