The Type Of Yogurt A Nutritionist Always Buys

The yogurt aisle of a grocery store can be quite overwhelming. With all the options and varieties, it's hard to narrow down which type of yogurt best fits your lifestyle and dietary needs. To narrow it down, it can help to follow the choices of professional nutritionists or dietitians, who typically make well-informed choices when it comes to eating. Tasting Table spoke with Angel Luk, a registered dietitian, to get the skinny on what yogurt she keeps in her fridge.  

"I quite enjoy the Costco plain Greek yogurt," Luk told Tasting Table. "It's free from saturated fats, rich in protein and calcium, and acts as a great base for sweet and savory dishes," she explained. Costco's Kirkland Signature organic nonfat Greek yogurt is one of the six yogurts to buy at Costco, and it packs 18 grams of protein per ⅔ cup serving, with only 3 grams of sugar and a mere 100 calories. A serving of the yogurt also contains 15% of the daily recommended value of calcium. 

As Luk mentioned, Costco's Kirkland Signature organic nonfat Greek yogurt has no saturated fats. These are known to increase the risk of heart disease as well as contribute to higher levels of cholesterol, so they are best to avoid when possible.

When asked about her favorite way to enjoy Costco's Greek yogurt, Angel Luk doesn't stick to just sweet or savory. Plain Greek yogurt is adaptable to any flavor profile you're interested in at the moment. "For sweet, I top it with fresh or frozen fruit and a drizzle of honey," she said. Fresh fruit adds much-needed fiber to the yogurt, especially fruits with an impressively high fiber content. This is why it's great to stock your fridge with plain yogurt rather than flavored. Not to mention, fruit-based or flavored yogurts tend to have high amounts of added sugar. "Because it's plain, I can adjust the amount of added sugar or seasoning to suit my family's preferences and needs," explained Luk.

Luk shared many ways to use Greek yogurt in savory applications. "I'll use it to replace sour cream, and add a dollop onto eggs or toast with or without salsa and avocado," Luk told us. Greek yogurt's richness mimics sour cream, without the excess fat and carbohydrates. Not just for breakfast, "I also use [Greek yogurt] in baking to replace sour cream or regular yogurt, so I have a more protein-rich end product," Luk noted. If you're looking for more exciting ways to use Greek yogurt in a savory application, try Tasting Table's recipe for Turkish poached eggs, which uses plain Greek yogurt mixed with garlic, herbs, and spices as a base for warm poached eggs.