Plain yogurt is so gross!

[Ldavis24]

That is the unfortunate conclusion that DH and DD and I have come to.

After reading the posts about stonyfield yo baby yogurt and how much sugar there is in them (something I never noticed and have been giving DD for ages) we decided to try the plain yobaby yogurt as it has no sugar...

Well it was disgustingly sour. Yikes!! Is that how it is supposed to taste?

We also got some TJ's plain whole milk yogurt too and that was even more sour. So sour we just threw it away immediately because NONE of us was going to touch it..

Is that how plain yogurt is supposed to be? And how do you eat it? I can barely put it on my tongue without wanting to use a shoe horn to scrape my tongue clean..

DD was not impressed when I shoved some plain yobaby in her mouth lwith mashed blueberries and bananas in it...She was very unhappy about the taste.

Is homemade plain yogurt better tasting? I want to eat the plain but I just can't get past the taste!

[BetsyS]

You can put sugar in it.  Or honey.  Or whatever sweetener you like.

I think going from pre-sweetened yogurt to plain is quite a jump.  Sort of like going from frou-frou Starbucks drinks to black coffee.  Too extreme for me.  I'd take baby steps. 

FWIW, I eat yogurt with honey and granola mostly.  My kids eat it with a spoonful of jam stirred in.

[beebalmmama]

Honestly it is an acquired taste if you've been eating a lot of sweetened yogurt. I mix ds's yogurt with pureed prunes and it tastes pretty sweet to me (usually 1/2 prunes and 1/2 yogurt). I've found that once we switched to yogurt with less sugar (usually vanilla flavor) that the plain yogurt doesn't taste so sour to me anymore. Ds 5.5yrs will eat plain yogurt if I sprinkle a little sugar in it.

Maybe try mixing it with a sweeter or more concentrated fruit than banana.

Originally Posted by Ldavis24 

That is the unfortunate conclusion that DH and DD and I have come to.

After reading the posts about stonyfield yo baby yogurt and how much sugar there is in them (something I never noticed and have been giving DD for ages) we decided to try the plain yobaby yogurt as it has no sugar...

Well it was disgustingly sour. Yikes!! Is that how it is supposed to taste?

We also got some TJ's plain whole milk yogurt too and that was even more sour. So sour we just threw it away immediately because NONE of us was going to touch it..

Is that how plain yogurt is supposed to be? And how do you eat it? I can barely put it on my tongue without wanting to use a shoe horn to scrape my tongue clean..

DD was not impressed when I shoved some plain yobaby in her mouth lwith mashed blueberries and bananas in it...She was very unhappy about the taste.

Is homemade plain yogurt better tasting? I want to eat the plain but I just can't get past the taste!

[Arduinna]

I love plain yogurt, buy small containers of healthy full fat whole milk yogurt and find a brand you like. We love Nancy's and Fage. There are quite a few horrid tasting yogurts in the health food stores and Whole Foods, you have to find the one you like. Of course it helps if you aren't already used to the sickening sweet stuff.

[ammiga]

We mix it with honey and/or granola and/or pure fruit puree.

[Arduinna]

Personally, I'd just quit with the sweetened fruit yogurt ( and I'm not anti sugar in general). Start serving it as a savory and coolant. Outside the US yogurt is not traditionally served all sweetened up. It's awesome as raita with veggies like beets or cucumber in it as a side dish. It's also used in a variety of savory dips with mint or dill and garlic. It makes a great smoothie base a la lassi. At this point their taste buds equate yogurt with sugary fruit flavors, widen the repertoire.

[Addie]

Originally Posted by BetsyS 

I think going from pre-sweetened yogurt to plain is quite a jump.  Sort of like going from frou-frou Starbucks drinks to black coffee.  Too extreme for me.  I'd take baby steps. 

I think this is very true. We all eat plain whole milk yogurt, usually from Trader Joe's. It's the only kind of yogurt DS (15 mo) has ever had, he eats it many mornings and often as a mid-day snack.

Like PPs said, you could sweeten it with honey, maple syrup, or fresh fruit and you'd still come out ahead of pre-sweetened yogurt. Sometimes we'll blend it with frozen mangoes or blueberries (also from TJ's) or banana as a treat for DS, he loves it.

[oiseau]

When I got a blender and started making smoothies last year, it took me a long time to find a plain yogurt I liked. I'm used to pretty sweet stuff too and I was trying to cut back on sugar in the smoothie (I actually don't add any sweeteners, so I just wanted to get rid of the sugar in the yogurt). It took lots of tries to find a plain yogurt that I didn't think was horrific. I've found that the plain Fage is really yummy but plain Stonyfield or TJ's brand (those are actually the same I think) were both icky to me. In the end, I found a local brand that they sell at my health food store that I can eat plain without making a face! You might want to try a few different brands to see if you can find another one you like better. There's a pretty wide variation in flavors of plain yogurt.

Stirring in granola, fruit or some type of sweetener helps too! In my experience, homemade plain yogurt is less sour to me though I still have to stir something in to really enjoy it. At least that way I can control how much sugar I'm stirring in.

[Sol_y_Paz]

I also do not care for the taste and texture, greek yogurt has a different texture that is more tolerable to me.  But I still buy plain, only I can't eat it straight.  You can use spices and make a dip to dip veggies or pita chips in.  Instead of butter or milk use yogurt for noodles like mac and cheese.  Put a small amount in a bowl and add some honey, fresh fruits and granola with spices like cinnamon or a drop of vanilla.  It tastes great as a thickener in smoothies.

[JudiAU]

This thread made me laugh. YoBaby plain is actually a really mild culture and I buy it because both kids like it plain. But they've always been eating it...

Yes, the other yobaby has added sugar but it LESS than adult yogurt. My kids get totally excited when they get the flavors. (We always have yogurt in the bath.)

But don't get me started on the switch to homogenized. Still really irritated about it.

Sugar content is yogurt varies a lot. Vanilla almost always has the most sugar. If your family is used to commericially sweetened, it will be hard to duplicate it at home. Instead, consider "watering down" flavored yogurt. I like Wallaby and TJ's like-Wallaby and mix in full fat greek. The thick greek helps the texture from getting too thin and cuts the sugar but retains quite a lot of flavor. I like the extra fat for the kids and finding full fat flavored is fine.

[Ldavis24]

Yay! Thank you for all the ideas.

I have a confession...I LOVE YOBABY. I like it more than regular yogurts especially because you can NEVER find whole milk yogurt anymore and that is all I like anway. The other stuff is just beyond nasty...How can you have yogurt with ZERO fat...so gross...

Anyway yes we have been sweetened yogurt people since before DD was born. I actually never thought about it even though I am usually obsessed with everything we eat.

I love yobaby just vanilla, sooo yummy. I also put granola in it all the time (homemade maple almond yum!) and that is often a breakfast with me. Usually with some banana or blueberries that DD didn't eat.

I like the idea of buying the sweet still but cutting it with plain to slowly introduce just plain yogurt.

Also I will try the sweetening ideas of honey or maybe even maple syrup (my favorite)...

I seriously just thought we got a bad batch of yogurt! DH was shocked as well.

I bet you would find most people would be shocked ,its all I grew up with...yoplait blurgh

[Ann15]

I also like using frozen fruit because it gives off more juice to flavor the yogurt.  The wild organic frozen blueberries from TJ's are really small and easy for little ones to eat once they get past needing them mashed.  My DC like the yobaby or TJ's kids' yogurt that is similar, but it's more of a treat if we are traveling and need something more convenient.  Like when we go to the IL's and the "strawberry" yogurt MIL buys is just pink without any actual fruit in it.

[HollyBearsMom]

Why not start by adding a some jam and then slowly reducing the amount you add.  I use a pure fruit jam that has no added sugar-its just the fruit and fruit juice for sweetener.  You can either swirl it in or puree it for a smoother consistency that is more like Yo baby.

Your local HF store should have no sugar added jam or if in your US you could try Whole Foods or Trader Joes. If you don't have those stores Polaner is an OK name brand one you can find in any US grocery store,

[Llyra]

A spoonful of jam in a cup of yogurt is our solution... Another idea would be to go gradually-- when I "weaned" DD1 onto plain, I started by mixing it. I'd give her a bowl of sweetened, with a small amount of plain, and then gradually increase the amount of plain.

[mommy212]

Almost every morning, i feed DS (16 months) a bowl of sliced banana, blueberries, whatever other soft fruits I have with just enough plain yogurt to coat it, and I also mix in some oats and flax oil or flax seeds. He loves it and has since i started making it a few months ago. You will get used to it if you try it - i don't even like sweetened yogurt anymore and I am a sugar-holic. Also I don't know if you have tried organic whole milk yogurt but i find it tastes sweeter than non-organic. I also mix a spoonful into applesauce with oats and flax oil for breakfast sometimes too and he enjoys that as well.

[staceychev]

Originally Posted by Ldavis24 
The other stuff is just beyond nasty...How can you have yogurt with ZERO fat...so gross...

Anyway yes we have been sweetened yogurt people since before DD was born. I actually never thought about it even though I am usually obsessed with everything we eat.

Oh, gosh--is the plain yogurt you bought NON-FAT? GROSS! I agree with PPs that the sour taste is definitely something you need to acclimate to. That, to me, is worth trying. But non-fat? Never! 

[Llyra]

In general, the higher the fat content of your yogurt, the sweeter its natural taste would be. Plain fat-free yogurt tastes, to me, like stinky feet.

I've made yogurt from Jersey milk before, with very high milkfat content-- 7 or even 9%-- and it's wonderfully sweet. One solution to commercial whole-milk yogurt (which is about 3.5% milkfat) is to add extra cream to it.

[erratum]

I'm not usually a big fan of stevia, but I find that sour things can really stand up to the "fake" after taste and you don't notice it. Plain yogurt works GREAT with stevia (especially this stuff: http://www.amazon.com/Stevia-Clear-Liquid-Vanilla-Creme/dp/B000ELQNRO ) . It makes a good lemonade, too. 

[Ldavis24]

Originally Posted by staceychev 

Oh, gosh--is the plain yogurt you bought NON-FAT? GROSS! I agree with PPs that the sour taste is definitely something you need to acclimate to. That, to me, is worth trying. But non-fat? Never! 

Ohh no. Never non fat yogurt in this house. ONLY whole milk yogurt. I was referencing non fat in regard to growing up being fed non fat yoplait (blech). My mom still tries to give DD that when we visit and I end up buying some whole milk stuff for her. We generally only do organic dairy products as well. Being a huge dairy fiend myself (I can easily drink a half gallon of milk in a day if I don't keep an eye on it) I can easily taste the difference between most dairy that is either organic or non organic.

DH actually bought some plain Stonyfield yogurt today and he mixed honey in it. It was really good! Totally edible and we both had some. DD was still not impressed but this kid HATES the taste of honey as much as I wish she'd like it. 

[Elizabeth2008]

if you're used to Yo Baby, you might have a hard time!  Lol... that stuff is soooo sweet.  I love plain yogurt, but it is an aquired taste, just like keifir or buttermilk.  DS had nothing but plain yogurt until he was 2 and he loved it.  You can put honey in it or use it in smoothies.  Also, you can use it instead of sour cream in soups or mexican food.  I get the whole milk kind for sure, it's much better.  I use it to go with corn tamales and in tomato soup.  yum.   With fruit and a little honey it's also delicious.  Then again, it just may not be your cup of tea