Test date: May 2010
Tester: Michele and sister Stephanie
Products for this test purchased at Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's.
MICHELE'S OPINION: Let me be completely honest here and disclose that I do not like non-fat foods, and rarely eat them (see the 'About Me' side bar on my blog's home page). I find that they often taste like chemicals, and frankly there are normally a lot of ingredients in non-fat foods that I just don't want to put in my body. If I have to choose one of these, then my (and my sister Stephanie's) choices are below. Unfortunately, Chobani's has the best nutrition, but in our opinion it was the worst of the group (perhaps I should have known: low calorie, low carb, low sodium, how could it possibly be good?!). I can't wait to try the full fat versions of these yogurts in another test.......Read on for more details on price, nutrition, and taste:
PRICE COMPARISON FOR 5-6OZ YOGURT (store first, then brand):
$1.79 Fred Meyer Chobani
$1.69 Trader Joe's Organic Greek
$1.49 Fred Meyer Greek Gods
$1.05 Trader Joe's Greek Style
$1.00 Fred Meyer Yoplait
1. Chobani Greek Yogurt, Non-fat Vanilla: This yogurt has a plastic-y flavor and although is supposedly vanilla, does not have a strong vanilla flavor or much sweetness. As for texture, it has a very thick consistency, but has an almost powdery aftertaste and leaves a residue on your tongue.
2. Yoplait Greek 2X Protein, Fat Free Honey Vanilla: This product is sweeter than the Chobani brand and has almost a cherry hard candy flavor. Stephanie thought it tasted like cherry cough syrup. It has a creamy consistancy but is not very thick.
3. The Greek Gods Greek Yogurt, Reduced Fat Vanilla with cinnamon and orange flavors: This yogurt has the most flavor overall of these options, and although the primary flavor is vanilla, the orange cinammon notes are the stars here. This product has a similar consistancy (creamy but not thick) to Yoplait.
4. Trader Joe's Organic Greek Style Nonfat Yogurt, Vanilla: This yogurt has a very thick consistency with no grainy aftertaste. This is the only option where you can actually see the vanilla beans. This product has a slightly dry aftertaste and leaves a bit of a residue on your tongue. It also is the most sour of the products tested (although it is not overly sour).
5. Trader Joe's Greek Style Vanilla Nonfat Yogurt: This product has the most intense vanilla flavor and has a very thick consistency. However, it has a bit of a chalky aftertaste.
NUTRITIONAL NOTES: (All data for a 6oz. serving) Calorie-wise, Chobani is the winner with 120 calories. The Greek Gods yogurt packs the heaviest punch with 170, while the other three fell in the middle with 130 to 150 calories. For carbohydrate conscious consumers, Chobani also would be a good pick, with only 13 grams of carbs. Greek Gods has the highest carb count at 24 grams per serving. Again, the three others fall in the middle with 19 to 22 grams of carbs.
With most of these products being non-fat, I automatically assume that they will have lots of sodium, but that doesn't seem to hold with these choices. The product with the highest sodium content, 100mg, was the only low-fat version, Greek Gods! Both Trader Joe's nonfat options have the lowest sodium (about 46mg), while Chobani does pretty well with 65mg. Yoplait comes close to Greek Gods with 95mg of sodium.
It's also important to note that Chobani blows away the competiton in terms of protein content, with a whopping 16g per serving. The other options range from 7g to 13g per serving.
TASTE WINNER: If you don't mind an orange cinammon flavor (Stephanie didn't like it, but I did), go for Greek Gods. Whatever the flavor, it was the tastiest of the bunch. For general vanilla flavor, it's a tie between the two Trader Joe's options - it really depends on what type of yogurt you prefer. For a slightly sour bite, go for the Organic version. If you dislike sour and can stand a bit of a chalky aftertaste, go for the non-organic Trader Joe's.
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