Do dudes eat Greek Yogurt?
This was the question facing me, quite literally, as I contemplated my manhood over the pink-masked container of Chobani yogurt on my desk. Even the yuletide offerings of Bing Crosby, playing slowly in my peripheral, weren’t enough to distract me from this most pressing of concerns. After all, I had not once (and still have not) seen a grown adult male reach for the ultra-chic dairy byproduct, which I’ve found to be a favorite of the kind of “healthy balance” women’s cooking blogs that I may or may not accidentally stumble upon every so often. Knowing such, I freely admit that I was tempted to back away as I continued to debate the matter with myself.
Still, I pressed forward, yet with questions still abounding. Sure, the 6 oz. container packed twice the protein of a regular nonfat yogurt; and true, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to boost my calcium intake and eat something that was actually good for me over the Holidays, but was I really willing to risk my manhood over the issue? It was as if Burt Reynolds and the rest of the Man Law Counsel had called an emergency pre-Christmas session to deliberate on my actions. What would the verdict be? I gulped, took a deep breath, and then drew my spoon.
Ok, ok, enough of the dramatic monologue. Truth be told, my first experience with Greek yogurt was anticlimactic, to say the least. At $1.25 for a 6 oz. container I normally avoid this stuff, but a “Dollar Off Any Chobani Product” coupon finally got me to bite. I ended up purchasing their “plain” flavor, which I can best describe as having a tart-tangy taste which has a slightly bitter quality about it. In other words it tasted like plain yogurt, just with the “tang” factor slightly intensified. And yes, I am one of “those” people who actually does buy plain flavored nonfat yogurt and adds their own fruit. But that’s not the point. The point is that Greek yogurt (so I’ve been told) is suppose to deliver a level of creaminess which far surpasses that of regular yogurt, and in this instance I can say that Chobani just didn’t deliver. It was creamier than regular nonfat yogurt to be sure, but compared to low-fat yogurt I found it almost indistinguishable in mouth feel and texture.
Honestly, after trying Chobani Greek Yogurt, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Yes, I am all for its nutritional merit, but in the end nonfat Greek yogurt seemed to taste and feel a lot like regular old lowfat yogurt. I guess if you really, really, really feel it necessary to shave off 3 grams of fat and bulk up the protein you could make this a regular purchase, but in the end I think I’ll just stick to a well balanced diet and regular old, 50-cent yogurt. To sum it all up: not a bad product, but probably not worth the price considering the alternatives.
