I am old enough that I remember the time when there was no such thing as yogurt in conventional grocery stores. It wasn’t until the health movement in the 1970s that yogurt started showing up.
Of course now you can find yogurt in all flavors, types, and containers. Essentially, it is a healthy food as long as you take a few precautions.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
This is a controversial ingredient. Some people feel it is OK while others try to stay away from it. Do your research and come to your own conclusions.
Personally, I don’t like eating highly processed foods so this is a no in our household. Yoplait has taken it out of their yogurt and started using real sugar again but most companies are still using the HFCS.
Aspartame
Aspartame is a sugar substitute. It is falling out of favor with the public because there are new studies that show that it may cause adverse effects both long and short term. It is being replaced in some brands with sucralose which more people feel comfortable with.
I don’t let my kids have artificial sweeteners of any sort because I don’t really trust them. I prefer that if we use something other than pure cane sugar, it is stevia.
Artificial Colorings
Artificial colorings are controversial. In fact, they are not permitted in food in many European countries so the American companies make European versions of their product without colorings. This is another one of those issues that you should do a little research on so that you can form your own educated opinion.
Carmine is a red coloring that people sometimes get upset about. Not me.
Carmine is made from ground cochineal beetles. Now, while it may sound disgusting it is natural and has been used for hundreds of years. Plus, people of many countries, including Mexico, still do eat various insects as food.
Gross as this may sound I would rather have ground bugs that are not going to affect my health than an artificial dye which is questionable.
Carrageenan
Carrageenan is derived from seaweed and is added to products to make them creamier. You’ll find it in heavy whipping cream, cottage cheese, puddings, and yogurt plus a ton of other (mostly dairy) products.
There are some reports that it can cause gastrointestinal issues, including some forms of cancer. Buying organic yogurt may not totally solve the problem either. Many of the companies that produce organic yogurts use the product. Look for alternatives like guar, locust bean, and xanthan gum.
Make Your Own
Yogurt is a cinch to make and you can control what is going into it. Homemade yogurt is much cheaper than commercial yogurt, too. There are instructions all over the Internet so I won’t go into that here.
One of the things I like to do is to heat a vanilla bean in the milk as I am heating it up for the yogurt because it adds a delicate vanilla flavor. I also like to put jam on the bottom of the jars before I add the yogurt.
You can copy any kind of yogurt your child likes and make it cheaper and healthier at home.
photo credit: lupinoduck via photopin cc
