**REVIEW** Noosa Yoghurt

(NOTE: Yes, I am supposed to be getting ready to leave next week and shouldn't be using this time to post to the blog. Thing is, blogging is soothing for me. I need some serious soothing right now. In this post, you will learn about something else that helps make me happy.)

Spicy but offset by the dairy, so...

Remember I told yall that I don't want to be that "big" gal on the plane next week? I'm seriously trying to eat healthy right now. The thing about me is, bad stress takes away my appetite. Positive stress, though, turns me into a nibbler! I've been doing too much nibbling the past month. This week, though, I've been drinking lemon/lime water with flaxseed gel. It does block the appetite, but a girl still has to eat.

Enter... Noosa

One day soon, I plan to train myself to really, really like eating cottage cheese. For now, I am totally in love with yogurt - or, "yogurt", per Noosa spelling.

I've tried so many brands of yogurt that I can't remember them all. A few years ago, I fell in love with the texture of Greek yogurt. Still love it. Noosa is an Austrailian unstrained yogurt that is somewhere between "traditional" and Greek (where Greek is strained and has more protein and, to me, is thicker/richer textured) yogurt. What I like about it are the flavor combinations. (By the way, I just checked and saw that another site agrees about the cross of traditional and Greek consistency!

The other day, I actually tried a very, very thick yogurt from Siggi's. It was, in my opinion, almost too thick. Also, I chose a berry mix flavor and wasn't crazy about that particular taste. What I would like to do is use a plain version of Siggi's (or another Icelandic yogurt) in a food dish because the texture would be perfect for that. (You can check Wikipedia for the different types of yogurts.)

But let's get back to Noosa.

Like I said, what I like most are the favor combinations. So far, I have tried most of them. My top flavor pick is the one I first started with some months ago: Strawberry-Rhubarb. Oh my yum, is it good!

For a while, I was only checking for the flavors at Walmart, which is where I found my all-time favorite: Key Lime. They also had Pumpkin (yuk!!!), Blueberry, Raspberry, Peach, Lemon, Honey, Vanilla, and Plain. I tried the Lemon and the Raspberry but kept going back to the two faves.

Then...

I went into the local Carrs-Safeway (where I rarely shop because, well, I'm on a tight budget and Walmart is cheaper) and fell into Noosa heaven.

Now, I'm not usually one to even get near anything do do with a hot pepper - let alone a habanero or  serrano! But these yogurts.... SO good. There is the heat but it's moderated enough by the dairy that, by the time you get the flavor (and heat) of the peppers, your mouth is being cooled down. I like both but the Blackberry Serrano blend is probably my favorite. Today, my niece and her hubby tried a couple of the spicy flavors and gave them a thumbs up. They call the spicy mixes line "Sweet Heat". Perfectly true. I can't wait to try these:

Overall, Noosa has so many flavors, it's going to take me awhile to try them all:

AND these are not all the flavors, believe it or not.

These are some of the newest:

These 3 are amazing!

This is what Noosa has to say about its ingredients;

What’s the secret to amazing yoghurt? It’s simple: whole milk, a touch of honey, and purée made with real fruit.

This is what Noosa looks like opened and unstirred.

Can eat it stirred or not...

I have tried eating the yogurts stirred and unstirred. I like to stir the ones that have spicy flavors but, sometimes, I will eat the Strawberry/Rhubarb without mixing it. Depends on my mood.

Nutrition-wise, Noosa is a bit heavy on the sugars and fats, according to some sources. (And I'm mad that I didn't get to review samples like this person did a few years back! LOLI guess it depends on what kind of nutrition you look for in your personal diet. Since I was (and will definitely again be) doing a Keto-based diet - heavy on fats and low on carbs - the sugar bothers me but not for my carb-up days when I carb-cycle. Also, just about, anything can be bad for you if you don't practice moderation. As a treat, I prefer Noosa to ice cream, candy, chips, or soda. Right now, since I'm pretty much on a diet of citrus water and yogurt, I'm good with the calories in Noosa. If I could stick to the Plain and Honey flavors, I'd be ahead of the game.

For more detailed info, check the FAQs for Noosa. They even give the recipe for the Blueberry flavor so you can see the ingredients used. You can also find a coupon on the site.

Finally, this is what caught my eye when checking for how "healthy" Noosa is. This is right from their site:

"noosa yoghurt is made with milk from happy cows never treated with rBGH. Our delicious purées are built on a foundation of all-natural fruit, always picked at the peak of ripeness and pureed to luscious perfection. noosa yoghurt is a great source of calcium and protein, and contains live, active cultures, and probiotics (often called good bacteria). Probiotics are living organisms that help maintain balance in your digestive tract, boost your immune system and replenish the other good bacteria in your body."

So, if you were looking to try a new brand or find some awesome flavors, I think you should grap a coupon from the site and give Noosa a gho (you'll get that joke if you read the FAQs!)

Peace
--Free


P.S.: I started writing this post earlier in the week. When the niece and nephew came in from Arizona today, I picked up more Raspberry/Habenero and (first time) Pineapple/Jalapeno. All three of us like the Raspberry better. The Pineapple is nice but is very mild with a lot less heat than the other spicy flavors. I still the that, of the spicy ones, my favorite is now the Blackberry/Serrano.

Oh Yeh for Fage!

Recently  I got coupons to try Fage's Total Greek Yogurt totally free. (This is one of the two best benefits of joining BzzAgent: trying out products and trying them for free!)

(If you have heard of Fage, you might already know that it's pronounced Fah-yeh. I was saying "Fage" and saying it with an attitude like I just knew!)

Now, as excited as I was to try this yogurt, I had forgotten I'd had Fage before. It was back when I was still kind of sick and suffering from memory problems. I have no idea what it was like back then, but I can tell you now that it is YUMMY.

I have always liked yogurt. It's a fun food. Reminds me of when I was young and had a love for things like Jello - I could eat it night and day and liked nearly all the different flavors. If someone had come up with an improved Jello, I'd probably feel the way I do about Greek Yogurt.

If Greek yogurt is an improvement (IMO) over "regular" yogurts, then Fage's Greek yogurt is an improvement over all the Greek yogurts. It's very rich and creamy. I don't usually like plain yogurt, but I gave this a shot and I've decided to use it in place of sour cream and fruit toppings. It's that good.

Hilariously, I did a very Trudy thing and forgot the dang coupon for my freebie when I went to the store so I paid for the first couple containers. (Don't worry, I will be going back!)

I gave my sister a taste of the strawberry yogurt. My sister is not into what she calls "weeds and berries and such," but she was all up into that yogurt! LOL I gave her a coupon to get her own container.  Since Fage puts the leaves the fruit separate from the yogurt, one thing my sister liked was the ability to add as much (or as little) of the fruit into the yogurt.

My favorite things about Fage?

• The creamy texture. You get that by stirring the yogurt well before mixing in the fruit (or just eating the plain). 
• The taste of the fruit. Not too sweet or tart or "fake" tasting. (The fruit flavors partly from concentrate, by the way.)
• The 11 grams* of protein. (Important for some folks, like my sister)

For vegetarians and other health-minded folks, the calories run from 170 to 220* and the product is gluten-free. Other nutrition information is given here.

Aside from eating the yogurts right out of their containers, you can serve them up prettily (like this), or you can try some of the recipes given by the folks at Fage. Also, check out their tzatziki sauce (for savories, like gyros) and their feta.

If you haven't joined Bzz Agent yet (and why not?), check back to see if Fage has coupons available. In the meantime, if I know you, I'll hand you a coupon the next time I see you!

Peace

--Free

* for the 5.3 oz Total Zero variety

DISCLAIMER: I received coupons for free Fage yogurt from BzzAgent.