Yog Blog

Ok, so by now you may know that our office rather like a dollop or two of yogurt. Although we're known to eat almost anything, we're very serious about our yogurt and what makes the grade. We usually compete to bring in any new range to hit the shelves first, and fancy ourselves as yog-onnoisseurs, here to critique every creamy mouthful.

A popular yog-topic for us is plain yogurt. We're creative types and love making beautiful, tasty concoctions which usually call for plain yogurt as our base, either Natural or Greek. We also have an office healthy bake-off, or make a team curry, all of which involve yogurt as a healthy ingredient. So, with so many to choose from, and with everyone having their favourites for different purposes, we have undertaken a master tasting session and we thought we'd share our scoring for "thickness", "creaminess", and "sweetness" with you guys. We've also added some extra useful information where appropriate - just our two pennies worth of what we feel matters!




Meet our Yog-Off Contenders


Alpro Pouring Mild & Creamy Yogurt

A staple in our office fridge is Alpro's hero product - Mild & Creamy Pouring yogurt. We use it for a plantpower alternative to diary products, mainly on our deskfests but we also sneak the plain variety in to cream up our soups and sauces.

Thickness rating: 4/10
Creaminess: 6/10
Sweetness: 6/10
Love rating: 9/10
Winner on: Packaging: we love the carton size and the portion control of the screw top - use as much or little as you need and keep the rest fresh. Contains B2, B12, D and E. So versatile - vegan / lactose free deskfests, baking, and cooking, and the best yogurt for our homemade healthy muesli by far. Yummy customer service people, marketing, competitions and branding - we're big fans!
We'd love to see: more inclusion in supermarket promotions.
Nutrition values per 100g: 50kcal, 4g protein, 2.1g carbs (of which sugars 2.1g), lactose 0g, 2.3g fat (of which saturates 0.4g), sodium 0.10g, calcium 120mg, contains B12 and D2.


Activia Breakfast Pouring Yogurt

Thickness rating: 2.5
Creaminess: 6/10
Sweetness: 4.5/10
Love rating: 3/10
Winner on: if you're not a yogurt fan per say but still fancy dairy and something slightly thicker and creamier than milk on your fresh fruit / cereals, this could be for you.
We'd love to see: smaller cartons available - as this product was one of the less popular ones in the fridge, we couldn't get through it all whilst still fresh.
Nutrition values per 100g: 50kcal, 3.7g protein, 4.9g carbs (of which sugars 4.9g), 1.7g fat (of which saturates 1.1g), sodium 0.05g, calcium 135mg, contains good bacteria.



Embleton Hall Natural Yogurt

Thickness rating: 6.5/10
Creaminess: 7.5/10
Sweetness: 6.5/10
Love rating: 7.5/10
Winner on: Priced at 76p from Waitrose, this has a lovely taste and creaminess and is a real competitor to some of the more expensive yogurts. It's also our lowest carbon footprint option and supports local business to our Northeast office.
We'd love to see: a wider range of products available - maybe a fruity range in smaller servings for desserts on the go.
Nutrition values per 100g: 60kcal, 4.8g protein, 7.4g carbs, 1.4g fat. No added ingredients.



Simply M&S Low Fat Greek Style Unsweetened Yogurt

Thickness rating: 6/10
Creaminess: 7/10
Sweetness: 6/10
Love rating: 7/10
Winner on: Versatility - in the middle of the ratings, it's savoury enough for cooking, sweet enough with fruit, and not too thick or thin, so great for soups and sauces.
We'd love to see: a price match with other very similar products with similar ratings.
Nutrition values per 100g: 70kcal, 5.2g protein, 6.6g carbs (of which sugars 5.8g), 2.6g fat (of which saturates 1.7g), sodium 0.07g. No added ingredients.



Brooklea Natural Low Fat Greek Style Natural Yogurt

Thickness rating: 6/10
Creaminess: 6.5/10
Sweetness: 5/10
Love rating: 7.5/10
Winner on: Cooking - economical and a great consistency - a balanced yogurt for baking, soups, and sauces.
We'd love to see: A thicker yogurt in this economical range for our dips.
Nutrition values per 100g: 75kcal, 5.3g protein, 7.6g carbs (of which sugars 6.8g), 2.6g fat (of which saturates 0.6g), sodium 0.08g. No added ingredients.



Desi Mild 'n' Tasty Live Whole Milk Yogurt

Thickness rating: 5/10
Creaminess: 5.5/10
Sweetness: 4.5/10
Love rating: 4/10
Winner on: We liked the cows on the front :) Only 65p.
Nutrition values per 100g: 65kcal, 3.2g protein, 4.4g carbs (of which sugars 2.8g), 3.9g fat (of which saturates 2.1g), sodium 0.92g.


Alpro Simply Plain Tub Yogurt

Thickness rating: 5/10
Creaminess: 6.5/10
Sweetness: 7.5/10
Love rating: 7.5/10
Winner on: Low Calorie. Great use by date - lasts ages before opening. Also great for vegan, lactose free cooking, baking and desserts. 
We'd love to see: A sugar free version to work even better in soups and curries.
Nutrition values per 100g: 50kcal, 4.0g protein, 2.1g carbs (of which sugars 2.1g), 2.3g fat (of which saturates 0.4g), sodium 0.10g. Calcium 120mg. Contains B12 and D2.



Yeo Valley Family Farm Greek Style Natural Yogurt

Thickness rating: 7/10
Creaminess: 9/10
Sweetness: 7/10
Love rating: 6.5/10
Winner on: Uses organic milk, contains live cultures and supports British family farming. We also love the daisies on the packaging. A nice tasting yogurt for full fat yogurt lovers.
We'd love to see: As much creaminess for less calories (they do a low fat version so we know we're asking for far too much there!).
Nutrition values per 100g: 129kcal, 4.5g protein, 6.4g carbs (of which sugars 6.4g), 9.5g fat (of which saturates 5.9g), sodium 0.07g, Calcium 160mg.


Asda Extra Special Authentic Greek yogurt - Fat free

Thickness rating: 8/10
Creaminess: 9/10
Sweetness: 6/10
Love rating: 9/10
Winner on: When they said it's extra special, they weren't fibbing! Thick, creamy and just the right amount of sweetness. A gorgeous yogurt that competes with it's higher priced competitors on taste and thickness. At 9g, it has almost as much protein, and 0g fat. 
We'd love to see: More than just a foil lid to keep it extra fresh once opened.
Nutrition values per 100g: 52kcal, 9.0g protein, 4.0g carbs (of which sugars 4.0g), 0g fat (of which saturates 0g), sodiu 0.03g.


Chobani Fat Free Yogurt

Thickness rating: 8/10
Creaminess: 7.5/10
Sweetness: 4.5/10
Love rating: 7/10
Winner on: Born in the US and an interesting new kid on the block, with excellent branding, PR and customer service. These guys have a head full of recipes and ideas for replacing less healthy options with their products, and are so helpful and lovely we could cuddle them up all day.
We'd love to see: A bigger pot. With all these ideas for using the plain yog in sauces and baking, there isn't much to play with in the small pots.
Nutrition values per 100g: 62kcal, 10.0g protein, 4.0g carbs (of which sugars 4.0g), 0g fat (of which saturates 0g), sodium 0.03g, calcium 145mg.


Liberte Strained Greek Style Yogurt

Thickness rating: 8.5/10
Creaminess: 9/10
Sweetness: 5/10
Love rating: 5/10
Winner on: Great tub size and excellent seal for freshness. Great thickness and high in protein.
We'd love to see: More economical pricing - As we preferred the taste of some of the other yogurts we'd choose those first, but we'd still buy this if it was purse competitive.
Nutrition values per 100g: 57kcal, 10gprotein, 3.7g carbs (of which sugars 2.8g), 0.2g fat (of which saturates 0.1g), salt 0.1g.


Fage 0% Fat Total Greek Yogurt

Thickness rating: 9.5/10
Creaminess: 8/10
Sweetness: 5/10
Love rating: 9.5/10
Winner on: Thickness, and our favourite all-rounder. Also, best range of 0%, 2% and full fat plain Greek yogurts to suit your needs. Winner on protein too. Low calorie and sodium. Overall - a lovely 'stand your spoon in', super tasty but still healthy yogurt, with no added sugars. Contains live active cultures.
We'd love to see: More promotions in stores. We'd ask for a better lid but it doesn't last long enough here to warrant this. Fage play around with things already but we think prettier branding would be well suited - perhaps a new twitter competition?
Nutrition values per 100g: 57kcal, 10.3g protein, 4.0g carbs (of which sugars 4.0g), 0g fat (of which saturates 0g), sodium 0.038g, contains live active cultures.


The Collective Gourmet - Plain Jane Gourmet Yogurt

Thickness rating: 7/10
Creaminess: 8.5/10
Sweetness: 9/10
Love rating: 10/10
Winner on: Naughtier treat: a taste sensation, definitely gourmet, but no plain Jane - the ultimate plain yogurt indulgence for desserts. Once opened, it doesn't need a lid that's for sure.
Excellent marketing, competitions, branding, and super friendly customer service guys.
We'd love to see: A bigger tub! Just kidding. You'll notice this is empty before we could even snap a piccie. As this contains honey already, perhaps more honey, less sugar would make us feel less naughty! A few less calories would probably ruin the magic too, but would be lovely.
Nutrition values per 100g: 131kcal, 5.2g protein, 14.9g carbs (of which sugars 14.9g), 5.6g fat (of which saturates 3.5g), sodium 0.1g, contains live active cultures.


Our winners

We'll also be blogging a Yog-on-the-Go: full of our office favourite flavoured yogurts. Some are very dreamy indeedy!

... and of course we'll be sharing some of our own favourite artworks with a yogurt canvas!


Disclaimer: All views are our own and this is to read as a bit of fun if you're a yogurt lover like us. We do not work for any yogurt company (although obviously open to offers of becoming Chief of Tasters). Munch as part of a balanced diet. Please read labels if you have food allergies or specific dietary requirements as we are simple beings here :)