Voskos Greek Yogurt – Taste Test & Nutrition Review

We’re big on yogurt here at Fooducate, and recently wrote about the growing popularity of Greek yogurt. Voskos is a brand of Greek Yogurt from Sun Valley Dairy of San Francisco, competing in a growing market.

They have a “natural” line of products using milk from cows that were not treated with growth hormones, as well as an Organic line with even stricter standards. The plain flavors come in full fat, low fat, and non-fat. The fruit flavors and the organic line are all non-fat.

The marketing people at Voskos offered to send some samples of their products to one of our readers. Cassie C., a Fooducate community member,  received them, and here is what she had to say:

Let me start by saying that it took me a long time to enjoy Greek Yogurt. I like to think of it as beer – it’s an acquired taste.

Prior to trying Voskos brand Greek Yogurt, I had been a fan of Fage and Oikos; however, I only enjoyed the honey flavor. I couldn’t enjoy plain.

I was sent 6 samples of low fat and no fat plain Greek Yogurt by Sun Valley Dairy, Voskos brand. I had never heard of it and was eager to try it.

For those who have never eaten Greek Yogurt, please know, it tends to be much thicker than ‘regular’ yogurt and it has a more bitter taste and it’s not as smooth. This yogurt, however, was very smooth and didn’t have the same bitterness I’ve found with Fage and Oikos yogurt. I was actually, for the first time, able to eat it plain.

I was extremely happy to see that it was only 160 calories per container and 23 grams of protein. Also, with it being unflavored, the sugar content was nice and low.

Being pregnant and a nurse, all of these things are very important to me, and I found after eating it in the morning mixed with some granola, I was full until lunch.

The ingredient list is the way it should be – short, sweet, and to the point
All in all, this is a fantastic product. I hope to see it on the shelves near me, soon.

What you need to know:

Greek yogurt does tend to be thicker than regular yogurt because it is strained, it loses water this way. That’s why the nutrietn count count is high compared to regular yogurt (23 grams vs. 12 for protein). On average, people need about 50 grams of protein a day, and this is the one nutrient that we get more than enough of during the day. So don’t fall for the protein hype.

There are more important reasons to love yogurt. The big value is the help it provides to the digestive system through the billions of helpful bacteria found in each serving.

Here’s the ingredient list for the lowfat yogurt:

Grade A Pasteurized Skim Milk, Cream, Live and Active Cultures.

It’s 160 calories, slightly higher than non-Greek low-fat yogurts with 140 calories. No biggie.

With 2 grams of saturated fat (10% of the daily max), and just 7 grams of naturally occurring sugar (2 tsp), this is a good deal. If you decide to try the flavored options you’ll be getting a lot more sugar.

Another benefit is the 25% daily value for calcium, a nutrient some people are not getting enough of, crucial for bone growth and health.

Overall: Thumbs up to Voskos plain yogurts.

What to do at the supermarket:

Whether Greek or other type of yogurt – go for the plain variety. In many cases, they also come in multiserving containers that save you money. Mix with your own honey, fruit, granola, or pretty much anything and enjoy.

Disclosure: Ah, the perks of food blogging…Voskos Marketing contacted us and offered to send  us samples. We had them sent to a family of volunteer testers. We did not pay for the samples. We were not paid to post this blog nor were we instructed in any which way regarding its content. In fact, we forewarned the good people at Voskos that we are skeptical and scathing of most  products sent our way. If you would like to have something new and possibly tasty sent to you, why not become a Fooducate Product Tester? Just comment below or shoot us an email: blog [at] fooducate [dot] com.