It’s no secret that I am a HUGE Greek yoghurt fan, and that Total is my favourite brand. It is so creamy and feels like much more of a treat than it actually is. I mean, it is a treat in the sense that it tastes great, but it is something I include in my daily diet, rather than once in a while. When a box full of Total Greek Yoghurt arrived at my door to review, you could say that I was a little bit happy. I had only had the 0% before, so I was looking forward to trying the others in the range.
What to do with Greek Yoghurt:
The plain 0%, 2% and full fat (which is still only 5% fat) are amazing cream substitutes in cooking, which is what I use them for a lot. If low fat is a concern to you, then go with the 0% or 2%, but I would recommend cooking with the full fat (it is still low fat though) as it doesn’t separate like the others – which is their only problem.
Whilst I was losing weight, Total Greek Yoghurt was always in my fridge, and now I am maintaining that weight loss it still is. It allows me to lighten up my favourite unhealthy meals and also still have dessert without going off track.
Here are some recipes that I use Total yoghurt in as a substitute for a more unhealthy ingredients (all recipes open in a new tab):
- Murgh Makhani/Butter Chicken
- Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup
- Coleslaw
- Banana, Berry and Almond Smoothie
- Frozen Yoghurt Dipper Strawberries
- Honey and Vanilla Marinated Grilled Pineapple
- Mousakka
Take a look at the Total website too for 1000 healthy recipes that you can use the yoghurt in.
If I am just having yoghurt with some fruit, then I will always go with the 0% or 2%. Unlike other low fat yoghurt, Total doesn’t have any nasty ingredients added to it to make it low fat. Low fat usually means high sugar, but not with the plain Total.
Total also do split pot yoghurt that have a side of fruit. Now, these are not something that I would have every day, due to the added sugar in the fruit section, but they are great as a treat as they don’t have artificial sweeteners or anything nasty in them. My favourite split pots are the honey and the raspberry pomegranate. There are also strawberry and blueberry flavours.
As well as receiving some yoghurt, I was invited along to the Total Nutrition North West event, which I was really excited to go to, as it was my first blogger event. It was held at the Cheshire Cookery School which has the most amazing kitchens I have seen. I have already planned my dream kitchen and I plan on going back there one day to buy one.
When I arrived, I sat down and saw lots of ingredients in front of me which was a bit of a teaser of the kind of things we were going to be making.
Some of the other bloggers at the event.
Whilst we were waiting for it to get started we were served this super tasty performance smoothie that was made with Total yoghurt, strawberries, blueberries, protein powder, milk, coconut milk and something else I am sure I have forgotten.
Here are some of the photos that were taken at the event.
Live Tweeting
Martin MacDonald spoke to us about the benefits of Total Greek Yoghurt and about various myths around healthy eating. You can see some of these myths busted in my live tweeting from the event. Take a look at his website too for loads of great nutritional advice from someone who isn’t trying to sell you anything.
We were then all pretty eager to get in the kitchen to start cooking some of the recipes we had been told about. How nice is this kitchen?!
This was our little bit of the kitchen.
First of all, we started off by making almond chocolate chip cookies. I had never cooked with almond flour before, but I definitely will be again. It is so easy to use and tastes so good. It was also the first time I had used coconut oil in cooking. I had always been put off because it is so expensive, but apparently it is cheaper to buy it from My Protein.
This is my “I don’t follow recipes” face.
This is me with my cooking partner for the day, Claire, from Good Egg Foodie
Our cookies were ready and we couldn’t resist trying some before we had even started cooking the main meal. Oooops.
It was then time to start the main meal, Panang curry with cauliflower rice.
After all our hard work (and cookie eating), it was time to sit down together and eat all the lovely food we had made.
On the way out, we were handed this little cooler bags with more yoghurt in. My fridge is full of Total Yoghurt. Not that I am complaining. I have loads of new creations I am going to be trying over the next few weeks that use yoghurt instead of cream – so keep checking back to see those.
It was a really great event and it just confirmed all of the reasons that I include Total in my daily diet and it was a nice opportunity to meet other bloggers as well.
What is your favourite type of yoghurt?
How do you use it? Do you use it in cooking?
