Yoplait Greek vs Chobani #Tasteoff

I was selected for this campaign as a part of the Linqia network. 

Do you prefer Greek or regular yogurt?

I started eating Greek yogurt during my first pregnancy when my midwife recommended I up my protein intake, but meat of any kind was really unappealing to me and I didn't want to go with protein shakes. I started by adding it to my daily smoothie and soon was eating it out of the cup like the yogurt I had grown up on. Comparing plain flavored regular yogurt vs Greek, I always felt that Greek tastes a little more sour, indeed creamier than the former.  Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian and author of The Flexitarian Diet, says "For someone who wants the creamier texture, a little bit of a protein edge, and a sugar decrease, going Greek is definitely not all hype (source). The reason behind this is Greek is "strained extensively to remove much of the liquid whey, lactose, and sugar, giving it its thick consistency." 

Now that more and more people are recognizing the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt, traditional yogurt companies are offering the option of Greek in addition to the 'regular' that we're accustomed to, such as Yoplait. Yoplait is even hosting a taste off challenge between their new Yoplait Greek Blueberry versus Chobani Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom! I was excited to take part in this taste test because I've grown up on regular Yoplait yogurt but had also been on the Greek bandwagon for the last 3 years and I was curious to see what Yoplait had to offer.

Before tasting either of these yogurts, to be completely honest, I anticipated that I would like the Chobani more. Chobani is better known for their Greek yogurt and I automatically assumed that they would be the healthier option. I've grown up on and loved Yoplait, but when I started doing my research on how I wanted to feed my family I often found that the packaged foods we really love are usually the ones filled with the most sugar. Without ever taking the time to compare the two labels (besides for protein content), I assumed that Yoplait fell into that 'sweet but not good for you category.'

My taste notes...

Fruit
First off, there was the difference of how the fruit was presented in the yogurts. Yoplait had it automatically mixed in for you and Chobani had it at the bottom. To me, it didn't make a huge difference, though I did notice bigger chunks of blueberries in the Chobani than I did in the Yoplait. I still ended up mixing the blueberries throughout the yogurt in the Chobani.

Sweetness
This is where I was hit with a curve ball. The Yoplait Greek Yogurt tastes much sweeter than Chobani (which I expected), so I automatically assumed this was because there was more sugar. But when I checked the labels, Chobani has 15g sugar / serving and Yoplait has 7g! It was also interesting that they had really comparable levels of protein - Chobani has 12g of protein, and Yoplait had 11g per serving.

Creamyness

Chobani was definitely thicker than Yoplait. But like I mentioned before, the Yoplait seems to hold true to the history of their brand's flavors and textures. I really don't think I would have been able to tell if the Yoplait Greek was Greek if I was blindfolded and given their regular blueberry yogurt to taste against. 

Results

After tasting these two, I surprised myself in my preference for the Yoplait Greek Blueberry. Even though I happen to like the full flavor of Greek yogurt, I would recommend the Yoplait brand for the person who isn't a huge fan of Greek but wants to take advantage of the additional protein and other nutrients it offers.

Will you take the taste challenge? Which do you think you will like better?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Yoplait, but I was encouraged to voice my total and honest opinion regarding my choice between the two brands. All opinions expressed are my own!