How I Eat My Yogurt for Maximum Fullness and Health

I remember my first time hearing about Greek yogurt. Well, a friend persuaded me to try it. While she was already halfway into her serving, I couldn’t help but notice the facial expressions she kept making.

It didn’t appeal to me, so I declined. I told her I would try it later. That later would take five years. I had forgotten all about it until I started learning about the benefits of yogurt.

And then I discovered the need to take some, at least occasionally.

First, I gathered the courage to grab a cup; I had to force myself to finish everything. But I knew it wasn’t necessarily the best-tasting thing I ever ate.

Yes, it was a little sour. But by no means was it terrible to the tongue. I wondered why my friend kept showing those expressions on her face. Anyway, these days, Greek yogurt is one of my favorite snacks.

I say snack, but sometimes I have it for dinner. I find it quite heavy and filling, and a 500ml cup is about enough to rival most meals I take. But I don’t take it raw – I try to spice it up.

But here’s how I eat it to get even more health benefits:

Adding seeds and nuts

I remember buying one cup from a Shoprite branch in Accra, and just outside is a small outlet that sells healthy seeds and nuts. As I was scanning through their offerings, the attendant noticed the yogurt in my hands and told me I could add some seeds to it.

Unknown to her, that’s what I intended to do, as I had some seeds at home. Unknown to me, I wasn’t the only person who loved that approach. To make the most of my yogurt, I top it with seeds and nuts.

I had some pumpkin seeds and flax seeds at home. Plus, I had some groundnuts too (still in the pod). Thankfully, the yoghurt came with granola seeds. I dreamed of a mix of these nuts and seeds with my yoghurt. And I pulled it off.

Full of health benefits

The best yoghurts are prebiotics – they help helpful bacteria in your gut grow. That’s a good enough health benefit to eat yoghurt. To add to the goodness, many of these seeds have immense health benefits too.

Thankfully, you can mix most seeds and nuts, unlike fruits, which have different pH levels and don’t make for a healthy mix.

Not only do I mix these seeds for fun, but I also enjoy the different tastes. The flax seeds have a unique taste, a bit hard on the tongue. Pumpkin seeds taste like a typical tropical seed, and that’s welcoming to the taste buds.

Some people don’t like the groundnut raw. Not me. I’ve grown to like it, and I enjoy it raw as much as roasted. These different tastes neutralize the sourness of the yoghurt, and that’s good news to my taste buds.

Since it was only a 500ml serving, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I consumed it all, especially since I treated it as my dinner. But I also knew I had to savor every scoop, seeing as the quantity in the container kept dropping.

Savor it, I did!

I made sure to avoid every distraction that would have required me to pause. I even put my phone away for the few minutes it took me to enjoy this treat.

And yes, I call it a treat. In less than 15 minutes, I had finished my dinner. Not that I waste time with food anyway.

Some may say that’s a treat for the rich, but I disagree. Most decent meals in Accra will cost you close to 50 cedis. Or at least not less than 30 cedis. Is that too much for a meal? I’ll let you decide. But this 500 ml yoghurt costs 35 cedis, not exactly the cheapest, but also just about the average cost of a decent meal.

A bit on the high side, but worth the health benefits. Once a month, I give my gut bacteria this treat to keep them functioning at their best. How about you? Do you enjoy Greek yoghurt, and how do you consume it?