Move over Greek Yogurt.

Last week my mother in law introduced me to a new yogurt she got from Trader Joes and I never thought I'd be so excited about yogurt.
No it's not Greek yogurt.
But speaking of…have you noticed the influx of it in todays grocery stores?  (It's right up there with all the coconut water craze).  They are thicker than the usual "American" yogurt and maybe a little tangier, but to be honest I don't understand why the sudden love for Greek style yogurt.  On the way home from work yesterday I noticed a billboard for Ben and Jerrys new Greek Frozen Yogurt.   Ben and Jerry are two smart fellas to cash in on this fad.




I'm not going to lie I am tempted to try these two flavors: Hmmm, though looking at this picture they look a bit strange.






It's not that I hate Greek Yogurt, but I don't necessarily prefer it or go out looking for it.
But I am now jumping on the yogurt bandwagon….not Greek yogurt, European Style Yogurt, as pictured above.  I have only seen this in Trader Joes so far, and I love it so much that I will make the special trip to TJ's to purchase this yogurt.
I use yogurt all the time: in meals and especially as a side for all the spicy curries that we have.  Indian restaurants and Americans refer to this side dish as "raita" (pronounced: rye-ta), I and everyone in my family have always referred to this dish as: yogurt salad.  Just to reiterate: I have NEVER heard anyone in India, or anyone in my Indian family refer to yogurt salad as raita.  Perhaps that makes me less authentic, but I'm ok with that.  I'll just carry around my birth certificate from Bombay (yes, Bombay, not Mumbai, get over it India) and show everyone just how authentic and qualified I am.
Wow, where did that rant come from?
Moving on….
When I was little we spent a lot of time in Sweden.  For breakfast the Swedes eat their cereal with yogurt instead of milk.  (Cereal like Corn Flakes, Muesli, or granola, not cereal like Cherrios, Captain Crunch or Trix)  I grew up eating cereal like that, with yogurt instead of milk, so even when I got older I preferred my Frosted Flakes with yogurt.  I would take a couple of scoops of yogurt and break it up with a spoon so it was smooth and not very thick and then add my cereal to it.  This may not be for everybody, but since I grew up eating it like this, I really enjoy it.  My husband on the other hand, refuses to even try it because it looks weird and is not what he is accustomed to.  But he is also a huge milk fan so that may have something to do with it.  
Even with the yogurt salad, I empty the contents of half a yogurt container and mix it up with a spoon till it's smooth and not solid before I add the cut up vegetables that make up yogurt salad.
The beauty of this European Style yogurt is it takes out the part of mixing the yogurt with a spoon till it's smooth.  The yogurt comes that way straight out of the container!! It's smooth and liquid-y from the beginning!   Go, try it.

UPDATE: So my sister in law (of whatthemom.com) informed me of the benefits of Greek yogurt that I'm sure if I spent a few minutes to actually do some research I would've figured out!  Greek yogurt is 2x the protein and half the fat of regular yogurt.  Now you know.