Sharing my tips for getting kids to like healthy yogurt instead of the ones with lots of added sugars, one spoonful at at time.
The Benefits of Eating Yogurt
Yogurt can be a great addition to a healthy lifestyle. It can be a good source of protein, calcium, vitamins and gut-healthy bacteria.
However, not all yogurts are created equal and some are loaded with excess sugars and preservatives.
Find out more information on How to Choose A Yogurt in this post.
What if you don’t like a certain yogurt?
I get asked a lot what to do if you don’t like a certain food that is labeled “healthy”. First and foremost, if you don’t like a food then I would never expect you to force yourself to eat it just for the sake of “health”.
However, I would suggest trying foods in different preparations because perhaps it might just be a specific cooking method that you don’t like. For example, my son hates cooked carrots of any kind but loves them raw. My daughter doesn’t like lettuce in salad but loves it on her sandwiches. I only like kale when it’s chopped up into small pieces in a salad.
My kids like yogurt but I realized that they have started to prefer one with a lot of added sugars. For example, my daughter’s recent favorite is this Strawberry Yoplait Original yogurt.
Things I like about this yogurt –
- No high fructose corn syrup
- Contains a good amount of Calcium (220 mg)
- 6 grams of protein per container
Things I don’t like about this yogurt –
- 19 grams of total sugars (some is natural and comes from the fruit & milk)
- 13 grams of added sugars
- Sugar is the second ingredient on the label
I tried all sorts of yogurts with less added sugars but my kids wouldn’t eat them. Until I tried the following…
Getting Kids to Like Healthy Yogurt
For me, “healthier” yogurt just means less added sugar. So, I used the following tip for getting my kids adjusted to the taste of less sugar –
Mix 1/2 of the yogurt they like with 2-3 spoonfuls of the “healthier” yogurt. Each week, add a bit more healthy yogurt and a little less of the sugary yogurt. Slowly they will get used to the healthier yogurt and enjoy it just as much.
In the example of my daughter, I started by taking her Yoplait Strawberry Banana Yogurt and mixed in a couple spoonfuls of this Siggi’s Strawberry Yogurt. Since she eats yogurt almost everyday, I kept adding more the Siggi’s and less of the Yoplait until she was eating (and requesting!) the Siggi’s yogurt straight out of the carton all by itself.
Why I prefer Siggi’s Yogurt –
- It has more protein (15 grams per container, Yoplait only has 6 grams)
- Less sugar – only 11 grams total sugars (some is natural from fruit/milk)
- Only 7 grams added sugar (Yoplait had 13 grams added)
- Less ingredients added – Pasteurized Skim Milk, Pasteurized Cream, Strawberries, Cane Sugar, Fruit Pectin, Live Active Cultures
Closing Thoughts on Sugar
I’m not afraid of my kids eating sugar. They eat foods that contain sugar all the time and sweets are a regular occurrence at my house.
However, I try to limit the foods that have high “added sugars” when there are other options out there that have less and taste just as great. If not better tasting! This is especially true in items that can be naturally sweetened with real fruits.
Some examples of foods I try to find with lower amounts of added sugars –
- Yogurt
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Sliced bread
- Popsicles
- Oatmeal
- Cereal
- Crackers
