Mix crunch chocolate chips, granola or Grape-Nuts into YoCrunch probiotic yogurt.
April 2007
Updated April 2008
|
|
YoCrunch Naturals
Swiss-Style Probiotic Yogurt With Crunchy Toppings
CAPSULE REPORT: For snacking away from home—or for those who prefer the convenience of peel-and-eat, without having to add their own crunch to yogurt—nothing is crunchier than the new line of YoCrunch Naturals from Breyers, especially the Grape-Nuts version. It combines the all-natural yogurt with more crunch than a barrel of pretzels: a very satisfying snack or light lunch. Plus, there are probiotic levels of beneficial bacteria.
When we’re at home, we love making yogurt parfaits—layering fresh fruit and cereal to create masterpieces that are as delicious as anything from an ice cream parlor. When we pick up a yogurt at the deli for lunch, though, our choices are more limited. Don’t we wish they all carried YoCrunch’s new “Naturals” line—or the part of it that we consider healthy enough for our adult diet. More about that in a minute.
The line contains multiple probiotic strains—formerly called “active cultures” on yogurt carton labels—including Acidophilus and Bifidus cultures—the company says it equates to “billions of beneficial probiotics per serving,” but somehow it seems better not to think of them as living organisms in our food.
Why are probiotics good for you? Some studies have shown that these “friendly” bacteria help to improve the immune system, reduce cholesterol levels, treat intestinal disorders, protect against allergens, prevent some cancers, lower blood pressure, even ward off tooth decay.*
*For more information, visit http://www.USProbiotics.org.
Flavors
Pick your mix-in, peel back the foil and toss it into the yogurt. We loved two of the three options, and share our concerns about the third:
-
Back to Nature Granola with a choice of Strawberry, Blueberry or Mixed Berry Yogurt. Back to Nature’s granola is a basic whole grain rolled oats lightly sweetened with pure fruit and cane juices. It’s a pleasant, soft crunch with nice, oaty flavor.
-
Grape-Nuts Cereal is offered with Strawberry Banana Yogurt. What a winner—we wish it came with the broad flavor selection of Back to Nature Granola. Just two tablespoons of mix-in provided such a huge amount of crunch, we recalled why we stopped trying to eat a bowlful of Grape-Nuts for breakfast. But oh, how we enjoy it in smaller portions: We will now be including a Grape-Nuts swirl in our homemade yogurt parfaits.
-
Sunspire Dark Chocolate Chips with Strawberry Yogurt (America’s #1 favorite yogurt flavor). We love chocolate as much as the next person—possibly a lot more, since we write about it for a living. We adore chocolate and strawberry together: strawberry creme bon bons, strawberry ganaches and the strawberry chocolate chunk ice cream we make in the summer. But the Sunspire all-natural chocolate chips didn’t work: This particular chocolate is astringent, which might bake up well but is a jarring contrast with the sweet strawberry yogurt. We took some other chocolate and tried it—better, but still not right, too much like kid stuff, where kids might enjoy Reese’s Pieces or M&Ms in their yogurt (YoCrunch makes both options in their FunCrunch series). The flavors and consistency just don’t jibe with a refined adult palate. There are better ways to enjoy chocolate and get your putative antioxidants.
YoCrunch Core Line
The YoCrunch core line is targeted to kids (or those who like candy and cookies in their yogurt), with mini M&Ms candies, Oreo cookies, Nestlé Buncha Crunch, Butterfinger and Reese’s  Pieces. We like them all, with the exception of the Nestlé Buncha Crunch. While we enjoyed many a Crunch bar in an earlier life, the crunch nuggets that comprise Buncha Crunch taste like waxy fake food, most likely due to the confectioner’s glaze (lac resin) used to keep the nuggets crisp. Otherwise, we enjoyed mixing Butterfinger, Reese’s Pieces, M&Ms and Oreo in with our yogurt; and while this 1% milkfat line is largely vanilla-based (Buncha Crunch is made in a strawberry yogurt version as well), we’ll try it with strawberry, coffee and other flavors on our own. We like this product as a snack and dessert for kids, who want to eat candy and cookies anyway. So why not couple the junk food with a nutritious yogurt that delivers 6g of protein for the same 200 calories as a candy bar (with some live and active cultures, to boot—although the core line is not probiotic)?The line is preservative-free, produced with rBGH-free milk and sweetened with natural sugar.
We know more than a few people who have been told to add yogurt to their diets—some need the calcium and protein, some the probiotics. But much as we love yogurt, we know people who just don’t care for it. If you know such people, and they do like crunchy snacks, introduce them to YoCrunch Grape-Nuts Cereal with Strawberry Banana Yogurt. They’ll be so happy crunching, they won’t notice they’ve eaten the yogurt.
YOCRUNCH NATURALS YOGURT
Back to Nature Granola with Strawberry, Blueberry or Mixed Berry Yogurt; Grape-Nuts Cereal with Strawberry Banana Yogurt; Sunspire Dark Chocolate Chips with Strawberry Yogurt
Certified kosher (dairy) by OU
- 6-Ounce Carton
$1.19 Suggested Retail Price
Available at supermarkets, health food stores and select grocery stores.
For more information, visit YoCrunch.com.
Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. |
 |
|
