Oykos Chocolate Stracciatella Plant-Based Yoghurt Alternative, Vegan & Dairy Free, 350g

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Whether you're vegan, free of dairy, or just prefer almond milk-based products, it can be a challenge to find a nondairy Greek yogurt with adequate protein and low sugar that actually tastes good. Kite Hill's Greek-Style Artisan Almond Milk Yogurt comes impressively close to conventional Greek yogurt in flavor and nutrition. It is smooth, creamy, and tastes surprisingly like dairy Greek yogurts despite being made from almonds. Plus, it's vegan, non-GMO, free of soy, and free of preservatives. My husband, who is German, loves all kinds of stracciatella goodies, especially yogurt and quark (curd). As low-carbers we didn’t find any suitable commercial products. Like so often, I decided to develop my own, healthy version. I think I succeeded, since this recipe was approved by my husband with praise.

Erythritol is a very natural sweetener. It occurs naturally for example in some fruits and fermented foods. Here is a Wikipedia article on erythritol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol I'm a chocolate chip ice cream kind of gal (I'll ALWAYS choose plain chocolate chip if it's an option), so stracciatella seriously speaks to my chocolate-chip-lovin' soul.For smooth chocolate yogurt you can do like I did in my first experiment: simply melt 1 oz (30 g) 100% chocolate and 1 oz (30 g) organic extra virgin coconut oil. Add the stevia. Mix the melted mixture in the yogurt, where you have added the erythritol, stevia and vanilla extract. Minimum life based on 'use-by' date of product. Average life based on last week's deliveries. Life guarantee shown based on delivery tomorrow with the Life guarantee starting the following day. I buy my erythritol from iHerb ( http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Erythritol-100-Pure-Natural-Sweetener-1-lb-454-g/579?at=0&rcode=IRA341) since I’ve found it very cheap there. I usually melt chocolate in a water bath. I boil some water in a water kettle and pour the boiling water into a saucepan. Then I put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof mug and put the mug in the saucepan with hot water. I let it stand for few minutes stirring the chocolate occasionally. It doesn’t take long before the chocolate is melted. Just be careful not to let any water into the chocolate, otherwise it forms an ugly lump and you have to start everything from scratch.

Greek yogurt contains probiotics, which are "good bacteria" that may help promote healthy gut bacteria. Having healthy bacteria helps with digestion and immune function and increases the absorption of certain nutrients. However, it is unclear if probiotic-containing foods influence your gut bacteria. When choosing the best Greek yogurts, we looked at a variety of products with different ingredients that would fit various preferences and needs. We chose products with minimal sugar, and considered quality, taste, price, and convenience. We also prioritized organic and non-GMO Greek yogurts. To gain further insight, we consulted with Sammi Haber Brondo, MS, RD, CDN and Shushy Rita Setrakian, MS, RD. And third, you can control the size of the chocolate chips by the speed of mixing. The faster you mix the melted chocolate and the yogurt, the smaller chocolate chips you get. And vice versa. Secondly, at least when I grate chocolate it’s a huge mess. If not the whole kitchen is covered by grated chocolate, at least the table and most of the floor is. Nowadays I grate the chocolate on a plate in the kitchen sink, but it’s still all messy.

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Reykdal O, Rabieh S, Steingrimsdottir L, Gunnlaugsdottir H. Minerals and trace elements in Icelandic dairy products and meat. J Food Compost Anal. 2011;24(7):980-6. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2011.03.002 If you want to make things really simple, you can use just 3 ingredients: 100% chocolate, vanilla stevia or unflavored stevia and yogurt. Melt the chocolate and add there 10 drops stevia. Mix until well mixed. Add 30–40 drops stevia to the yogurt. Mix the chocolate and the yogurt as directed. Add more stevia or other sweetener if needed. I added the melted mixture to the yogurt and stirred with a spoon, but the chocolate didn’t solidify. It didn’t form nice chips, it simply dissolved in the yogurt. Well, the result was nice and smooth chocolate yogurt, delicious as well, but I wanted stracciatella, so tiny chocolate chips. Benbrook CM, Butler G, Latif MA, Leifert C, Davis DR. Organic production enhances milk nutritional quality by shifting fatty acid composition: a United States-wide, 18-month study. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(12):e82429. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082429