Yogurt

About a year ago, I took a nutrition class at work. And it changed my life. Truly. Suddenly, I was eating a rainbow of fruits and veggies, adding nuts to my lunch sack for a snack, buying only whole wheat bread ("the whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead!") and most importantly, giving up my favorite yogurt in favor of the "healthier" "cultured in cup" variety even though it didn't taste anywhere near as good as my favorite brand.

I can't remember why the nutritionist said the "cultured in cup" yogurt was better for you. All I know is that it was hard as heck to find. So once I discovered a brand that had the "cultured in cup" blessing written right on the lid, I've stuck with it. And I've even gotten to the place where it actually tastes pretty good to me.

That's why I was a little annoyed when I did my grocery shopping on Friday to discover that a "Sample Lady" had planted herself and her sample table right in front of my yogurt. All I wanted was to grab a container and move on. But this lady was good. And she was offering samples of... yogurt.

I thought maybe I could put her off by asking if her yogurt was "cultured in cup" since that is the kind I always buy. She said she didn't know but she proceded to rattle off that her yogurt had "five live and active cultures including Probiotics." Huh?

Then with a deft sweep of her hand, she motioned to the various flavors of yogurt she had ready to sample on her little table. Pomegranate, vanilla, fig, (really?) honey, low-fat, no-fat. You get the picture. This was not going to be quick.

So I tried a little sample-spoonful of the vanilla. Not impressed. She handed me a spoonful of the low-fat variety (I could be offended here). Really not impressed. Then she wanted me to try the honey flavored. I'm not a fan of honey so I only ate it to be polite. But doggone if it wasn't good!

Still, my own variety was sitting right there in the cooler behind her. I was about to reach for a container when she intercepted me. "It's regularly $5.39 for a container but today it's on sale for $2.99," she said. That was the same price as my brand, and mine was "cultured in cup." So, I continued towards my yogurt. That's when she came in for the kill. "And with this dollar off coupon, it's only $1.99," she said sweetly.

Okay, I don't even know what "cultured in cup" means and I could always write it on the lid with a Sharpee if I had to. Besides, the honey flavor turned out to be pretty good.

So I picked up a container, thanked the sample lady and was walking away when she came up behind me and pointed out the little-sized cups which were $1.25 a piece, but she said she'd give me another coupon which would make one only $.25! What can I say, money talks! I grabbed a little vanilla cup and tossed it in my cart next to the big honey flavored one and headed off to the check stand, coupons in hand.

Today, I ate the vanilla yogurt for lunch (with some healthy blueberries and a little granola mixed in!). And I hate to say it, but it had a hot-dog aftertaste to it. I'm not kidding. Hot dog.

So, unless the honey yogurt comes through for me tomorrow, I'm going to be pretty unhappy that I let the almighty dollar talk me out of my tried and true, "cultured in cup" yogurt. I may not know what that means, but I've been eating it for a year now, and not once have the words "Ball Park Franks"come to mind.