YoBaby Yogurt Review & Giveaway CLOSED

YoBaby organic yogurt isn't new to us, we've been buying it since my 5 year old was a baby.  We never actually stopped buying it.  My daughter still loves it, both for the taste and the cute babies on the package!

YoBaby also has codes on the lids for the Stonyfield Farms Reward Program.  The points add up quickly (the 6-packs or 32 ounce containers are 4 points I believe) and redemptions start at 25 points.  The rewards are pretty good too I think!  I got 2 free HappyBabyFood product coupons for 25 points!  If you register, you can also print coupons, I think they reset monthly.

The plain variety is new to me.  It seems to be the same as the Stonyfield Farms organic plain, whole milk yogurt we usually buy, but in different packaging.  I was able to find it at Whole Foods when I made the trip to get some of the Happy Baby Food items for my review, that I couldn't find locally.

There's no added sugar, and it's so good with some fresh fruit mixed in, maybe a drizzle of agave nectar if the fruit is tart.  I believe it has the same active cultures as the Stonyfield Farms, which recommended most often for use as a homemade yogurt starter because of the active cultures.  It's of course a bit more expensive per ounce than the big tub, but that's to be expected.  It's nice to be able to grab a 4 ounce container to take with us somewhere.  I just wish I could find them locally!

The YoBaby 6-packs also come in banana/vanilla, peach/pear and blueberry/apple varieties.

It does have added sugar, though there's no HFCS or dyes.  The package states that the count includes natural milk sugar, I'd just like to know how many of the 12 grams are added.  Other yogurt marketed to kids has 13-18 grams of sugar in 4 ounces.  YoBaby is the only one (that I know of) made with whole milk, and I don't know enough about milk to know whether that increases the natural sugar content when compared to low fat milk.

My favorite flavor is the apple, so I had to taste one (purely in the name of research of course!) since I haven't had one in quite some time.

This is cream top yogurt.  This is what it looked like after being squeezed and manhandled (babyhandled?) by my son, prior to opening it.

Stir to mix and enjoy.  Mmm...heavenly.  At 110 calories in 4 ounces, it's a bit higher in calories (and fat, but...duh) than light/low or no fat yogurt.  However, I don't really enjoy the artificially sweetened, artificially flavored, thin stuff.  A 4 oz YoBaby is more filling and satisfying to me than a 6 oz. container of the "other stuff."

Oh wait, this stuff was called YoBABY, right?  Oops.  It makes me want to make jokes like, "Yo' Baby's diaper is so fluffy..."  OK never mind!

Other products include Fruit and Cereal, drinkable yogurt, YoBaby Meals, YoKids Yogurt and YoKids Squeezers.

Anyway, one lucky blog reader will win two coupons for free YoBaby yogurt 4-packs, along with an Eric Carle growth chart! 


Please be sure to leave your email address in one of your comments (you can use the format name at domain dot com to hide from spam bots.)  If it's in your profile, no need to leave it in your comment.  If you're the winner but I can't contact you, I'll choose someone else.


Here's how to enter:


1. Leave me a comment.  Do you like yogurt?  What's your favorite kind?
2. Follow my blog, current followers count.  Comment saying you're a follower to get your entry.
3. "Like" me on Facebook, current "likers" count.  Comment saying you're a "liker" to get your entry.
4. Follow me on Twitter, current followers count.  Comment saying you're a follwer to get your entry.
5. Tweet about this giveaway (make sure you use @chgdiapers) and link to your tweet in a comment to get your entry.  Please tweet no more than once per day.  I don't want your followers to associate me with annoying spammy tweets, LOL.  You can use this tweet if you like "@chgdiapers has #organic YoBaby yogurt up for grabs until 5/11 http://tinyurl.com/22q53rf #giveaway"
6. Write a blog post about my blog.  It doesn't have to be specifically about this giveaway, but please be sure to link back to my blog.  Comment with a link to your post to get your entry.
7. Fan Stonyfield on Facebook ("like," whatever you want to call it!)  Comment saying you're a fan/liker (whatever!) to get your entry.
8. Like YoBaby on Facebook.  Same deal, comment here to get your entry.
9. Follow Stonyfield on Twitter.  Comment saying you follow to get your entry.


As always, you can do any of the above.  You don't have to do one in order to do the other.  :-)


I'll accept entries until Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 at 9 P.M.  I'll choose a winner with random.org's random number generator and contact the winner by email.  Coupons will be mailed to the winner by the company.

HappyBabyFood/YoBaby provided free product coupons to me and will provide the coupons to the giveaway winner.  The freebies in no way affected my review. 

Making yogurt without a yogurt maker A.K.A. Crock Pot Yogurt

I looked at yogurt makers a few years ago, but dismissed the idea because of the cost and space issue, as well as mixed reviews.  When I saw this blog post about making yogurt in your crock pot, I knew I had to try it.  We go through tons of the stuff.  We eat it plain, with a little fruit, or with a drizzle of agave nectar.  It's the only thing my son will eat with gusto!

I am blessed to have a handful of stores near me with reasonable prices; I choked when I saw the comment that someone was paying $6.00 for a 6 pack of YoBaby?!  Eek!

Regular whole milk yogurt costs me about $3.69 for 32 oz, or 11 1/2 cents per ounce.  The brand of Greek yogurt I like (tastes the best, has the best texture and has the highest protein content) costs $1.79-$1.89 for a 7 oz container.  Well, that's the price where I will buy it!  It's over $2 many places.  That is 25 1/2-27 cents per ounce.

The cost to try making my own yogurt was $3.29 for the milk, plus the cost of 1/2 cup of yogurt.  I figured it didn't hurt to try, and if it was a disaster, I was just out a few bucks.

I read through all 300something comments and got ready to try.  When it was suggested to get the freshest milk possible, I took that to heart.

Thanks ladies!

Sorry the pics aren't that great, I forgot my camera & took these with my phone.

Just for cutes & awws, a calf less than a month old napping.

About 5 days old.

Saying hello!

Back at home, I got things ready.

Set my crock pot on low.

Ick, why do I not realize how dirty household objects are until I photograph them?

I poured the whole half gallon of milk in the crock pot.

Put the lid on, then set my timer for 2 1/2 hours.

When the timer went off, I unplugged the crock pot, leaving the lid on, and set the timer for 3 hours to allow the milk to cool somewhat.

When the 3 hours of cooling was up, I ladled out 2 cups of the warm milk, and measured out 1/2 cup of my starter yogurt.

Whisked together.

Poured the mixture back in the crock pot.

Stirred.

Then I put the lid back on.  Here's where people seemed to run into problems.  You have to "incubate" the yogurt for about 8 hours, and you need to keep it warm in that time.  People wrapped the crock in towels, put it in the oven, put it in a warmed then turned off oven, put it in the oven with the light on, even put it on heating pads.

I had a ginormous insulated bag, so I put it in there, then left it on the counter!

It stayed in there, overnight, for about 10 hours.  I was anxious to see it in the morning!

Woo-hoo!  Yogurt!!

I spooned out two 1/2 cup portions and froze them, to use as starters for future batches.  Word is, you can only use a batch as starter maybe 5 times, before the bacteria lose potency...or something.

 Many comments said it was too thin, or thinner than store bought.  people were adding powdered milk, gelatin, pudding...mine was great.  I think it must have something to do with the temperature.  Mine seemed to be the same consistency as store bought.

Half, I put in a clean yogurt container.  Mine is on the left.

I thought the homemade yogurt tasted much more mild, almost sweet, compared to the store bought.  I was afraid it would end up too tart.  Next time, I think I will incubate it longer.  Maybe 12 hours.

I wanted to make some Greek yogurt with the other half, so I lined a strainer with opened coffee filters, then set it over a bowl.

Spooned the yogurt in.

I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, until it seemed like most of the whey had drained, and the consistency was similar to Greek yogurt.

I got almost a cup and a half of whey!  I want to try to use it in pancakes.

The consistency was great!

I dished it out into 4 servings of about 4 ounces each.

Yummy.

Just a little more mild/sweet than store bought.

The yield was about 32 ounces of regular yogurt and 16 ounces of Greek style (volume was reduced by about half by draining).

Cost of regular, about 5 cents per ounce.  Greek about 10.2 cents per ounce.  Much better than 11.5/25.5 cents per ounce for store bought.

I want to try 12 hours next time, and I also want to try with low fat milk.  I was worried that we wouldn't be able to consume it all in the 7-10 days in which homemade yogurt is best, but it's about half gone already in just one day. So, I may make myself a batch of low fat yogurt!  I think it's safe to assume that the nutrition content is equal to that of it's ingredients.  So around 160 calories/8g protein for 1 cup of regular or 1/2 cup of Greek made with whole milk and whole milk yogurt.

No preservatives, added sugar, processing etc.  Just deliciousness!

I also want to try draining some overnight to make yogurt cheese!

Let me know if you give this a try, it seems the key is keeping it warm overnight!