I had been trying Dannon Activia yogurt, which has the same Bifidobacterium culture; they just give it the fancy name Bifidus Regularis, which honestly makes me feel the company takes its customers for idiots. Apparently it worked, though; Dannon’s sales of Activia and Danactive soared to three times the expected projections. But I digress; that is the subject of a future review!

Armed with a fistful of coupons, I picked up eight packs of Yo-Plus yogurt at a substantial savings. The flavors are fantastic; Yoplait has always been great on using real fruit and creating tasty combinations. The whole family loves them; we usually eat yogurt every day.

We all started to experience some stomach pain. Even my one-year-old was in distress. We honestly couldn’t figure it out and didn’t attribute it to the yogurt until three days later. We have many food allergies and have learned from experience that it is best to re-read ingredient labels every time you purchase a product, as well as when we get ready to eat it (in case we missed something). What I hadn’t noticed before was the fiber added to the yogurt, called inulin. Our family is on a carefully moderated food plan and we get a good amount of fiber in our diet already. The extra fiber shouldn’t be an issue; but apparently the type of fiber is.

On the package itself it states that inulin wasn’t normally found in yogurt. I’ve recently dug a little bit deeper and found some disturbing facts:

Inulin feeds bad bacteria in your intestinal tract (which are normally inactive and fine) as well as the good bacteria. Depending on what is present in your system, it can cause a lot of problems when you consume too much in a super-refined form!

Inulin is found to cause mild to severe gastrointestinal issues in people depending on the amount consumed.

Inulin is yet another super-refined food substance like high fructose corn syrup. We’ve found that HFCS is linked to all sorts of health problems, as are many other naturally-occurring food substances that have since been refined down to chemical additives. Inulin is naturally found in onions and garlic and is good for you when you get it in whole foods and in reasonable amounts. We get plenty of it every day in our house already!

Yo-Plus could have been a great product had they not tried to boost sales with additives and claims on how this could “naturally boost your digestive health”. I’m sure they were lured in by Dannon’s success; now they are following in their footsteps with their own class-action lawsuit against false advertising. (Dannon has already settled theirs for $35 million, the biggest settlement ever to be made over false advertising of food products.)

I think that companies should quit messing with the food! I eat yogurt because I want milk and good bacteria in my system, and like the taste of fresh fruit added to it. Don’t add a bunch of sweeteners (milk and fruit both are naturally sweet), don’t add artificial flavors (what is wrong with just using the fruit?), and definitely don’t add stuff that supposedly makes up for my supposed diet deficiencies! Don’t add fiber to my yogurt, calcium to my juice, nor artificial sweeteners to my non-diet gum that has REGULAR sugar in it. (Surprise! Take at look at those the next time you’re in the checkout lane!) And, for the love of people who hit the top two allergens in the country, QUIT adding soy products to absolutely everything! (Another thing that you find in all that gum!)

Yogurt IS good for you. It is on the Better Homemaking Network’s Top Foods List (article coming soon). Plain with active cultures is best, of course; if you get fruit flavors, try to avoid artificial sweeteners or flavors and a lot of added sugar. Our family will be going back to making our own yogurt, mixing in fresh fruit purees. We still like regular Yoplait, and Dannon Activia, although it is a bit too sweet. We often mix in some homemade plain yogurt and they taste even better. Greek yogurt is the yummiest way to buy a plain variety, although it is a bit more expensive. It also makes a great starter to make your own!

The bottom line: Enjoy your yogurt, and get your fiber from the real thing; in other words, other healthy choices throughout the day. Fresh vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are all great sources.

I don’t even feel comfortable in giving the rest of this Yo-Plus away. No matter that I got it on the cheap; it burns me to have to waste food regardless of the reason or cost. But the best place for it is in the trash.

ETA:  Yoplait Fiber One yogurt also has inulin added to it.

Sources: Law Firm That Won Dannon Settlement Targets Yoplait

Inulin: Friend or Foe?

Yo-Plus for Digestive Health

In order to eat what you store, you must store what you eat.

How many days of the week do you eat meat? How much of that can you store? What if the power goes out? How will you save all the meat that you have frozen?

That’s a lot of tuna fish, canned chicken, canned ham, TVP, and dried beef in your basement. And all of that can be expensive, too. If you want to store a pound of meat for every day of the year, that is 365 pounds of meat. Whew!

I’ll say again: In order to eat what you store, you must store what you eat.

What we need is an economical way to store a variety of meat that isn’t over-processed and tastes like an aluminum can – or SPAM.

The answer: Bottle your own!

Buy your meat in bulk when it is on sale or markdown, bottle it yourself, and only use what you need. You won’t need a lot of freezer space, and you can reuse your bottles. It is both economical and practical. You can bottle nearly any kind of meat, except for processed things like hot dogs and turkey ham. Don’t worry about rotation, either – the shelf life is three years and you can rotate an entire year’s worth by using only two jars per week. This isn’t SPAM we’re talking about, or other processed meats with excessive salt and things like sugar, msg, and other miscellaneous parts (eww). It tastes nothing like canned chicken from the store, nor is it like the funky dry beef chunks in canned stews. This is real chicken, ham, pork, and beef that you’ve selected yourself. The meat is tender, juicy, fully cooked, and fantastic. You won’t need to worry about defrosting it, and it works for a last-minute meal, too.

I first learned of this from Wendy DeWitt of Everything Under The Sun. I suggest reading through her instructions, as well. She has great ideas on how to store, rotate, and use the meat you bottle. She deserves credit for many of the instructions you see here.

You must use a pressure canner (not cooker) to bottle meats. Have your gauge tested at your local County Extension Office every year to be sure of safety and accuracy. You can also ask them at what pressure to can your meat, depending on your altitude. A good canner is a wise investment that will last forever. Check your canner and stove manuals before trying this on a glass-top stove!!! (I’d like to note that both Wendy and I have glass-top stoves and have done this with no problems. BE CAREFUL and do not slide your canner around on the stove; carefully put your cold and empty canner on the element and do not move it at all. After removing your bottles and waiting for the canner to cool completely, carefully lift it off – it is very heavy – to empty the water. This is no guarantee for your stove’s safety, however, so I wanted to provide this warning!)

A pint bottle will hold 1 pound of meat, a quart will hold 2 pounds. Invest in some good jars when you first start canning and reuse them; old or cheap jars can crack under the pressure needed.

You don’t need to cook your meat before you bottle it, nor will you add any water.
(The exception is ground meat, which turns out better if you brown it first, then pack it in water.)

Wash your jars and rings. You don’t need to sterilize them.

In a small pan, boil the lids for about 2 minutes to soften the seal. You’ll notice how I switch direction on every other lid to prevent them from sticking together so much.

Put your raw meat into clean jars. Fill jars with ½” headspace. Add ¼ to ½ tsp of salt (no other spices).

Make sure the rim of the jar is completely clean before you put the hot lid on, and put the ring on finger tight.

Pour about three inches of water into your canner and place the tray inside. Place your jars in the canner on the tray.

Screw down the canner lid, making sure the top is even, and turn your stove on high. Don’t put the weight on the pressure valve until steam has spouted out of the valve for about 10 minutes. This expresses the air out of the jars and the canner. After venting the air, put the weight onto the pressure valve or close the pepcock (depending on your type of canner) to start building pressure.

When the gauge gets to the correct pressure, begin timing 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts for all meat except for fish, which is 90 minutes for pints and 105 minutes for quarts. You will need to start turning down the heat to keep the pressure stable and may need to continue turning it down while it is cooking. Never leave your canner during this time! When the pressure drops or increases, a vacuum effect causes the juices in the jar to be pulled out. Keep the gauge at the correct pressure. Be prepared in advance so you do not have to leave the room!

At the end of the processing time you will turn the heat completely off. Don’t move the canner or touch the valves; just let the pressure go down on its own. When it’s back to zero, release the pressure valve (or remove the weight), take off the lid, put the jars on the counter away from cool drafts and let them cool completely. You’ll hear the beautiful plinking sound of success when the lids seal. If a jar doesn’t seal, you can just refrigerate it for later use. (Have some bread or buns and some barbecue sauce handy – you’ll want to break one open even if they all seal!) After they are cool, remove the ring, wipe the bottles clean, and put them into your pantry or back in the box for storage.

This is my beef after it is done. I just used beef stew meat for this, and used boneless skinless chicken breasts for the chicken you see pictured. This meat is so good that we look forward to the diet days that we get to use it!

Makes 28 cups, or 14 2-cup servings
0 Weight Watchers Points per serving
Prep time: 30 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking

The recipe that follows is a double batch of my original vegetable soup recipe, with the addition of zucchini and spinach. We liked it so well that it has become a permanent change!

The Ingredients:2 onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 large leeks, chopped
1 lb. carrots, sliced (about 4 cups)
4 lg. stalks celery, sliced (about 2 cups)
6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1 lb) (You can also use pre-packaged shredded cabbage)
2 lg. cloves garlic, crushed with press (or use 2 tsp minced garlic)
4 cans (14 oz. each) diced tomatoes, in juice (2 quarts)
2 cans green beans, drained (1 quart)
6 c chicken stock (48 oz)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Thyme
3 zucchini, cut into chunks
12 oz fresh spinach leaves

Mise en place (all ingredients prepped and ready):

We did the vegetable preparation the night before. I put the carrots, onions, leeks, celery, and cabbage into a big bowl, put a layer of plastic wrap over the veggies, then put the zucchini on top before sealing the lid. That way I could lift the zucchini out in the morning and dump the big bowl of veggies into the pan, only dirtying one bowl.

Coat a big stockpot (or two large pans) with non-stick cooking spray. Add the carrots, onions, leeks, celery, cabbage, and garlic.

Sauté for 9 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.

Add tomatoes, green beans, chicken stock, salt, and thyme; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Increase heat to high; stir in zucchini and spinach and return to a boil.

Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.

Either add another 48oz (6 cups) of stock to the entire thing (if you have space and a big enough bowl), or add 1/2c of stock to 1 1/2c soup before heating. We prefer the latter method for easier storage and to enable us to add different flavors of stock for different soup variations.