Saturday, March 16, 2013

Tropical Drinks and some new yogurt

Yogurt is like peanut butter.

I bet you're wondering how I'm going to make sense of that statement, right?

Well, it's like this. There are certain brands of peanut butter that I know I like. So I tend to be pretty brand-loyal. Unless, of course, I have a really good reason to try another brand. Like I have a coupon for free peanut butter. Or someone sends me some peanut butter. Or I succumb to some advertising campaign.

But most of the time I don't stray too far from familiar territory, because I don't want to be stuck with a jar of peanut butter that I don't like.

That's exactly how I feel about yogurt. You see, I joined the ranks of yogurt-eaters quite late, and I'm pretty picky. I'm not fond of regular yogurt. I love Greek-style yogurt. And I don't like yogurts with a lot of additives.

So right there, my list of favored yogurts is pretty small. But ... there are new yogurts showing up at the store every day. At one store I go to, the yogurt section seems to be getting bigger every day. The sour cream and cottage cheese have been evicted to different coolers to make space for the new yogurts.

But it still takes some encouragement for me to try a new brand.

When Wallaby Yogurt contacted me, it was a perfect opportunity to try the yogurt risk-free, and I availed myself of their generosity. Much yogurt eating ensued and after extensive research study tasting snacking, I've decided that this is a brand that can stay on my shopping list.

And here's the REALLY awesome thing.

Most of the nonfat yogurts rely on thickeners of some sort. And that's the part that I don't like. It makes the yogurt thick, but the texture is all wrong, and sometimes it doesn't behave well in recipes. And it tastes ... not good. Nonfat is fine, as long as it doesn't mean there are things added.

But the Wallaby nonfat is just nonfat milk and cultures. No goo-gum or whatever else is used as a thickener. Yup, that works for me.

So, now that I've got this wealth of yogurt, how about a recipe? How about we have a drink to celebrate?

The pineapple/orange/banana juice in this recipe isn't a combo - it's a juice flavor I found at the grocery store. It tastes mostly of pineapple, so if you can't find it, use about 1/4 cup orange juice and 3/4 cup pineapple juice, and you'll be just fine.

The banana and the yogurt add a bit of thickness to the drink. If you like, you could blend this with ice cubes or serve it over ice. And of course, it can be made without the rum. Of course. But maybe not.

Tropical Paradise
Recipe © by www.cookistry.com. Do not republish without permission.
1 banana
1 cup pineapple/orange/banana juice
1/4 cup Wallaby nonfat yogurt
1 ounce banana rum
Fresh pineapple chunks (for garnish)
Orange slices (for garnish)

Put the banana, juice, yogurt, and rum in your blender. Blend until smooth and frothy

Pour.

Stab some pineapple chunks onto a skewer and use that to garnish the drink. Perch an orange slice on the rim of the glass.

Drink. Eat garnishes.

Repeat.

Do I hear steel drums in the background? Jeeeeell-low bird, somethingabouta banana treeeee...
Yum