My homemade fruit bottom yogurt recipe brings back some delicious memories. My parents were into super healthy eating when I was a little kid, and we didn’t get much in the way of sugary treats, but we were allowed to choose our own flavor of yogurt. As a child, one of my very favorite treats was Dannon’s Boysenberry yogurt. I loved digging down past the smooth white yogurt into the hidden pool of black, sweet berries and stirring until the whole container was a beautiful shade of purple.
<food daydream intermission>
As an adult, I loved the convenience of fruit on the bottom yogurt, but when I began eating what I like to call “carb smart” (with THM), I realized that there was a lot of sugar in those little cartons. That little 5.3 oz yogurt has 150 calories and 27 carbs to be exact! And the really, really naughty added sugar kind of carbs. Even the cups of Greek yogurt have sugar as one of the first few ingredients…a big no-no if you are watching your waistline.
I grew older and wiser, and after reading Trim Healthy Mama, I moved on to lower carb, higher protein Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is sort of a food fad right now, but don’t be fooled…most of the ‘healthy’ Greek yogurt is packed with sugar and artificial thises and thats. It’s only a few grams more of protein. Let’s take a quick look at that label:
So those two cups up there? One of them has nearly TWICE the amount of carbs and sugars. And a LOT less fruity yogurty goodness inside.
What you’re looking for to go low carb is plain Greek yogurt. But plain Greek yogurt was a tough sell for me at first, because it was SO thick. And SO. not. sweet. But I discovered that Greek yogurt is actually SUPER versatile-in its unsweetened form, it’s an impressive fat free sour cream substitute. But it can easily be thinned and flavored to outshine those sugary little cups of yogurt that used to hold my heart. I’ve been using the sugar free berry syrup recipe to make instant flavored yogurt. Super easy-peasy!
But sometimes I still miss being able to choose from a whole bunch of different flavors, and just grab a carton of yogurt out of the fridge and dig in. So I decided to do something about that.
Mine is half the carbs…and I get to enjoy MORE goodness that your standard cup of yogurt!
There is only ONE brand (at the time of this writing…and it’s brand new on the market) that uses stevia and has no added sugars: Oikos Triple Zero yogurt. It looks like a great option for those of us looking to avoid added sugars! Or you can make the yogurt recipe below. It’ll save you some cash, and you’ll get MORE yogurt and more flavor options.
Can I tell you how EASY it is to replicate this beloved convenience food? I can now make this fruit on the bottom yogurt recipe in any flavor of fruit that I can get my hands on.
I bought a flat of 1 cup wide mouth jars like these…they’re the perfect size to hold my yogurt treats! I love how I can see the layer of fruit on the bottom, and I can watch it all swirl together. And I can tell if I missed a spot when stirring.
I consider a cup of my homemade yogurt to be a Fuel Pull if I enjoy it as a breakfast or snack, since there is such a small amount of fruit…I don’t count berry or really even fruit carbs for just a couple of tablespoons of fruit. (Especially since some of that 2 T. is water and thickener.) I don’t like to be a number Nazi when it comes to foods…I just gauge a meal by the combination of parts, and this one adds very minimal amounts of fats or carbs. I do put some conversion & meal combination tips on the printable recipe for you, so these little cups of perfection can go S or E very easily.
Mmmm….whole berries! The low carb homemade kind is my choice.
It really is super simple. The recipe below is more of a guideline of how I like to make it. Feel free to sub your favorite fruits, berries, or even sugar free fruit syrups to your own taste to get the texture and flavor just like you like it. You can even mix up your flavor options by switching out the vanilla for some other flavored extracts, or blending in a little cream cheese for an S cheesecake yogurt treat! The possibilities are as big as the yogurt section at your local grocery store. 🙂
Here’s your printable Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt recipe:
- 1 large carton Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt (I use the 32 oz. Kirklands brand from Costco)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract, optional
- 3 packets stevia or your favorite sweetener blend to taste
- almond milk (FP) or half & half, or heavy cream (S) to thin yogurt to taste
Fruit Layer - 1 cup fruit or berries of your choice, sliced or slightly mashed. (You can even use different fruit in each cup if you choose!)
- additional stevia or sweetener of your choice
- 1 Tablespoon water
- gluccie, optional thickener
- pinch of salt, optional
- Stir & mash your friut or berries with sweetener of your choice until nicely dissolved. If your fruit is on the dry side, add a little water to thin it down, and a small pinch of glucomannan sprinkled over the top to get a nice loose jelly consistency. Taste to test sweetness and flavor.
- If you're making all one flavor for your cups, then I do the above step in a bowl. If you are making different flavors for each cup, then you can do this step right in the bottom of the containers. Just taste test for a nice sweetness & consistency.
- Add 2 heaping tablespoons of fruit mixture to the bottom of six 8 oz. containers.
- Stir vanilla and sweetener packets into yogurt. Taste and adjust the flavors to your liking.
- Spoon yogurt over the fruit. If you want them to be very separated, you can freeze the fruit in the jar prior to adding yogurt. But I just dollop it in.
- Cover & store in the fridge for up to a week.
- Stir in your fruit when you're ready to enjoy!
Move this into a healthy carb fuel treat by serving with an additional piece of fruit or sprouted toast, or a sandwich on sprouted bread.
For a richer treat, add ¼ of cream to your yogurt blend to create an S treat.
You may use the berry syrup or peach syrup for this recipe if you have it on hand!
Anybody know where I can find some boysenberries? 🙂 What’s your favorite flavor of yogurt?
thank you so much for this yogurt recipe. I have been driving all over town trying to find some Triple Zero. I have 0% Greek yogurt in the fridge for various things and thought, “There has to be a way to make my own. ”
Can’t wait to try this with raspberry or peach!
So glad I can save you some gas money and frustration. 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
Does anyone know where to purchase trim healthy momma products in Sherwood Park Alta. Phone number or shop name please. Thanks
I love this idea! I started following THM in May of last year. I was able to lose weight. Winter hit though and I lost focus. Falling into old routines. This would be a great idea to help get back on track. Thank you.
You’re so welcome! I’m thrilled to be back. 🙂
Wow! The site looks great! Love it. This yogurt looks fabulous, too! xo
Thank you!
Thanks, Gwen! I finally located and bought a few tubs of the Triple Zero yoghurt, but I prefer less expensive options, especially when they’re this simple and yummy! I’ve found that I prefer to thicken my fruit “jellies” with chia seeds instead of glucci, so I plan to make that simple tweak and then make up a batch of these tonight!
Oh, yummy! Sounds like a fun tweak. I’ve been enjoying my new favorite flavor: raspberry almond today. 🙂
*swoon!* Sounds wonderful!
I am brand new to THM and have been making my own yogurt. I love to make up these yogurt parfaits and keep in fridge. I use 2% milk and gelatin to make it. Is homemade yogurt on THM plan?
Sure, so long as you strain it afterwards. The carbs are in the whey. 🙂 That’s why they recommend Greek (strained) yogurt. If you use full fat milk, it would be an S. Low fat milk would be a FP.
Thank you for that tid bit…. I live in Africa and have to make everything from scratch. I was never sure how to label my home made yogurt, as an S or E or what? I make it from fresh cow milk, so S it will be….. Now if I could only get berries…… 🙂
Sounds so yummy… I have always loved Fruit on the Bottom yogurts too! Thanks for the great idea!
(PS- you’ve got a little typo- it’s “gauge”) 😉
Hi Gwen!!! (insert wildly waving hands from Cindy’s friend) 😉
Very nice website!! I do this too, the fruit and GY in jars. I like to do it more parfait style, but the idea is the same. When I am bringing meals or treats to friends, this is one of the things I bring.
Blessings,
Michelle
Ooh…parfait style! How fun! Great idea to take these as treats. Wouldn’t these be so nice for a new Mama!
Do you use frozen or fresh fruit? Also what size of container is your greek yogurt?
Yes. 🙂 Fresh or frozen. Whatever I have on hand. I like thawed fruit the best because it makes its own juice. 🙂
I use the 32 oz. container from Costco.
Mmmmm, yum! I’ve been loving the coconut cream and banana cream Oikos Triple Zero. Maybe you can figure out recipes for those :o)
chall-ange! 🙂 I’ll have to do some testing!
I love flavoring Greek yogurt with your berry syrup! It’s the best recipe ever! I like to make a combination of equal parts raspberries & blueberries. I also add a spoonful of chia seeds hydrated in almond milk to the yogurt to add texture and nutrients. I’d love to know if you ever find a source for boysenberries! That just sounds yummy!
Oh, yummy! I love mixed berries. I am not even sure where boysenberries grow. 🙂 I’ve not seen that flavor in years.
I’m so glad to come across this recipe as I love the fruit on the bottom yogurts ad cannot find the new triple 0 anywhere!!
This is a relief!! Thank you!!
🙂 I tried the triple zero yesterday and I have to say that I like the whole berry fruit on the bottom better!
Thanks Gwen. I just bought some strawberries from Aldi’s for 99 cents for a quart which cost $1.99 at
Walmart. I was impressed with this recipe ad plan to give it some thought but for now I have pitted and
cut up my strawberries in small chunks and are going to add them to my homemade yogurt. My husband
is diabetic so I use Kal Stevia most of the time with the tiny scoop. Besides adding them to my yogurt,
we like them in our oatmeal but with the second quart, I will make your syrup recipe. Thanks for a
great recipe and the pictures. I can make greek yogurt with my yogurt maker but instead I just add a
1/4-1/2 t of crystals used for making jam. However, I have the Glucomman (sp?) and will try that instead for
a syrup thickener.
I bought the triple zero and was disappointed to see it doesn’t list the active yogurt cultures on the carton. Usually 4-6 of them are listed. If all it says are active yogurt cultures without listing them can we consider it a high quality ‘cultured/fermented’ product?
I like the ease of triple zero, but if you are looking for a high quality cultures then you may want to look at other brands, or make your own. I like to find brands that are rBST free, or ideally grassfed. 🙂
I have found that I cannot use ANY artificial sweeteners, they cause major muscle spasms… What do you think of agave? My favorite flavor of Greek or any yogurt is the plain with honey :). Do you have a recipe on how to make your own Greek yogurt? My brother-in-law gave me a yogurt maker but there was no instructions with that so any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Love your site
Agave is very high in fructose, so it may not be a great choice if you have liver issues. The liver processes fructose.
When you say artificial sweeteners, do you mean stevia? I count that one as low glycemic but not artificial. 🙂 It can cause sodium wasting in some people, which will throw off your electrolyte balance and cause the twitching. You may want to look at coconut palm sugar if you want one with a lower glycemic setting, or try monk fruit extract (which has a honeyish taste) or a fiber based sweetener like inulin? I have some brands in the Trim Healthy store tab if you want to check them out. Some people just don’t do well with any non-glycemic sweeteners though.
Greek Yogurt is just plain yogurt that’s strained. You should be able to look up instructions for your make and model of yogurt maker online. To strain your yogurt, just place it in a tea towel in a strainer over a bowl overnight. The whey contains most of the carbs, and will strain off.
Love this! I made it with fresh blackberries…had to duck the juice squirting out at me! So delicious and easy. They are ready to grab from the fridge take to work with me this week. Thank you for this economical version!
*high five*
Blackberry sounds DIVINE!
Love all of your tips and ideas. I’m looking forward to trying several of the receipes I’ve printed out so far.
Thanks, Shawna!
Gwen,
Maybe you can help me. Our family is starting THM and my children like the 000 yogurt, except it makes all of us gassy. Can you make a diy 000 yogurt without chicory root as the protein?
Thank you,
Jenna
Hi Jenna! The chicory is a sweetener- it’s a type of fiber that can give people gas and problems. The yogurt itself (plain 0% Greek) is the protein source, so you’d just add a sweetener that agrees with your tummy. I like stevia or THM Super Sweet in yogurt.
We love the fruit on the bottom or the lemon yogurt in the family size.
Gwen,
Thanks so much, I assumed it was the fiber source since it’s in a lot of protein bars. Yay!!!!
I’m so excited to make this.
Jenna
Is there a substitute for Almond Milk or anything that requires almonds? Thank you!
Sure! You can use carton coconut or cashew milk, or make your own nut or seed milk. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I get up at 5am and am gone by 6am and work a 10 hour shift so breakfast is…fast food. I had two yogurt and granols’s from McDonalds today and thought there had to be a way to THM these. If I made them and ate two with this granola https://mytableofthree.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/no-grain-granola-cereal-s/comment-page-1/#comment-137 what category would this fall into??
Thanks for your time.
They granola is an S recipe, so you’d probably want to stick with one of the yogurts to keep the carbs lower. But you could add another S food to the meal if you need more sustenance. 🙂
Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!
My Hubby and me are new to THM, and don’t like stevia so the Oikos 000 was out. When I saw that monk fruit (which we haven’t tried but are about to) was on plan, I was glad. When I saw this recipe for making our own yogurts I did a happy dance! I’m in a facebook group for THM and everyone says to check out your blog. Wow! they were right! So far I’ve printed the yogurt, apple crisp for one and bread recipes. I’m sure I’ll be going out to get more ink before long! Thank You again for sharing your hard work, it’s much appreciated!