Taste Testing Blue Isle Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads

{Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. I just wanted to put this out there in case anything thinks I’m getting rich by trying out yogurt spread. I did receive the yogurt spreads for free to taste test, but all opinions are my own. I can’t be bought with yogurt spread. Marshmallows, maybe. But not yogurt spread.}

When I was at BlogHer, I had the good fortune to plop myself down beside a super sweet PR lady at one of the lunches. While we were doing the chatty ‘what do you do’ thing, in between the ‘I love your top’ thing and the ‘tell me how you met your boyfriend’ thing, she mentioned that she works with some different food brands.

Um… I like food.
And boom, a friendship was born.

In one of our random email chats, my friend mentioned that a new product was coming out that I might like by Karoun Dairies, Inc called Blue Isle Mediterranean Yogurt Spreads. Basically, they are a healthier alternative to cream cheese – the spreads have nearly 40% fewer calories and total fat. Blue Isle’s spreads are made from yogurt, including live cultures, probiotics and calcium, but with no added sugar.

I’ve been trying to make healthier food choices, so I decided to try them out. My friend was nice enough to send me all 5 flavors: original, honey, blueberry, french onion and spicy vegetable.

It was like I won the yogurt spread lottery!
YOGURT FOR EVERYONE!

I may have run around the house yelling, “YOU get a YOGURT!” and “YOU GET a YOGURT!” like a spread-happy Oprah. Just for a minute though, because I was hungry and it was lunchtime.

The packaging had some suggestions on how to eat the spreads (because apparently ‘on a spoon’ is not a typical option), such as using it for a veggie or chip dip, on bagels, on baked potatoes and in any recipe that would call for cream cheese.

Well, I hadn’t been to the grocery store in a while, so the pickings were slim at the Joules house. I DID have a big ol’ bag of chips though, so I cracked open the french onion spread and dug in.

And dug in.
And dug in some more.
Okay, I pretty much ate almost the entire container in one sitting.

It was good. Like, really good. I doubt my snack was that healthy, since I ingested a ton of potato chips… but it WAS really tasty. And at least I wasn’t downing a bunch more fat and calories from the spread. Right?!

I picked up some bagels the next morning so that we could test out the spreads as more of a ‘cream cheese replacement’ as suggested. Travis went for a plain bagel with blueberry spread and LOVED it. In fact, he loved it so much that he went back for another half of a bagel when he was through to ‘taste test’ some more.

I tried the honey spread on a cinnamon crunch bagel. At first, I was a little turned off by the lack of density because it was bit thinner than my typical cream cheese topping. After a few more bites, I decided I really liked it – the flavor was like a cross between a honey cream cheese and a plain Greek yogurt.

Although I really want to try the spreads over a hot baked potato, because the picture in their marketing material looks so delicious I want to lick the page, I still haven’t had a chance to go to the store. Having a sick kid really messes up your schedule. I’m holding on to the original flavor Blue Isle Spread until I buy some potatoes though!

As for the spicy vegetable spread, I’m not a fan. It’s just too spicy for me. However, Travis really likes it and already ate half the container as a spoon to get chips into his mouth. So see, it isn’t just me.

So, would I recommend Blue Isle Mediterranean Yogurt Spread?
Absolutely!
When my spread stash is gone, would I buy more with my own real money?
You betcha!

It’s an easy way to cut out a few extra calories without sacrificing taste. Because, to be honest if something tastes gross I’m not going to eat it. Which I guess would be a way of saving calories, except then I just get really hungry and eat ANYTHING that I see in front of me. Which usually tends to be pizza, or a hamburger.

If you’re interested in having your own Blue Isle taste testing party, or just having it as a topping on your bagel, it will soon be available in lots of natural food stores and supermarkets nationwide. You can find more information on their Facebook page, Twitter page and Google+ page.

Now if you excuse me, I have a potato to buy and bake.

If you had been shipped a box of Blue Isle spreads, what would you have tried it on? Are you a veggie dipping fool, or more of a chip dipper like me?

 

Disclaimer: I was not paid to write this post. I did receive the yogurt spreads for free to taste test, but all opinions are my own.