Fage (pronounced "Fay-yeh") Greek Yogurt

I am pretty much always the last person to try something that everybody else already knows about – and this is certainly the case with Greek yogurt in general, and Fage in particular.

People all around me have been singing the praises of Fage for a couple of years now but it just didn’t pique my interest. All I could think of was the cucumber sauce put on gyros and I didn’t think that taste would be very good mixed with fruit and Fiber One.

Then Kristi from Summer Fitness mentioned in the comments of my protein post last week that Fage is really high in protein. Really? This I did not know. Twenty grams of protein in a 6-ounce serving definitely justifies the label “high in protein”. So I looked for it in my always-limited Kroger and was able to find the 5.3 ounce container of Fage Total Cherry Yogurt. Although this particular product only had 8 grams of protein and (eek!) 210 calories, I was so happy to find it, I bought two.

At first bite, the skies opened up and I could hear angels singing. Why didn’t anyone tell me this stuff has a taste and consistency reminiscent of cheesecake? Why oh why have I been wasting my time with that runny, slightly artificial-tasting fat-free yogurt for SO LONG? And how can I go back to it if I can’t find Fage?

Available in Classic, 5%, 2%, and fat-free versions, Fage Greek yogurt is 100% natural, containing no artificial sweeteners, thickeners or preservatives. It is suitable for vegetarians, diabetics, pregnant women and those on gluten-free diets. Each serving also contains roughly 25% of your RDA for calcium.

I can see, though, where you might want to add a little something sweet, or it might be too tart. If that kind of thing bothers you. Here are some suggestions I found around the internet for ways to use Greek yogurt:

Stir in some fruit preserves, such as cherry or strawberry.

Stir in a tablespoon of peanut butter, almond butter, pumpkin butter or apple butter.

Marinating your chicken in Greek yogurt keeps the chicken moist and flavorful. You can also add Indian spices to the yogurt before marinating.

Use it in place of sour cream on baked potatoes, in stroganoff recipes, in mashed potatoes and to top spicy soups and chilis.

Mix it with olive oil and salt and spread it on pita bread.

Use as a replacement for cream cheese in frosting recipes.

Mix it with garlic and use as a sauce for black bean burgers.

Add fruit and granola for a healthy breakfast “sundae”.

Mix with dried fruit and nuts.

Add honey. Or honey and walnuts. Or honey and Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal.

Add pumpkin pie spice. Or cinnamon.

Put it on a Greek pita with chicken and vegetables.

Spread it on a blueberry muffin.

Plop it on top of a grilled peach or pear.

Add frozen fruit.

Mix with blueberry syrup. Or sugar-free white chocolate syrup from DaVinci Gourmet.

I’ve also heard that Trader Joe’s carries their own brand of Greek yogurt. People seem to like it just as well, or even better, than the Fage. (And it’s cheaper.)

Really, how could you pass on something that looks as yummy as this:

P.S. A question for those of you who have already tried Fage - how do you feel about the fat-free version? I finally found some yesterday and I was not crazy about it at all - but, then again, it tasted as if it might have gone bad. Does it always taste like that, or did I get a bad one? Please tell me I got a bad one...