The best yogurt for kids has to be healthy AND something they will eat, right? But how much sugar is in the brands they gulp down? To find the best-tasting yogurts with less sugar, Consumer Reports ShopSmart had 30 children of its staffers taste-test three lower-sugar brands – two flavors each. Here’s what the kids said they would eat:
The Winner…
Dannon Danimals – 25% Less Sugar Lowfat Yogurt
Flavors tested: Totally Vanilla and Strawberry Explosion
Kid-tester results: Both flavors ranked high for flavor as well as texture. 53-percent of the testers said they’d eat the Totally Vanilla again; half said they’d go back for more Strawberry Explosion.
A Close Second…
Yoplait Kids – 25% Less Sugar Lowfat Yogurt
Flavors tested: Strawberry and Vanilla
Kid-tester results: Strawberry was more popular than Vanilla. Many of the kids said the Vanilla wasn’t sweet, but about half said they’d eat it again.
Not so hot…
Stonyfield Farm Organic Yokids – 25% Less Sugar Lowfat Yogurt
Flavors tested: Strawberry and Banilla (banana and vanilla combo)
Kid-tested results: Both flavors rated much lower than Dannon and Yoplait. Some kids said it was watery. More than half said they wouldn’t go back for seconds.
Quick Stats…
All three of the lower-sugar brands have 90 to 100 calories and 13 grams of sugars per serving compared to 110 calories and 17 grams of sugars in regular kids’ Yoplait Trix Lowfat Yogurt. They also have 20-30 percent of the daily value for calcium compared to 10 percent in the Trix.
Anyone out there had their kids taste-test any of these? Or tried them yourself? 
Very interesting! I usually try to stay away from the kids yogurt all together because I think they are packed with sugar and preservatives! Thanks for comparing!
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Do they simply have less sugar or has the sugar been replaced with sucralose/aspartame?
On another note, while I know that no one will have time for this, but I recently saw an ad for a homemade yogurt maker like my mom used when I was a kid.
Fill up the cups with milk, add the probiotic mix, plug it in and ??? hours later, home made yogurt with no preservatives
I tell my clients that if they want to eat yogurt, the only way to go is PLAIN. If you want to sweeten it, use fruit or a natural, gentle sweetener like agave nectar or stevia or maple syrup. Any flavor, other than plain, has way to much sugar. Most commercial yogurts have multiple forms of sugar, i.e. Colombo has sugar, high fructose corn syrup and the lactose itself, which is the milk’s sugar. Eat yogurt plain and add your own fruit. It’s the best way to go. I also recommend Greek yogurt, as the strained consistency and texture is nice for eating straight up, or for blending a smoothie.
And as DR, above, points out, the “less sugar” yogurt might have artificial sweeteners in it, to make up for it. Those artificial sweeteners are WORSE for you than sugar. But both aren’t good.
I always laugh how yogurt can still be called a “health food” when we’ve added so much sugar, preservatives and artificial ingredients to it. Even the children’s yogurt you mention with reduced sugar, still has 13 grams — the equivolant of 3 1/2 spoonfuls of sugar! Based on the serving size, suffice to say it is about 50% sugar, YIKES!
You are all right. Personally, I have switched to plain Greek yogurt – I add nuts and honey to it and I’m good. But I thought the Consumer Reports review was still interesting for parents still trying to get their kids to gradually make the switch to less added sugar… then hopefully to no added sugar.