Ideal Bite

Which of these Yogurts are Glutin free. I find that even best Yogurts still have Glutin in thier source ingredents. My DD has this issue, so we have to settle for what might not be the best Yogurt, but she can't eat the rest.

This is my second day receiving e-mail tips - WOW! I've never been a big yogart fan to begin with, but when I do, it's always strawberry - NOW, I learn about the coloring - YUCK! Stupid me, I thought the color was actually from the strawberries or chemical food coloring - NEVER BUGS! I'm on the organic yogart wagon now!

While organically fed cows may eat better it is not necessarily true they are treated better. for a rating of how the dairy industry stacks up go to www.cornucopia.org. They rate a lot of dairy farms and you can see how they stack up for animal welfare, etc. Also, in my town we can't recycle yogurt containers. Loved the idea about putting them in wax or asceptic containers like soy milk. we should start a campaign. I haven't tried Wallaby's but Strauss Family Farms non-fat yogurt in maple flavor is amazing!

Woodchuck, You might want to ask at your local natural foods store - many of them have a gluten-free section and/or have knowledgeable staff members. If they don't know, you could look at the company contact information on the container and call them. You could also try making some yourself using a starter you purchase at the store (I have no idea if they are gluten-free cause I've never used one, I've always used leftover yogurt to propagate more) or possibly capsules of Acidophilus or a combo of lactobacillus organisms. It is pretty critical to buy a high quality brand (though not necessarily the most expensive) cause some studies have tested commercially available varieties and found that many do not contain what's listed on the label and some even contain bacteria that could make you sick (definitely NOT what you want growing in your yogurt)! I've added opened capsules in my yogurt making and have had good results. Good luck!

Kelly that's awesome about the Jordan farm. Being from CNY, and living mostly here (and belonging to the Syracuse Real Food Coop), that's a great find. Thanks!

Anything that Straus Family Farms puts out is amazing. We just love their European style yogurt with granola in the morning. They love their cows too: http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/?id=50

Stonyfield actually imports powdered "organic" milk from new zealand! and "natural flavoring" is actually an utter deception. the majority of those so called natural flavorings are derived in labs using some weird mutation of corn, as so much of what is produced in this country. says alot about the state of organic guidelines in the us. and their yogurt has no soul. here in nyc we get hawthorne valley yogurt at the union square greenmarket among many other markets . it is local, delicious and i have seen the happiness of their biodynamic farm and all its inhabitants with my own eyes. yes, my love of their yogurt took me to Ghent NY. the point is, if you're not going to make your own, at least source it locally. and BTW, all that sugar in those flavored yogurts negates any benefit you might receive from the probiotics. my favorite way to eat it is with cucumber and fresh mint. or if i want it sweet, a dash of maple syrup. but learning to love the true taste of a high-quality whole plain yogurt without fancy flavorings is really worthwhile.

I never knew about where the pink coloring of the strawberry yogurt comes from. DISGUSTING! When I first read the tip I thought it must have been wrong, or some sort of sick joke. Upon Googling cochineal beetles I found that the dye is used to color a variety of edible things, even Good & Plenty candies! I'm appalled that these companies don't have to label their products appropriately. It's disturbing to know that even a person who is very conscious about what they're eating can be so misled.

Good God. This is definitely my last day of random, roaming omnivorous eating! I always tried to eat as organic and local as possible, but when you're traveling or out and about, I was always happen to eat almost whenever I ended up, so long as the place and people were clean, and food relatively healthy. What jackass first looked at those bugs and thought "hey, if I boil these, they'd make great strawberry yogurt coloring!" That's just wrong...I think I want to find that guy and make him eat a few beetles. Unfortunately our government would probably consider that to be some form of eco-terrorism.

This is for Woodchuck: Yoghurt is a dairy product, which means that it shouldn't have gluten in it. Commercial yoghurts often have all sorts of additives to make up for the fact that they are of such poor quality that they aren't smooth or thick or tasty or fresh enough, and gluten could very well be one of them. Any good, organic/biodynamic, preferably local yoghurt shouldn't have anything in it except milk, yoghurt culture bacteria and whatever flavoring (vanilla, maple syrup, fruit, whatever). If you live anywhere near PA or NY, try Seven Stars Farms or Hawthorne Valley Farms biodynamic yoghurt (they have stricter regulations on cow happiness, among other things, than normal organic). Otherwise check for local biodynamic farms on the internet, or check if you can get one of those yoghurts near you anyway.