Yogurt as a mayo replacement

[Pooh Carlson]

So I decided for the new year I was gonna start eating healthier ... was gonna try Adkins cause that was the only thing that really worked for me, and I lost like 50 pounds on it back in high school ... so far I've eaten pizza the last two days so it hasn't gone SUPER well...

I'd like to get some opinions from the health conscious FANs ... I've heard that yogurt is a healthier replacement for mayo, but when I look at the nutritional information on both, mayo has fewer calories, fat content, and sodium than yogurt. Also, I tried making a chicken salad last night with plain yogurt instead of mayo, and it tasted awful.

Anybody have any insight on the yogurt vs mayo debate?

[Red Impact]

Dairy is always going to be calorie dense food, so it's always going to look bad on paper unless you get low-fat, non-fat or Greek variety (which is low fat, but it's own thing as it's strained). So you really need to look at the things it does have. I don't know what brand of yogurt and mayonnaise that you have, but sodium is usually lower in yogurt. Yogurt also has other nutritional benefits, like protein and calcium and b vitamins, that mayo, being basically emulsified fat, doesn't. Mayo really doesn't have any health benefits over yogurt, save that it might not be as calorie dense as some brands. The healthiest yogurt I've come across is Greek-style, so that's another thing you might want to look into.

As for substituting it in foods, if you're used to mayo, it is definitely an acquired taste. I'd ease into it, replace half of the mayo with yogurt, for example, and see if that works better. Slowly accommodating can sometimes produce more lasting changes than if you try to change everything at once.

[H-Fist]

Depends on which yogurt. There are FF yogurts and low-fat yogurts out there. And per tablespoon, you have to find one lard-soaked yogurt to be less healthy than mayo.

Plain yigurt can work for a chicken salad if you season it right. I've used yogurt as a chicken marinade, first combining the yogurt with Indian spices (cumin, coriander, that kind of stuff) and found it successful. That kind of flavor family should work for a salad. You can also use a brown or dijon mustard and a dash of honey for sweetness to make a dressing for a chicken salad with walnuts, dried fruits, etc. Basically you need to adjust your flavor combinations from accentuating the pure salty fat of mayo, to the sour tang of yogurt.

[Drillbit Taylor]

I use Olive oil may in place of Mayo. Half the Calories half the fat.

I use Yogurt, esp Greek Yogurt, for anything that says Sour Cream. Both have a slight tang, but overall Greek Yogurt is better for you than Sour Cream

[Pooh Carlson]

I've tried Greek yogurt before and I wasn't a fan of that either.

For reference, I was using Dannon non-fat plain yogurt, and my mom always buys regular ol' Kraft mayo. Probably part of the problem was that I was just trying to drum something up off the top of my head, and failed as a chef, lol. Chicken with lemon pepper Mrs. Dash, black olives, onion, and non-fat plain yogurt is pretty much the worst thing I've put in my mouth.

I'm not really worried about yogurt having more protein than mayo or miracle whip ... I'll be relying more on the chicken and other meats to take care of the protein situation. More of my wondering is, by going by the serving size of miracle whip, is it really going to be worse health-wise than yogurt? Cause man that yogurt is so freakin bland.

[Fiddleford H. McGucket]

If you're just looking for something to toss over chicken, a light Italian Dressing makes a GREAT Marinade, it's nowhere near as Fat-Dense as Mayo or Yogurt.

Also, if you're hell-bent on using Yogurt as a condiment, try Tzatziki sauce (Recipe Below)

Tzatziki Sauce:

16 ounces plain yogurt

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

Pinch kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and mint. Serve as a sauce for gyros. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

It's a dipping sauce they use for Gyros at Greek resteraunts and ut's one of my personal favorite sauces.....it's a LOT lighter than you'd think being yogurt based and it's great with Roasted meat (Especially Lamb)