Have you ever found yourself at the grocery store in the yogurt isle looking at all the choices that are available and wondering what tastes best? We certainly have! Joe and I eat a lot of Greek yogurt since it’s packed with protein and makes a great breakfast or snack. Sometimes I even eat a Greek yogurt in place of dessert during the week. At over $1 per yogurt, I want the yogurt I buy to taste great, not just okay.

While I prefer plain yogurt, Joe is a huge fan of all things blueberry. So on Saturday we decided to sit down with six different yogurts for a little taste test. We tasted them all so you don’t have to!

Here’s how we put together our taste test:
-The yogurts we selected were based on what was readily available at our local Super Target. I know there are a couple other widely available blueberry Greek yogurts that were not included, which is only because our Target only had these varieties in stock.
-A few of the yogurts aren’t “Greek” yogurts (Noosa and Siggis) but were thick strained yogurts, so we included them in the test.
-We wrote down our thoughts independently and came to the following conclusions…

WINNER
Chobani 0% Blueberry Greek Yogurt
Flavor Notes:
We have eaten a lot of Chobani over the past couple years, but I was curious to see how it stacked up in comparison with all the other yogurts we tried. Ultimately, it was a very tight race between Chobani and Liberté, with Chobani edging out Liberté by a nose. What won us over was the smooth, creamy consistency and the fact that despite being non-fat, it wasn’t pasty at all, unlike some of the other yogurts we tried. Additionally, we really loved the real blueberries in the fruit mixture. Our only complaint was that we wished it was a little less sweet.

RUNNER UP
Liberté Non-Fat Blueberry Greek Yogurt
Flavor Notes:
This yogurt was new-ish to both of us. I’ve had the plain variety a few times over the past month, but we had never tried the flavored varieties, like this blueberry. Coming in second place, Liberté won us over by having the best true blueberry flavor out of the bunch with a smooth, creamy consistency and real blueberries in the fruit mixture. Joe wished it was a bit thicker, but the sweetness level was perfectly pleasant. In fact, Joe thought that combining the Chobani and Liberté 50/50 created his perfect version of blueberry Greek yogurt.

HONORABLE MENTION
Fage Fruyo 0% Blueberry Greek Yogurt
Flavor Notes:
This was the first time I’ve seen the Fruyo variety of Chobani in stores. I’m a big fan of the plain 2% Fage, so I had high expectations of this Fruyo. Unlike the traditional flavored Fage, which comes with a side car of fruit mixture, this variety has the fruit blended into the yogurt. My first impression was how sweet the yogurt tasted, a little too sweet for both of us, but we couldn’t get over the great texture. It was ultra creamy and had zero pasty taste. We also loved the blueberry flavor. If it had been less sweet I think it may have been the winner.

OTHERSNoosa Australian Style Blueberry Yogurt
Flavor Notes:
Neither of us had ever tried Noosa before, but I had heard good things about this Australian-style yogurt. One container (8 oz) is considered two servings, and each 4 oz serving has 150 calories, meaning it’s much more decadent than the other yogurts in the bunch. After tasting it, we can totally see why! Joe and I both agreed that we loved this yogurt, but it would probably make a better healthy dessert rather than a breakfast yogurt. We loved the blueberries and creamy, rich texture. It just seemed a little indulgent for everyday.

Trader Joe’s 0% Blueberry Greek Yogurt
Flavor Notes:
We shop at Trader Joe’s every week, so many times Joe ends up getting Trader Joe’s blueberry Greek yogurt to save us from making another trip somewhere else just for Greek yogurt. However, after this taste test, I’m thinking we might need to reconsider our strategy! This is one case where Trader Joe’s does not deliver. The yogurt was tart, pasty and left our mouths feeling dry. Additionally, it didn’t deliver on blueberry flavor.

Siggis 0% Blueberry Yogurt
Flavor Notes:
I’m not exactly sure what makes something “Icelandic-style” like Siggis claims to be, but we were not impressed with this yogurt. I am a fan of many different types of yogurts, but you couldn’t pay me to eat a whole container of this stuff. Both Joe and I felt like it was absurdly tart, almost as if it contained an entire lemon. The blueberry flavor was nonexistent and it left us with a sour taste in our mouths. Definitely something to skip!

What are your favorite brands of yogurt? In your opinion, did we get it right with our taste test?

Madison

Happy Friday, friends! Now that the weather is getting warmer and summer is just around the corner, I find I’ve been thinking about beauty products a lot more than usual. Perhaps it’s because my freckles are starting to appear again and I’m no longer ghastly pale. Or maybe it has something to do with craving a little update to match my summer wardrobe. I like to think that spring cleaning your makeup is just as important as spring cleaning your house, though my hubby might disagree.

It’s been a while since I did a giveaway, hasn’t it?

Well, I think that it’s time to change that, so today I’m giving away a $50 Sephora gift card to one lucky reader.

There are two ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment below letting me know about your must-have summer beauty product.
2. Tweet about the giveaway (@MadisonHofmeyer), then leave a second separate comment letting me know that you did.
The giveaway will be open between now and Monday, May 20th at 10 p.m. I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday, May 21st!

Madison

Today I’m excited to take you on a little tour of our dining room, also known as my favorite room in the house. It’s not the room we spend the most time in,
but it’s certainly my favorite. The way the colors came together and the little details, it all just works.

This room is technically a bedroom. When we purchased the home, it was decorated as a kid’s bedroom, and had two doors, one that opened to the kitchen and the other to the hallway.
It was a little strange to have a bedroom (that we didn’t need) that opened into the kitchen, so when we moved in we took the door off the hinges between the bedroom and kitchen
and turned it into a dining room. It’s been a great place to entertain friends and familyand I couldn’t imagine our house without it!
Though I suppose when we have more than one kid, we might need to think about turning it back into
a bedroom. Here’s a little look at my favorite room in the house:

Our wine glasses and bottles were stored away in the cabinet in our previous apartment. This wine rack from Pottery Barn fit perfectly
into the corner of our dining room and gives us a place to display some of our favorite bottles of wine.
Although we bought our wine rack at Pottery Barn, we recently discovered you can also buy a very similar model at Costco for much cheaper!

If I had to pick one picture that sums up my decorating style, this would be it. The silver table (which I’ve had forever and was purchased at a second hand store, I believe)
is classic with a little hit of something special. We currently have it filled with odds and ends for entertaining, like paper napkins, place mats and the like.
The wall color we chose is Benjamin Moore Rockport Grey; I couldn’t be more trilled with the results. It’s warm enough to feel cozy instead of cold.
The rug was newly purchased from West Elm.

The drapes are also from West Elm. Instead of putting the rod right above the windows, we installed the rod as close to the ceiling as possible, leaving a little bit of excess at the bottom,
to give the room a taller and more dramatic feel.

This painting, which my mom found at HomeGoods last year, is my favorite piece of artwork in the house.
And it happens to fit perfectly between the doorway (to the kitchen) and the pantry.

Since the dining room is technically a bedroom (and was used that way when we bought the house), we had a decent-sized closet to work with.
Since we didn’t need the closet to store clothing, we installed closet organization systems from The Container Store so I could store some of my larger
kitchen appliances. We are short on pantry space in our kitchen, so this was a real lifesaver.

And finally, the light fixture. When we first saw the room, it was decorated with bright green paint and was fashioned as a kid’s bedroom.
The light fixture (which appears to be original to this 1952 house) was on my hit list of things I had to remove asap! But, once we painted
the room grey, the light figure really grew on me. In fact, I would dare to say that I love it now. Since unique and quirky antiques are
in style these days, it seems ashamed to get rid of such a fun and different addition to the room.

And that’s that! Thanks for taking a tour with me. Up next week? Our master bedroom.
Madison

Some of my favorite bloggers, like Jenna and Gina, have been putting together the best posts where they share little bits of their life. Jenna calls it her virtual coffee date, Gina talks about having a virtual wine date. Perhaps we can sit down and eat a cookie together and talk about life lately?

Life is good lately. Like so good I can hardly believe that the life I’m living is mine to enjoy. But my heart has been with those who are struggling. There have been times in the last couple years where life was anything but good. It was beyond hard and I felt like every day we were existing rather than thriving, and it was so hard to trust in God’s plan. During those times, I remember reading blogs that were raw and honest and it gave me comfort to know that I wasn’t alone. If you’re walking through the valley in this season of life, take heart! Know that God’s plan is perfect. His path for our lives isn’t always clear to us, but he truly does work through all things for the good of those who love him. My heart is with you.

On a lighter note, I’ve been seeking inspiration. It’s been a long time since I refreshed the list of blogs I read daily, and I’m in desperate need of some help from you all! Do you have any blogs that you have recently discovered that are beautiful, uplifting, inspiring? They don’t have to be food blogs necessarily (some of my favorite blogs are lifestyle blogs) they just need to be a breath of fresh air. Maybe they are even “big blogs” that you have heard of but I haven’t. Share them in the comments below, pretty please!

My dad, step-mom and little sisters are coming to visit in a couple weeks! This will be the first time that they will see our house in Minnesota so Joe and I are working hard to get our lawn and outdoor space in fighting shape. We had a landscape architect come to put together a plan for our backyard last week, too. We currently have plenty of yard but no patio/deck in the back to put our grill/table/chairs. We’re hoping to put a stamped concrete patio out back this summer. Exciting? Yes! But how in the world is concrete so expensive?!

I’m also incredibly thankful for all you who read Espresso and Cream. My blog isn’t a big blog, it’s very modest at best. And I’m starting to realize it may always stay this little space on the internet and may never grow into anything more. But each comment, e-mail and conversation I have with one of you just makes my day. Thanks for taking a few moments out of your day to read and interact. I love it so.

Madison

P.S. – The World’s Best Cookie Recipe can be found on my sister-in-law’s blog! (and pictured above)