I am constantly on the hunt for the best yogurts for my family so I was intrigued when I had the opportunity to try a brand new product:  iögo 0% with stevia extract. Here is the low down on this new Canadian product.

What is it? iögo 0% with stevia extract is a fat-free, low calorie yogurt with no artificial flavours or colours. Because stevia extract used on its own can leave a slightly bitter taste, a small amount of cane sugar (3 grams) is included in the recipe.

What is stevia extract? Is it just another artificial sweetener? Here are some facts to explain what stevia is, and isn’t:

• Stevia extract is a 100% natural origin calorie-free sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia plant. It has an intensely sweet taste and zero calories. When used in small quantities, stevia extract can replace some of the sugar generally used in food products.
• Native to Paraguay, the stevia plant’s botanical name is Stevia rebaudiana. In this tropical South American country, the Guarani Natives call the leaves of the stevia plant “Ka’a He’ê,” which means “sweet herb.” They have traditionally grown, harvested and used the leaves of this plant for hundreds of years to naturally sweeten their food.
• The process to manufacture stevia extract is the same as for natural flavours. The leaves of the stevia plant are dried and then infused. The resulting liquid then undergoes an extraction process to remove the steviol glycosides, which are what make the stevia extract sweet. The steviol glycosides are then purified with filtering, crystallization and separation techniques.
• The use of stevia extract in food products was approved in 2008 in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration. In November 2012, Health Canada approved the use of stevia extract in Canada

What does iögo 0% with stevia extract taste like? In a word – good! If you are looking for a fat free, low calorie yogurt, I would suggest giving it a try.

Where do you buy it? Look for this product in most Canadian supermarkets in multi-packs of 16 x 100-g containers in the flavours of raspberry, blueberry, vanilla and mango-passion fruit.

The final test – is it a good option for my grocery list? In general, I tend to enjoy plain yogurt which I can add my own fruit and honey to –  but that doesn’t work so well for hubs and my son. Hubs prefers the aspartame flavoured yogurts in a variety of flavours and brands to keep the fat content down; however, with all the debate about aspartame that does concern me.  And we purchase regular sweetened yogurts for our son to add fat content and dairy to his diet. I think iögo 0% with stevia extract will be a good option for hubs. I would love to get the aspartame yogurt out of the house.  So yes, I will add it to the grocery list.

For more information on iögo 0% with stevia extract, visit www.iogostevia.ca

Disclosure: I received a sample of iögo 0% with stevia extract and was compensated for this sponsored post. As always, all opinions are honest and mine alone.