Both yogurt and sorbet are more nutritious snack and dessert options than fat-laden, high-calorie choices. These foods are often replacements for full-fat ice cream or decadent dessert pastries that satisfy your craving for a sweet interlude during the day or after a meal. Before you choose between them, consider their nutritional profiles and pick the best for for your diet and health objectives.
Yogurt Ingredients
Yogurt is a dairy product. Non-fat yogurt has no fat because the manufacturer uses non-fat milk to make it. To produce yogurt, it is necessary to add live bacteria to heated milk. Streptococcus thermophilus and lactobacillus bulgaricus are the most commonly used yogurt cultures, according to Drugs.com. Once added, the bacteria makes the milk ferment. This process gives yogurt its slightly sour flavor. To ferment non-fat milk and make homemade yogurt, you add yogurt from a purchased container to your own heated milk.
Yogurt Nutrients
Yogurt provides proteins, vitamins and minerals found in milk. A 6-oz. serving of plain nonfat yogurt has 82 calories, with 8 mg of protein and 112 mg of sodium, according to the American Diabetes Association. Non-fat yogurt also has 11 g of sugar in the form of lactose that naturally occurs in milk products. Some manufacturers add more sugar to prepared yogurt, so you should read the nutrition label to check for added sugar.
Sorbet Ingredients
The main ingredient in sorbet is fruit, although it is possible to make sorbets with veggies, beer and spirits. The type of fruit that you choose determines the sorbet's taste and texture. Because sorbet is traditionally a frozen dessert or treat, standard recipes start with frozen fruit and add simple syrup, a mixture of sugar and water. When you make sorbet, the recipe might also require that you add a complementary juice or sparkling water to achieve the consistency that you want. If you start with fresh fruit, you adjust the ingredients for texture and freeze the mixture. Other recipes use honey as the sweetener.
Sorbet Nutrition
A commercially prepared sorbet may contain fruit, sugar and additional flavorings that change the nutritional content. The best way to get an accurate calorie count is by reading the nutrient label for each specific brand. The American Diabetes Association averages calories for fruit sorbets and reports that a serving of 1/2 cup has 130 calories, mainly from the sugar in the fruit and added sugar in the recipe. It also has 31 g of carbohydrate and 21 mg of sodium but provides only 1 g of protein.
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