WIN THIS: Siggi's Yogurt

Last summer, a friend of mine got married in Jackson Hole. This little town in Wyoming is all about nature, which means I very quickly found myself in their natural foods store. The Jackson Whole Grocer. On a whim, I purchased a cup of Siggi's yogurt and promptly consumed it. (At right, topped with a banana and some homemade granola. And some Marie Claire on the side.) Talk about falling in love! It was divine, and up until now, the only cup of Siggi's yogurt I had ever eaten in my life. I can't get this delicious stuff where I live.

They sell it at Whole Foods, but I can't very well pick up a cup when I'm traipsing about the city for the day. Refrigeration is, after all, quite necessary. But the good people at Siggi's agreed to send me some swag anyway, just in case I should ever run into the opportunity to purchase a carton again. And since I'm crazy for packaging, I feel the need to share "before" and "after" photos of my package-opening experience:

They sent me a lovely little tote that is now a part of my reusable grocery bag collection, and 12 gift certificates good for one free cup of Siggi's yogurt. I've been holding onto them for quite a while. But since I knew I'd have the opportunity to visit a Whole Foods when I was in Chicago for the Lady Gaga concert, I planned ahead and brought the thermal green tote that came in my Green Giant prize pack from MyBlogSpark. Combined with a little bag of ice, I got four cups of Siggi's home safely—it was worth all the trouble. This stuff is seriously good.

Have you ever eaten Grapefruit yogurt? I found it to be a bit tart, almost sour...true to every natural grapefruit out there. Honestly, not my favorite. But I did enjoy the Pomegranate & Passion Fruit, which I snacked on just yesterday at the gym after spin class. My favorite has to be this one:

Of course, there's still a lone little cup of Blueberry in my refrigerator. We'll see how it tastes. And speaking of taste, you should know that this "Icelandic style skyr strained non-fat yogurt" tastes very much like Greek yogurt. The difference? I think it's all in the production process, really. Both are made with milk, and both are strained significantly to create a nice, thick yogurt. Not only does that result in great flavor and texture, but also a great amount of protein. The cup of Strawberry you see above has about 14 grams. And only 9 grams of sugar. Honestly, the weirdest thing on the ingredients list is "vegetable rennet," which turns out to be a natural coagulator. Translation: It's that which makes the milk turn solid. Back to the ingredients: Siggi's is all-natural, which means no corn syrup to create flavor. No aspartame or sucralose. Not even any preservatives. How important is that! You are what you eat, so make sure you eat right. Right?

Now for the fun part. See if you can buy Siggi's in your area, and if you can, you'll want to leave a comment on this here post telling me the Siggi's flavor you're most excited about. If I randomly pick you, I will send you the very same prize pack they sent me. Yep, they sent me two! One for me, one for you! If you can't get Siggi's in your area, but know that you'll soon be in an area where a purchase will be possible, you can enter! But enter soon, this contest will close on Saturday, March 12, at midnight EST. The winner will be announced on Sunday via Facebook, so of course you get an extra entry if you "like" Daily Dose on Facebook! Just be sure to let me know you've done this, and be sure to leave me your email address in the even that I need to get your mailing address!

Best of luck to all my readers. And remember, Siggi's is only one way to add protein to your diet. Protein is essential for a number of different reasons, but most importantly, it helps our muscles grow and repair themselves after a good session at the gym.