On Wednesday I embarked on an unusually early start into town for a PR Launch of a new yoghurt, Skyr (pronounced ‘Skee-er’). The time I awoke wasn’t unusual, my eldest son likes to have a chat with me around 5-6am most days, before popping back to bed for a bit (!!!) Today it was the destination which differed from my usual school run focused start to the morning.  I had been invited to a working breakfast, trialling the product and hearing the wise words of expert nutritionalist Charlotte Stirling-Reed, followed by a tour of Londons hidden natural spaces (not all that random, natural yoghurt – natural spaces, see what they did there?). Quite the introductory package I thought,so I accepted the invitation and duly packed my Nikon in readiness.

Now I am not inclined to go to the opening of an envelope, so it was with trepidation that pre-acceptance I checked it wouldn’t be a blogger-saturated fest and looked into the brand a little, to be sure it was of genuine interest to me, and hopefully, you all. I found out to my delight the company behind this product is farmer owned Arla Foods, who make loads of our fave fridge staples like Lurpak, our milk, cheese and various other products, so I knew it was worth going to hear about the latest addition to their repertoire. Every morning, religiously, I dollop a more than generous helping of any old brand of lemon yoghurt on to my brekkie concoction in the hope that I’m helping myself to a healthier start to the day, so I was truly interested in trying out this new brand, especially as it was billed as a fat free, low sugar and higher protein option. My youngest is currently obsessed with yogurts of all shapes, sizes and flavours, so i figured I’d score a double whammy here and introduce a fresh taste to his diet too.

Along I went to the stunning Ham Yard Hotel, an idyllic square just minutes off the heart of Piccadilly Circus. Virtually impossible not to be distracted by this stunning homage to design, I had to stop myself from running late due to photography overload.

Skyr were the perfect hosts and we enjoyed a lovely waistline-friendly breakfast whilst learning all about this new Icelandic favourite from Charlotte, who was so passionate about the brand, it was infectious. Fat free yoghurt to me usually ticks a quick box in the supermarket and I chuck them in my trolley with guilt free glee. This morning I learned that I needed to rethink my blanket policy on this term, as the sugar content in them usually out weights the benefits of lack of fat content. It’s so frustrating though, as I scan the labels on pretty much everything for fear of adding unnecessary sugar to the family diet where there shouldn’t be any, so it would be nice to at least rely on fat free yogurt not to stack the sweet count!

Skyr is incredibly low in sugar, instead naturally pumped full of protein (nearly 10% more than any other available), so my sessions at the gym really need to be complimented with this yoghurt in future, rather than negated with my usual choices. Flavours wise, the big pots choice is Natural, Honey or Strawberry, and while I will miss my lemon flavour, I’d rather see trim results than please my tastebuds to the max, so I’m switching. The snack pots have more options with a layering of yummy fruits to tantalise all tastebuds. My health conscious hubby has taken to lavishly dolloping the Natural choice on his porridge of a morning to boost the health factor as well as jazzing up a bland brekkie.

I’ve prepared this mini pot for Dominic’s breakfast in the morning, from the gifted items in our goodie bags. Skyr strawberry and Nordic mixed berry yoghurt, sprinkled with granola and I’ve plopped in a couple of plump sliced strawberries for good measure!

Recently, I’d started cooking with natural yoghurt, switching creme fraiche or sour cream for it, and the taste suffers not one bit, in fact, the yum factor increases with the fresh flavour injection, plus it’s way healthier, and I’m all about that where practical. Great ideas for the switch are lasagne, fajitas, sauces, even soups!

Following the taste and chat session this morning, we embarked on our whistle stop tour, but quite frankly it was so fantastic, it needs a whole post all of its own, so watch this space!

We were kindly given a lovely little goody bag incorporating scrumptious samples of this Icelandic Super Yoghurt, but that’s hardly a reason to justify a juicy big post. As you will know by now, I really have to believe in the brand to share it on here. I know you all love a new take on a staple so I thought you’d like to hear all about this one and I saw it, tried it, loved it. Simples.

What do you try to incorporate for breakfast and snacks to stay healthy? I’d love to know….