Yesterday I had the honor of attending a Chobani dinner with Amy Keefe (Chobani) and some über awesome LA bloggers! Dinner was held at Hatfield’s in West Hollywood for an evening of nothing but good food and drinks, complete with Chobani-inspired dishes specially prepared by acclaimed chef Quinn Hatfield. I entered the restaurant to see a group of lively bloggers and Amy, the girl behind the Chobani emails! It’s so exciting when you finally get to put a face to the name of someone you have been talking to via email. Amy is hilarious and so much fun to chat with! After dinner, we decided we were long lost soul sisters. I definitely need to make a trip to the Chobani SoHo Yogurt Bar in the big apple and say hi to all of my other email pen pals at Chobani! CHO has the funniest bunch of employees I have ever worked with.

I was so excited to meet some blogger pen pals and new bloggy friends like the adorable Jessica from What Would Jessica Eat?,  Kelly from Foodie Fiasco (um ya, this little powerhouse is a freshman in high school. She is so inspiring and wise beyond her years! Needless to say I am obsessed with her), and Adrianna of A Cozy Kitchen. Adrianna and I found out that we both have tri-colored Corgis and after that… there was tons of squealing, picture showing, and “awwwws” going on until wee hours into the night. Proud corgi mommas. Oh, and I decided that my Corgi Teddy and her Corgi Amelia are dating. It’s love.

Why do I love Chobani so much?
Besides their awesome employees, I love that their yogurt is natural and Greek strained. It’s made with only milk and cultures with the addition of real fruit and cane sugar in flavored options. Some brands market their product as Greek yogurt, but in fact it isn’t true Greek strained yogurt. Be aware that “Greek-Style” yogurt is not the same. Greek-style yogurts contain additives, milk concentrate, and added whey protein to make the yogurt taste and mimic the texture of authentic Greek yogurt.

So what is Greek Yogurt?
The word Greek refers to the straining process which gives the yogurt it’s thick texture and high protein content. True Greek yogurt only contains milk and live & active cultures.

Did you know that Chobani uses 3 pounds of milk for every 1 pound of Chobani Greek Yogurt? Thats where that high protein rich creaminess comes from!

Chobani LA Dinner
#1 Chobani community coordinator Amy Keefe and I! If you love cats & Chobani, you will def love Amy!
 

Chobani LA Dinner
Finally met one of my favorite healthy living pen pals: personal trainer Bree Bond!
Bree and I have been exchanging tweets for almost a year! You have to checkout her Instagram. She is so inspiring, and girl has a sweet six pack!
I told Bree she needs to start training me haha
Bree’s Instagram & Twitter.

Chobani LA DinnerChobani LA bloggers!

Chobani LA Dinner“It’s time to treat CHOself!”

Chobani LA DinnerFIVE courses of Chobani inspired nom noms! Ohhhh my gosh, checkout that menu!

Chobani LA DinnerAnd of course, the wine pairing. Because Chobani goes all out!

Chobani LA DinnerThe night started with a small crab salad.

Chobani LA DinnerFirst Course: Raw Marinated Kanpachi
Marinated baby radish, herbed Chobani Yogurt, fresh horseradish.

Chobani LA DinnerSecond Course: Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted apple, pancetta, hon shimeji mushrooms, Chobani yogurt crema.
 – took a photo of Amy’s soup to show you guys since I’m allergic and couldn’t have it! –

Chobani LA DinnerModified Second Course: Arugula Salad
Marisa Sheep Cheese and Pecans.
Since I found out the hard way that I am in fact 200% allergic to squash a couple of weeks ago… the sous chef made me a fresh salad! Simple and delicious.

Chobani LA DinnerThird Course: Sous Vide Chicken in Greek Yogurt
Roasted Fennel, Chobani creamy barley, apple salad, whiskey prune smear.
I’m pretty much vegetarian, but I really wanted to give all of the menu items a try. The Creamy Chobani Barley was insanely amazing. I NEED to learn how to make this! Totally inspiring me to make a Chobani Risotto. Or shall I say RiCHOtto!

Chobani LA DinnerFourth Course: Thirty-Six Hour Braised Beef Rib
Smoked Chobani yogurt potatoes.
Once again, I’m not really a meat eater at all, especially red meat, but I’ll try anything once. I like to live life on the edge! haha. The potatoes and roasted broccolini were out of this world. Oh. my. gosh. Absolutely mouthwatering!

Chobani LA DinnerFifth Course: Meyer Lemon and Chobani Yogurt Meringue Tart
Grapefruit confit, mint, huckleberry.
Minus the huckleberry because of my allergy!

Chobani LA DinnerAfter dinner coffee, a must!

Chobani LA DinnerChobani swag bag: Love this bag, upcycled from a burlap coffee bag! Inside the bag was a sweet reusable Chobani water bottle, wooden spoon to get my cookin’ on, Chobani Nike Dry-Fit shirt, and a magnet with conversions for cooking with CHO
Chobani LA DinnerConversions for cooking with Chobani!
Simple swaps to make any meal even healthier! #justaddgood

Aren’t you totally inspired to cook something with Chobani now?
Checkout their awesome recipes and get inspired


Huge thank you to Chobani and Hatfield’s for the amazing dinner!

16 Comments on Chobani LA Dinner

  1. Ashley @ Quasichick
    March 7, 2013 at 6:37 pm (11 years ago)

    Everything looks so yummy!! I adore greek yogurt, but especially Chobani!

    Reply
    • Catherine
      March 7, 2013 at 10:06 pm (11 years ago)

      It was soooo tasty! I love CHO too!

      Reply
  2. Haley @ fullnfit
    March 7, 2013 at 7:07 pm (11 years ago)

    Chobani is my fave! I recently made blueberry muffins and strawberry-banana bread with their yogurt 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Catherine
      March 7, 2013 at 10:05 pm (11 years ago)

      Holy yum that sounds delish! xo

      Reply
  3. Sandi
    March 7, 2013 at 7:38 pm (11 years ago)

    That greek yogurt swapping chart is great! I’m always googling how much of Greek yogurt to substitute for things when I bake 🙂

    Reply
    • Catherine
      March 7, 2013 at 10:05 pm (11 years ago)

      The conversion chart makes it so much easier!

      Reply
  4. Emmalee
    March 8, 2013 at 5:54 am (11 years ago)

    So amazing, Catherine! You really are an inspiration. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Christina
    March 8, 2013 at 6:51 am (11 years ago)

    Thank you so much for that conversion chart! It’ll be so helpful with transforming ordinary recipes into healthy ones. I’ve already lost 20lbs in 2013 just by following your method of a plant-based diet! I feel so much healthier and more energerized! You are truly an inspiration to me, thank you!

    Reply
  6. Shaunna@mamas13minutemile.com
    March 8, 2013 at 8:00 am (11 years ago)

    Lucky you! This looks so yummy! Love me some Chobani!!!

    Reply
  7. Nicole
    March 8, 2013 at 9:43 am (11 years ago)

    You are so lucky! I love Chobani! I was eating it before the whole greek yogurt thing was popular. And everything you ate that night looked amazing!
    -Nicole
    http://www.lungesandlace.com

    Reply
  8. Kaitlin
    March 8, 2013 at 8:24 pm (11 years ago)

    Oh this looks like SO much fun! I absolutely love Chobani and eat it on the daily (sometimes multiple times 🙂 ) I certainly will have to try some of those recipes! And I have that cheat sheet pinned on pinterest so I can sub in my yogurt to various recipes!

    Reply
  9. Claire @ Health Nut Claire
    March 9, 2013 at 8:25 am (11 years ago)

    Hey Catherine!

    Would really love to talk to you about your most recent relapse concerning your weight. I respect your courage to blog about what happened — I’m experiencing somewhat of the same thing and really want to talk about it instead of continually avoiding it. Anyways, if you find the time I would really appreciate e-mailing with you!

    Thanks & Love!
    Claire

    Reply
  10. Amy
    March 10, 2013 at 11:22 am (11 years ago)

    It was SOOO great to finally meet you! You’re an absolute blast and you have a wonderfully positive energy. I’ll give you a shout next time I’m in LA, but hopefully you make a trip to NYC before that!

    Thanks for joining us at dinner. 🙂

    Amy
    @Chobani

    Reply
  11. Paige @ Healthy Hits the Spot
    March 10, 2013 at 1:03 pm (11 years ago)

    Wow! This looks so fun! I so wish I would have gone to this!

    Reply

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