I looked it up and it looks like laban (aka leban aka labneh) - can be similar to american style yogurt or can be strained in cheese cloth. Labneh looks to be strictly laban strained through cheesecloth and since greek yogurt is just strained yogurt, I'd say its basically the same.

Yes, as long as the yogurt you use is just milk and cultures. Greek yogurt (traditionally at least) doesn't have any thickeners like pectin or guar gum in it.

When you strain it, you are left with a smaller amount of yogurt, because of the water that has drained out (this is whey.) That smaller amount has the same amount of protein as the amount you started with. So, say 1 cup of regular yogurt equals a 1/2 cup of Greek due to the whey loss. If you eat 1 cup of Greek yogurt you get the equivalent protein of 2 cups of yogurt. Unfortunately, you get more calories too (for that same reason.)

I love Greek yogurt, it's creamy, has a much better mouth feel, and is less tart. I don't buy it too often because of the price, but when I do I buy it plain. Of course, I only buy plain yogurt to begin with. Sometimes I will mix in fruit, but typically I eat it as is.

RN BSN 2009/Nelie~ I'm not sure if this is true everywhere, but when I have lebneh it was so thick it could be rolled into balls. It was much thicker than Greek yogurt. In fact, typically I'd roll it into balls, roll the balls in zaatar (seasoning), drizzle with olive oil and serve with crackers to spread it on.