Piling on the Pounds with Fro Yo Swirled Frozen Yogurt

Sometimes a misconception can lead you into a lot of trouble and at other times, the results can be quite subtle. This is what happened to a friend of mine recently when she discovered that she had gained five pounds in weight and could not understand how. It seems that she had been told that fro yo was healthy and so she had been eating froyo frozen yogurt every day. I don’t meant that she was eating fro yo frozen yogurt at every meal, but just that she had been getting through tubs of fro yo swirled frozen yogurt as a dessert for weeks!

The main reason for the confusion was the way that frozen yogurt has been marketed. You only ever hear about how much better for you fro yo is than ice cream and how it is a healthier alternative dessert than many others. This can be misleading and for someone on a diet, or someone who has a sweet tooth, the thought of a dessert which is not bad for you can make them get very happy and excited. The thing to do is to try and find out a little bit about anything new which appears on the market and which sounds too good to be true.

While it is true that froyo frozen yogurt is made from milk and not from cream, as is the case with ice cream-hence the name, it still contains calories. A lot of people tend to get confused with the terms low fat and low calorie. If something is low fat, it can still be high in calories which are not good news for anyone. Even I started to think that a bagel was healthy because it was advertised as 97% fat free, but then I checked it out and saw how many calories it contained. Then you have to think about the extra things such as the butter and cream cheese without which a bagel seems to be incomplete.

The scenario is the same for fro yo frozen yogurt and there are certain things that you need to know about it. Sometimes it can be better to have a small scoop of ice cream instead of fro yo, depending on the company you choose and the way that you have it served. The problems arise when you start to add extra toppings such as fruit, nuts, sauce and sweets or sprinkles. Also the portion size tends to become a bigger problem because people think that since it is low fat, they can have more of it.

Even some flavours of fro yo swirled frozen yogurt can be very high in calories, as my friend found out. These days there is no excuse for saying that you did not know about something or the other. We live in an age where almost all information is readily available to us with just a few clicks of a mouse, or by typing in a few words on our laptops or even our phones.

Keeping an Eye on the Calories in Fat Free Frozen Yogurt

It seems as though half the world is starving and the other half is constantly on a diet. This is the impression which you get from the media and since it is such a powerful tool, the images created by the media can be long lasting and change the way that people think and behave. Let us take for example the way that so many people have started to choose low fat frozen yogurt as a dessert option, thinking that there are fewer calories in frozen yogurt than in ice cream.

Although it is true that when it comes to calories frozen yogurt does have the edge, the thing that people tend to forget is that if they eat twice the amount then the benefits are lost. This is also the case if you start to make unhealthy selections of toppings on your low fat frozen yogurt. The calories in fat free frozen yogurt come mainly from the additional sauces, sweets and even fruit which are chosen.

While frozen yogurt can taste tarter than ice cream, it is lower in fat than ice cream because of the substitution of pure milk in the place of heavy cream. This emphasis on a treat that is a little bit healthier is why frozen yogurt is more than a craze. As recently as the 1990s, it made up 10 per cent of the whole dessert market. Whereas ice cream contains a lot of sugar and salt to add taste to the final product, frozen yogurt allows for the substitution of ingredients like honey or agave nectar in place of sugar. While frozen yogurt is still not as healthy as normal yogurt, other benefits that it includes are more minerals and nutrients than regular, traditional ice cream.

Although the number of calories in frozen yogurt will vary from company to company and for each different flavour, in general a half-cup serving of whole milk frozen yogurt contains 110 calories. The same amount of regular ice cream contains 134 calories. A half-cup serving of low-fat frozen yogurt contains 107 calories, and a half-cup serving of low-fat ice cream contains 114. This is just a rough guideline and some companies produce low fat frozen yogurt which can contain up to 160 calories for a half-cup. The flavour will affect the final calorie count, but the most important thing to remember is the addition of toppings, and portion size.

Things such as nuts, hot toppings like caramel or hot fudge, candy toppings like sprinkles or crushed candy bars, fruit toppings like strawberries, and even more creative toppings like brownie bits will push the number higher than you would like to think. By all means choose consider the calories in fat free frozen yogurt carefully, but remember that if you only have it as an occasional treat, then you can afford to let the calories be high sometimes. This does not mean that you should pile your cone or cup up with every kind of topping available.

Chocolate Brownie, Frozen Yogurt and Bananas Taste Great Together

There are some combinations in this world which are just meant to be and I have found that chocolate features in a lot of these! There are not many people around who can honestly say that they hate chocolate and one of the latest combinations which I have found to a success is the chocolate brownie frozen yogurt and fresh fruit. Even chocolate flavoured sauce frozen yogurt and bananas go well together.

Chocolate fro yo (frozen yogurt) and chocolate sauce frozen yogurt and a spoon are often quite enough to make small children very happy. Wonderfully rich, chocolate frozen yogurt is a great treat for both children and adults alike. The taste is like chocolate cream pie filling with a bit of tang from the yogurt. There is lots of calcium, but it is low in fat and calories, well lower than ice cream anyway. It is also easy to make at home and you do not have to be an expert in the kitchen to be able to rustle up this sweet treat. Here is a very simple recipe for four servings:

Ingredients needed;

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons corn starch
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can fat-free evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup plain low fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method used;

1. Stir together the corn starch and sugar, and place in a saucepan. Stir in the evaporated milk, and chocolate chips. Cook over medium heat until chocolate is melted and the mixture is thickened. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
2. Remove the mixture from the heat, and stir in the plain yogurt and vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
4. If you do not have an ice cream maker, then just freeze in the freezer and make sure that you keep stirring it every hour or so.

Yogurt adds nutritional goodness, a distinctive taste, creamy texture, and wonderful moistness to your cooking. The possibilities range from simple combinations of yogurt and fruit to dishes made with Greek yogurt or homemade yogurt cheese. No matter what food you’re making, there are just a few tips and precautions to observe in cooking with yogurt:

•  Yogurt can be used in dips and dressings—as a substitute for mayonnaise or sour cream in equal amounts—to reduce calories and fat.
• Yogurt is a useful addition to marinades; its high acidity helps tenderize meat.
• Yogurt can be used in place of sour cream or heavy cream in sauces and in stove-top recipes. However, never add yogurt directly to a boiling or extremely hot mixture—heating yogurt over 120° F destroys the beneficial bacteria.
• Avoid using aluminium products when cooking with yogurt, as the acidity of yogurt can react negatively with aluminium.

Even if you decide that you do not like chocolate flavoured sauce frozen yogurt, you can still enjoy the goodness of yogurt in a variety of other ways, both sweet and savoury.

Frozen Yogurt for Kids is Better than Many Other Desserts

Yogurt is one of those foods which are of great benefit when it comes to matters of health and in some cultures; it is used as a part of religious or cultural ceremonies. These days, it is recommended that yogurt is not given to infants until they are a year old, as is the case with fresh milk. However, frozen yogurt for babies is fine as long as the child is over seven months old, because it has different properties from fresh yogurt. So frozen yogurt for baby is fine and there are various ways to serve it.

There are also companies which make special frozen yogurt for kids and this is often touted as a healthy alternative to ice cream. Do not let this fool you in to believing that frozen yogurt calories are non-existent because the only main difference is the amount of fat which there is between the two. There are frozen yogurt flavours which do have considerably fewer calories but then there are others which are quite sweet.

Tips for cooking with yogurt;

Cultured foods, such as yogurt, make for incredibly moist baked goods. While you will not get the health benefits of the bacteria, yogurt will still provide valuable nutrients such as calcium and protein. Using yogurt as a substitute for buttermilk, sour cream, or butter will also reduce the calories and fat. Freezing yogurt doesn’t harm the bacteria.

Heating yogurt too rapidly can cause it to separate into curds and whey. You can avoid this unappetizing prospect by warming the yogurt at least to room temperature before adding it to hot mixtures, and by heating any yogurt mixture slowly, stirring constantly.

To thicken sauces, add a little arrowroot or flour (1 or 2 tablespoons per cup of yogurt) mixed with cold water. If adding yogurt to your salad dressing, dip, or cold soup thins it out too much, simply chill the mixture for an hour or two to thicken it. Yogurt should be folded into other ingredients. Over stirring will thin it out.

When it comes to serving yogurt as a dessert, you can give just plain with fruit, either fresh or stewed, or as the growingly popular frozen yogurt For babies, especially those who are teething it is a good idea to freeze small cubes of yogurt and then let the baby chew on it to help ease the pain of teething as well as getting some food down them.

Frozen yogurt calories may be quite low, but you need to be aware of the way that the additional toppings you add to a bowl of frozen yogurt can make the calorie count spiral. It is best to choose from frozen yogurt flavours which have fewer calories and then add fresh fruit or a few nuts to it. The main things to avoid are the heavy chocolate sauces and the sprinkles and let us not forget about the marshmallows and other sweet treats to tempt the children, and let’s face it, the adults also!

Have You Ever Tried Blueberry Frozen Yogurt as a Dessert?

Last year I took the kids to a farm where you could pick your own fruit and they had a great time, not only in the actual picking of the fruit and the chance to run around a farm, but also in the farm shop where I spent a lot more than I had thought to. Apart from selling the fruit such as strawberries, apples and blueberries flavoured frozen yogurt was also available. This was something new for the kids and the blueberry sauce frozen yogurt was soon an instant hit.

Blueberry frozen yogurt is not the only flavour which was popular and since then I have found that frozen yogurt is a very popular dessert in my household. This is fine with me since it is a healthier alternative to ice cream and is much better than many of the other desserts which are available and all of which have found their way in to my kitchen at some point or the other. Frozen yogurt is virtually fat free and the problems tend to arise when you start adding the various toppings which are available.

Another thing to remember is that frozen yogurt is not actually a health food as some people seem to thinks so. Although it does contain yogurt, which is healthy and good for you, it does contain things such as different types of sugars which are bad for you. It may not contain as much fat as ice cream but it is still not very healthy, especially if you have a lot of it. One of the reasons that frozen yogurt seems to be healthier than ice cream is that it is not as rich and sweet, giving the illusion that it is not fattening.

Anything is fine in moderation and this goes the same for desserts. You should not deprive yourself of the occasional sweet treat, unless it is on doctor’s orders. This will only increase your cravings and you will find yourself reaching for the first sweet thing that you can find. This is why it makes sense to have a tub of frozen yogurt in the freezer, as it will give you that sweet kick, but is not as bad as a bar of chocolate or a bowl of ice-cream. There are so many flavours of frozen yogurt around these days that you can be spoilt for choice.

A lot of people have found that it is easy to make blueberry frozen yogurt at home and this way you can control the things which go in to it. If you freeze bought yogurt, read the ingredients to check for sugars and fats. Some of the toppings which are popular but raise the amount of calories consumed include nuts, chocolate chips, chocolate sprinkles, wafers and various sugar based sauces. The best thing to add is fresh fruit, and but you should avoid things such as bananas and mango if you are in a position where you have to keep an eye on the calories.

Naughty and Nice – why fat free fro yo is the ultimate sinless snack

It’s a familiar problem for dieters and healthy eaters everywhere. What do you do when you want a special treat that feels luxurious but which won’t pile on the pounds?

Let’s face it, even the most diligent of us deserves something decadent from time to time – and there are days when only something sweet will do. For many people low calorie frozen yoghurt can provide a full-flavoured answer – giving you all the delicious taste of a dessert with much less or in some case, no fat at all and fewer calories than other treats.

Forget cakes, biscuits or even ice-cream, choosing low calorie fro yo means you can enjoy a little taste of luxury, a delicious pudding or an indulgent afternoon nibble, that won’t leave you feeling empty but won’t break your diet either. And as consumers become ever more aware of the need to eat healthily it’s a very modern way to get a sweet tooth fix that has far fewer calories.

As the UK’s number one fro-yo brand yoomoo is an expert in creating amazing, low calorie frozen yogurt that tastes as wonderful as it looks. With fewer calories than more traditional snacks like ice-cream or normal, full-fat yoghurt, it represents a fabulous way to enjoy something that’s naughty and nice. Their yoomoo bars offer a great range of flavours, toppings and sauces too, meaning consumers will never be short on choice either, and in three sizes of servings means you there’s a tub to match every appetite.

So how calorific is low fat and fat-free frozen yogurt? How many calories are there in yoomoo’s wonderful fro yo products?

Well, the simple answer is not very many.

Whereas a small, 100ml serving of traditional ice cream typically contains 200 - 300 calories, the same size serving of yoomoo’s fat free vanilla yoghurt weighs in at just 93 calories – a hefty difference. Even their super-rich chocolate flavour only contains 140 calories (compared to the equivalent in ice cream) making it a fantastic way to answer your cravings!

Toppings can be an important too. Choosing one of yoomoo’s fresh fruit toppings can ensure your dessert stays low-calorie and remains a completely sinless snack. Add in the fact that all of yoomoo’s products are made exclusively from natural ingredients and are packed with probiotics and it makes them a healthy option in more ways than one.

Healthy eating website, livestrong.com recommends opting for yogurt-based treats as a way of maintaining weight and shaping up. As they explain: “Yogurt, especially non fat and low-fat varieties, offer considerable health benefits. Subbing ice cream for yogurt can work successfully in any healthy weight loss plan.”

As yoomoo co-founder, Amanda, explains: “yoomoo is all about making fro-yo fun, edgy, and tasty, while keeping it healthy.

“The yoomoo range is guilt free! All our products are made from British milk and are suitable for veggies, with nothing taken out and no room for nasties! Our at home pots are naturally low fat and our yogurt bar fro-yo is deliciously fat free, so yoo really can moo with peace of mind.”