Calories in Fat Free Frozen Yoghurt DO Exist and Can Be Misleading

If you have ever stopped to watch the way that people shop you will have noticed that these days many people spend a lot of time looking the packaging and reading the labels before they buy. This is mainly because we are becoming more aware of the nutritional content of our food and are more careful about what we eat. We have taken to checking and comparing calories in various foods, even calories in frozen yogurt and fat free frozen yogurt.

This is because when we were first introduced to fat free frozen yogurt we were given the impression that it did not contain many calories and was touted as being healthy. While calories in fat free frozen yogurt are fewer than in an equal amount of ice cream or normal flavoured yogurt, they are still present. When it comes to calories frozen yogurt is misleading because people see the fat free notice but forget that calories exist in other forms as well as fat.

While it carries the name ‘yoghurt’, it truly is much more like a soft serve ice-cream.  It varies a little slightly as it is generally lower in fat (due to milk being used instead of cream) and is slightly sourer.  Therefore, if you eat frozen yoghurt frequently and it’s sweet – that means it’s loaded with sugar! To manufacture a product that appears frozen but yet is still soft enough to be pumped through a machine it contains stabilizing agents, gums, preservatives and other manufacturing secret ingredients!  Don’t forget, it will most probably have artificial colours and flavours added too!

One average you will find that 4 ounces of frozen yogurt will contain about a 100 calories. This means that a 16 ounce serving will set you back about 400 calories and that is before you even factor in the toppings. This is where most people tend to make their mistakes. They think that since the yogurt is fat free, and therefore low in calories, they can add a lot of toppings. They do not realise that this where the calories pile up and before you know it, you have consumed more calories than if you had enjoyed a plate of ice cream instead.

I have been to a local fat free frozen yogurt place near our house and it is a good treat for the kids on occasion. The thing which surprised me was that they only had 8 flavours of the frozen yogurt but there were two large sections of toppings which each included 16 different toppings each! Added to this was the selection of bottles containing sauces and syrups, which bought up the number of toppings to almost 40. This is a lot to resist and so you need to be careful that you select the correct toppings. You should avoid anything too sweet and heavy such as nuts and chocolate as well as some of the canned fruits. Stick with fresh fruit or a few sprinkles if you feel that you need toppings.

Checking out the Nutritional Value of Frozen Yogurt is Easy

I had never realised that yogurt was used in so many things in one way or another. I was checking out a recipe for scones the other day and it called for the use of buttermilk which I did not have access to. The alternative which was offered was to use yogurt and I have to admit that the results were great. Since then I have been looking at using yogurt and even organic frozen yogurt in other things and also checking out the nutritional facts for frozen yogurt.

We also need to see what is actually in frozen yogurt before we look at the nutritional value of frozen yogurt. Although these may vary, on the whole you will see that the main ingredients are:

• Milk fat: 0.5-6% of the yogurt
• Milk solids: 8-14% of the yogurt. Milk solids contain 55% milk sugars or lactose, 37% protein and 8% minerals
• Yogurt culture includes healthy bacteria like acidophilus and bifid bacterium
• Sweeteners like cane or beet sugar: 15-17% of the yogurt
• Emulsifiers and Stabilizers (animal and vegetable gelatine): 0.5-0.6% of the entire volume
• Corn syrup, colouring and flavouring agents

Nutritional facts for frozen yogurt

Calories: An ounce of frozen yogurt usually contains 25-30 calories depending on whether it is of the non-fat, low fat or regular variety. A medium cone of 8 oz. has approximately 200-240 calories.

Carbohydrates: One medium serving of 8 oz. has 30-50 grams of carbohydrates.

Fats:Fat content is much lesser as compared to ice creams. Moreover, it is made from skimmed milk is totally fat free. If made from whole milk or low fat milk, it has less than four grams of fat in a serving of 8 oz.

Proteins: There are 2-8 grams of proteins in a serving of 8 oz.

Calcium: An eight oz. frozen yogurt suffices 20% to 30% of the RDA for calcium.

When it comes to nutrition facts frozen yogurt is easily researched. There is a lot of information available on the internet and many people are now reading up about the foods that they eat. This is due to the trend of being more aware of the contents and sourcing of the items which we now decide to purchase and consume.

Frozen yogurt many be seen as a healthy dessert but any benefits which are to be gained will only come from frozen yogurt which has live cultures in it. To qualify for the National Yogurt Association's Live & Active Cultures seal, frozen yogurt must be made by fermenting pasteurized milk. Many frozen yogurts use heat-treated yogurt, which kills the live and active cultures, or they add yogurt cultures to their recipe, directly skipping the fermentation process. In contrast to popular belief, the act of freezing the yogurt does not kill cultures.This fact can be added to the information about the nutritional value of frozen yogurt and you can then make up your mind about which one to purchase. Frozen yogurt is a delicious treat and can be enjoyed by all.

How Many Frozen Yogurt Flavours Have You Tried Recently?

Many of you will not be able to remember a time when the only flavours of ice cream which were available in most places were the vanilla, the chocolate or the strawberry flavours. Anything else was still a few years away and when new flavours arrived they were thought to be exotic and strange. This is not the case with frozen yoghurt and frozen yoghurt UK stores now sell a wide range of frozen yogurt flavours.

The frozen yogurt franchise which we visit on a regular basis has machines which dispense 8 different frozen yogurt flavours at a time but the beauty of it is that these flavours are change on a regular basis. This means that one week you can try one flavour and then the next time you go there will be new flavours for you to try. In this way you can get an idea of what you like and then stick with them when they are available. Let’s not forget the way that you can mix and match the various different flavours in new and exciting combinations. In this way you can get even more tasty variations.

Then consider the way that you can add so many different toppings each time and you will find that you really are spoilt for choice. Since I have now visited the place a few times I have tried at least 15 different frozen yogurt flavours and I now know exactly what I like. My favourite at the moment is three parts blueberry frozen yogurt and one part mulberry frozen yogurt topped with a pear half and toffee crunch. It is a delicious treat which I like to enjoy every couple of weeks and as long as I am aware of the fact that there are plenty of calories within this dessert it is no big deal.

This is where the problem lies, in the fact that most people see frozen yoghurt as a healthier alternative to many other types of desserts. While it is true that there is less fat, often no fat in the frozen yogurt, this does not mean that there are no calories or that it is healthy. The rule to follow is to think of it as an ice cream and have the same amount that you would if you were watching the calories. There are so many different ways to enjoy frozen yoghurt and one of the latest is the frozen yogurt bars.

These frozen yogurt bars are packaged and sold in the same way that ice cream is presented. You get so many different flavours to choose from and some of these are covered in chocolate. Although you do have the choice of standard frozen yogurt bars and frozen yogurt flavours, there are also the organic and low sugar versions available. All of this means that you can now enjoy a dessert which is tasty, low in fat, comes in many flavours and combinations and is also readily available in most shops and restaurants.