Sunday 3 March 2013

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.

Sunday 3 February 2013

Fro Yo Frozen Yogurt Could Lead To Successful Business Opportunities

I was visiting a newly opened branch of a fro yo frozen yogurt chain last week and looking around I realised that the owner of the franchise must be making a mint. The place was crowded with people from all walks of life, all enjoying the delicious taste of the froyo frozen yogurt favourites. This led to a discussion about the various different chains which sell frozen yogurt and which ones were the most popular and why.

Froyo franchises thrive in high-traffic retail markets with families, students and young professionals. People may be more aware of their diets these days, but they certainly have no less of a sweet tooth. Frozen yogurt, a hybrid between the traditional ice cream dessert and the healthier (and hipper) yogurt based products, is an innovative way for customers to “have their cake, and eat it too.”  Although the popularity of the frozen yogurt franchise industry suffered a decline in the late 1990’s, the category has been making a colossal comeback in the last decade, with a new generation of flavors, toppings, and store settings leading the charge. With this new wave of frozen yogurt franchises blossoming, new franchisees will find that this industry is nowhere near its freezing point.

Focusing on providing delicious yet diet-friendly treats to its health-conscious consumers, this new hybrid of frozen yogurt is tangier, tarter and lighter than original frozen yogurt products. Unlike older franchises whose frozen yogurt was intended to mimic ice cream products, these new franchises go beyond the typical ice creams flavors, offering creative inventions like cranberry-raspberry and green tea yogurts. Nowadays, customers aren’t just coming in for the frozen yogurt, but also for these franchises’ “chill” store settings. Trending away from the outdated ice-cream parlor environment, modern froyo stores include high-end furniture, Wi-Fi, flat-screen televisions, and live musical performances.

Different franchises sell different types of product;

Soft-Serve

Soft-serve yogurt is a favorite in market of froyo products. These treats are typically tarter and plainer than hand-scooped flavors, letting customers experiment with toppings without being overwhelmed by the sweetness of the yogurt. Soft-serve yogurt can either be charged by number of servings or by weight.

Hand-Scooped;     

Hand-scooped frozen yogurt, a healthier twist to the original ice cream parlor concept, presents an opportunity for franchises to get fully creative with their froyo flavors.

Cakes and Pies

If you can’t decide between cake and frozen yogurt opt for a franchise that serves frozen yogurt filled cakes and pies. These delectable desserts are a favorite during birthdays and holiday celebrations.

Smoothies

In response to the current health foods trend, some frozen yogurt franchises have decided to sell vitamin or protein enriched smoothies. These smoothies are typically made with the same soft-serve yogurt that is already sold in the store; they simply blend in fresh fruit and juice.

One of the most popular desserts in many households these days is the fro yo swirled frozen yogurt. This comes in a variety of flavours and is both light and creamy but low on calories.

There are Fewer Calories in Fat Free Frozen Yogurt than in Ice Cream

These days it seems that the world and its mother seem to be counting the calories in every single that is destined for their mouths and stomachs. This means that you will find people checking the calories of any foodstuff added to their trolleys and baskets and you will find the calories amounts listed in menus at restaurants and takeaways. I have seen women arguing about the calories in fat free frozen yogurt, as compared to ice cream and other desserts, as though their very lives depended on the outcome! There is no competition as there are fewer calories in frozen yogurt than in most ice creams.

The energy stored in food is measured in terms of calories. Technically, 1 calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree centigrade. The calorie measure used commonly to discuss the energy content of food is actually a kilocalorie or 1000 real calories. This is the amount of energy required to raise 1 kilogram of water (about 2.2 pounds) 1 degree centigrade. Different foods contain different amounts of energy -- which is why a small piece of chocolate can have many more calories than a similarly sized piece of lettuce. However, since calories are a measure of energy, there cannot be, as some diet books claim, different types of calories. A fat calorie has the same amount of energy as a protein or carbohydrate calorie.

A person's caloric need is determined using a variety of mathematical equations. Age, height, current weight, and desired weight are taken into account. Diet is what you eat. Dieting usually refers to eating fewer calories to lose weight. The amount of calories in a diet refers to how much energy the diet can provide for the body. A well-balanced diet is one that delivers an adequate amount of calories while providing the maximum amount of nutrients. Naturally, different foods provide different amounts of calories. Some foods, such as ice-cream, have many calories; while others, like leafy vegetables, have few.

Healthy Alternative

In general, frozen yogurt can be viewed as a healthy alternative to ice cream — perhaps on par with frozen milk or some sorbets. The enzymatic benefits of yogurt can aid digestion, and some of the additional health benefits of yogurt remain in its sweetened and frozen form. It should not, however, be viewed as a “healthy” food, because it still contains relatively high levels of fat and might have extremely high amounts of sugar.

When it comes to calories frozen yogurt has the edge over other desserts but this is only true to the point that you need to eat the low fat frozen yogurt on its own, without the additional toppings which are so popular and so hard to resist. These are the things which can bump up the calories in frozen yogurt desserts to the extent that it can sometimes be better to have a small piece of your favourite dessert or ice cream.

Sales of Frozen Yogurt in UK Stores Have Increased in Recent Years

Desserts are one of the few things in life which most people cannot resist in some form or another. Even those who say no a few times always give in and accept a little bit. This is good news for businesses dealing with desserts and these days one of the most successful dessert markets is the frozen yogurt UK market. Frozen yogurt in UK has really caught on and there are now many frozen yogurt suppliers.

Frozen yogurt is a dessert that is similar to ice cream but is made with yogurt rather than cream. It tends to be healthier than ice cream; so many people choose it as an alternative. Consumers should realize, however, that although it is richer in many minerals and nutrients than ice cream is, frozen yogurt is not as healthy as regular yogurt. Some types of frozen yogurt might also include significant amounts of sugar, making them not much healthier than ice cream and possibly even higher in calories than some varieties of ice cream. 1980 marked the beginning of the first wave of success in the frozen yogurt franchise industry. For the next decade, frozen yogurt franchises sprung up in every street corner and mall plaza, dominating the industry for frozen desserts.

Benefits of yogurt and frozen yogurt

There are several benefits that yogurt has and other dairy products don't have. Perhaps most importantly, yogurt contains enzymes that assist in breaking down dairy, allowing many people who are lactose intolerant to ingest yogurt — including the frozen kind — with few or no ill effects. Yogurt also tends to contain high levels of protein and many important minerals. Live and active culture yogurt us an excellent source of calcium. Years of studies have confirmed the benefits of yogurt in lactose (milk sugar) intolerance, the digestion of milk proteins, and gastro-intestinal infections.

Yogurt is not new to the food world. People in many parts of the world have been making yogurt for at least 4,000 years. It is valued as a health food because of the benefits of live active cultures. Just because its yogurt doesn't mean it's healthy. It's true that frozen yogurt often has less fat than ice cream (it's made with milk and no cream), but it can have more sugar. Check the nutrition information to see what you're really getting.

Not all products termed "frozen yogurt" actually contain live and active cultures. The words "Live Active Culture" refer to the living organism Streptococcus, Thermophilus, and Lactobacillus bulgaricus which convert pasteurized milk to yogurt fermentation. Some so-called "frozen yogurts" use heat-treated yogurt which kills the live and active cultures, or they may simply add in cultures to the mix along with acidifiers, and skip the fermentation step all together. To make sure that a frozen yogurt contains yogurt produced by traditional fermentation and has a significant amount of live and active cultures, always check the packaging. This should be clearly marked and all the relevant information provided by frozen yogurt suppliers UK companies use.

Monday 31 December 2012

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.