Why You Need Fro-Yo In Your Life
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I love ice cream.
Like, let’s move in together, maybe get a dog and merge bank accounts, love ice cream.
But, as it turns out, ice cream doesn’t love me. Well, it loves hanging around on my thighs, otherwise, it’s just a bowlful of sweet, sugary stomach-ache waiting to happen.
For most of my life, I didn’t let the inevitable post-binge regret stop me from downing a pint on my own. That is, until a few years ago, when a friend dragged me to our local frozen yogurt shop, touting its benefits and carrying on about how it “tastes just like ice cream.”
I was skeptical. Don’t get me wrong–I like yogurt. At that time, I was eating yogurt with breakfast 3-4 times a week. And because I was eating yogurt 3-4 times a week, I knew that it, in no way, resembled ice cream.
Again, as it turns out, I was wrong.
It did taste like ice cream. And, more surprisingly, I wasn’t left with the post-ice cream blues. This got me thinking. If it tastes good and I don’t feel bad after eating it, is it too good to be true?
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As it stands, 95% of Americans already think that frozen yogurt, or “fro-yo”, is healthier than ice cream. After some quick investigation, I found that, on the whole, they weren’t wrong.
Low Fat Content
Frozen yogurt typically contains 0.5% fat, whereas ice cream clocks in at a weighty 15%, thanks to the taste (and waist) maker, heavy cream.
Keep in mind, though, often when you have a sweet treat that’s low-fat, sugar could be lurking to boost taste. Many soft-serve frozen yogurt vendors add as much, if not more, sugar to balance the biting tart of the yogurt.
Say it together with me, folks, “everything in moderation.”
Probiotics
You’re a smart person. I’m a smart person. We both know that yogurt is full of healthy, gut-improving bacteria called probiotics. Since fro-yo is made with *drum roll* yogurt, fro-yo also gives you a healthy dose of the digestive-boosting little guys.
While not every frozen yogurt chain is created equal, many are keeping up on the forefront of health and technology by ensuring the probiotics found in their fro-yo are hearty and can withstand the freezing process, so not only will your mouth be happy with your frozen treat, your gut will be, too.
Happy gut, happy life!
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Fruity Options
Let’s be real for one minute. The last time I had fro-yo, I got cake batter, peanut butter, and red velvet cupcake flavors, which probably wasn’t so bad, but then I buried them in cookie dough bites, peanut M&M’s, and chocolate sauce. I’m not proud of my choices that night, but it happened and I own that.
No matter where you decide to pick up fro-yo from, everyone will have a plain or “tart” option, which, if you’re trying to stay on the squeaky-clean side of dessert-dining-out, is going to be your safest bet.
You’ll also find every topping bar stocked with fresh cut fruit and chopped nuts to top your sweet treat. Adding fresh fruit to the top of your tart fro-yo adds a sweet pop of flavor, while nuts will satisfy your need a “candy coated shell”, not to mention getting caught up on your vitamin and protein intake for the day!