Fro-Yo FYI.

Summer is here - it's time for lazy days in the park, jugs of Pimms and, of course, ice cream. Now I love an ice-cream to cool me down as much as the next person, but have you ever considered opting for frozen yoghurt? It's already been huge in the States for years; every summer I go to California I live on the stuff, fro-yo stores are commonplace, and you can have any topping that takes your fancy. The UK, however, has been a little slow to catch on to this more healthier of cool treats. You could of course argue that it's only really hot enough to enjoy it about 1 week of the year, butI thought I'd write a blog so we all become more aware of how much healthier it is for you compared to ice cream! Big ice cream brands are just starting to come out with fro-yo versions of their famous flavours, and in London the Snog chain of fro-yo stores is starting to gain fame. My freezer has quite a variety of ice creams/fro-yos, so here's a summary of their nutritional values, so you can compare their merits for yourself! Happy Summer :)

Values per 100g:

1) Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Frozen Yoghurt
220kcal
4.5g Fat
34g Sugar (accounted for by this particular flavour - extra chocolate and caramel etc.)

2) Ben & Jerry's Baked Alaska Ice Cream
260kcal
14g Fat
29g Sugar

3) Magnum Ecuador Ice Cream (on sticks, but values as per 100g for consistency's sake)
310kcal
20g Fat
24g Sugar

4) Swedish Glace Chocolate Ice Cream (Lactose, Cholesterol and Gluten Free)
230kcal
14g Fat
22g Sugar

Now I'm not trying to rain on your summer by crushing you ice cream dreams with all these startling sugar and fat statistics, because we all know that we should only eat it occasionally. As you can see, frozen yoghurt does still contain high levels of sugar, although if you get it from Snog then it's all natural, which is great (sugar levels also depend on the flavours I have). However, the amount of fat it contains is much lower compared to ice cream, so I would say that makes it a healthier, and still yummy, alternative!

You could also try making it at home, so that way you know exactly what's going in it. Try taking some fat free yoghurt, putting it in the freezer, then drizzling honey on top and adding berries - gorgeous! The flavour and topping combinations you could have are endless, so get trying!

Nati xXx