Is Frozen Yogurt Healthy?

Unless you've been living under a rock, you can't help but notice that a new frozen yogurt shop is popping up on almost every corner. Whether its PinkBerry, Yogurt Land, or any other trendy shop you know they have also been multiplying like rabbits across strip malls, shopping centers, office complexes, and even casinos and hotels across the country. If they haven't hit your town yet, don't worry, they likely will.  Frozen yogurt is low in calories, with lots of healthy flora for your intestinal health, this new yogurt trend seems too good to be true—but is it?

Is it healthy?

Yogurt is generally healthy. It contains cultures that are helpful to maintain intestinal health, has calcium, and is low in calories and fat. An 8-ounce serving of frozen yogurt contains on average about 200 calories, 8 grams of protein, no fat, and about 32 percent of your daily value of calcium. The fresh fruit toppings are unsweetened and have very few calories; so generally, frozen yogurt makes for a healthy snack. However, keep in mind that most of these calories come from added sugar, so they are more likely to turn into stored fat in your body if you don't burn them off. While its calcium content is also pretty good, you'll get almost twice as much calcium from regular non-frozen yogurt than you will get from the frozen kind. Non-frozen yogurt also contains more protein.

The real trouble comes when you get to the topping counter. Fresh fruit is a great option, but I'm pretty sure you're scooping a little Oreo here and some gummy worms there, a drizzle of syrup and a sprinkle of chocolate chips, so it's pretty hard to claim that you're eating healthy at that point. Most of us have somehow fooled ourselves into thinking that toppings don't count when, in fact, they add up to more empty calories than the entire dish of yogurt. And when you put your yogurt into a cone instead of a cup, you're adding even more empty calories to your dessert or snack—120 calories for a typical waffle cone.

In short, frozen yogurt isn't terrible for your diet, but it isn't a super healthy food, either. It's a much better option than ice cream and its high levels of saturated fat, but yogurt doesn't necessarily have less sugar. It's better than cookies, cake, or candy, too, but it's not as good as fresh fruit for something that satisfies your sweet tooth and makes you healthy at the same time. It'll be better for your figure and your wallet to simply have a bowl of fruit mixed with your favorite yogurt. Or, if you're after a more typical "dessert" treat, try one of these chilly treats . . .

3 Healthy Frozen Treats

Frozen fruit. Even the worst cook can manage this one. Just pop some fresh grapes, strawberries, bananas, etc., into the freezer for a bit and pop them in your mouth. This is a great idea for kids who pass up fruit offered in a bowl. They will suddenly appreciate this new frozen delight. 

 

 Fancy ice cubes. Try pouring your coconut water into an ice cube tray and inserting toothpicks when the cubes start to get slushy enough to allow the toothpicks to stand up. You've made your own healthy mini-popsicles. For bartenders, this is also a great addition to beverages. Try a glass of seltzer water with some frozen lemon juice cubes on a hot summer day. It'll make you forget about lemonade. 

Make your own sorbet. You can make delicious ice creams and sorbets out of fresh fruit and keep out a lot of the artificial colors and flavors and obscene amounts of sugar that many store brands contain. Blend frozen fruit—berries, peaches, whatever your favorite is—with some plain yogurt. Before you know it, fruit and yogurt will be enough of a treat, and you won't even miss the crushed Oreos!

I hope I've provided you with some tasty treat ideas for this upcoming summer!! For more healthy tips like these follow me on Facebook!