2010 the Year in Fro-yo Review

Fro-yo girl here. It's time to revisit my 2010 wish list to see which of my fro-yo wishes came true in 2010.

* More Yogurtland signature fro-yo spoons. This wish didn't come true but Tuttimelon came out with signature logo spoons...only they're not available in the U.S. yet. I hope to get some in 2011, without having to go to Hong Kong to pick up the spoons.

* Mobile fro-yo trucks in the Bay Area: Fro-yo trucks popped up in NYC but there still isn't one in the Bay Area. Why?

I didn't have many wishes and they didn't come true either. The year wasn't such a great one for fro-yo in the Bay Area. I'm sad about a couple of shops that closed, especially Cafe Delatti. However, the year was an interesting one. YoCream was acquired by Danone, Jamba Juice started testing its line of fro-yo (in the Sacramento area), I tried fro-yo at Target (not self-serve), Menchie's made it up to the Bay Area, and Greek yogurt grew in popularity. Next time I'll reveal my fro-yo wish list for 2011.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Athenos Greek Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. Hummus maker Athenos (a Kraft company) recently launched a line of Greek yogurt. I found their yogurt at Vons for 99 cents (on sale, regular price is $1.50). Vons had three flavors: strawberry, blueberry and honey. It also comes in peach. The single serving yogurt comes in a divided tub.

* Honey Greek yogurt: the fat free Greek yogurt is thick, creamy and sour (plain) and the honey was very sweet and sticky. It was a hassle to blend the sticky honey into the yogurt. I like the pre-blended honey yogurt better. The price is quite reasonable compared to the competition and I found an online coupon.

While I was in Vons, I noticed Yoplait came out with a line of yogurt called Splitz. It's meant to taste like a sundae and the package said to try it frozen.

4 out of 5 stars

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Best New Fro-yo Flavors in 2010

Fro-yo girl here. Before the year ends, I wanted to acknowledge my favorite new fro-yo flavors. These were fro-yo flavors introduced in the Bay Area during 2010. I didn't get a chance to try every new flavor but the following are the ones that I liked the best.

* Fraiche Yogurt's Pumpkin: Creamy, fresh, natural tasting, full of pumpkin flavor, this was a brilliant new flavor (only the fifth one they've introduced). It's even better with their homemade mochi.
* Blush's Pink Lemonade Tart: Blush comes out with amazing new flavors every year and this year my new favorite was Pink Lemonade. It's one of their tarter flavors but with the right amount of sweetness.
* Tuttimelon Japanese Yogurt: I fell in love with it the moment I tried it. Similar to their original fro-yo but with that distinctive tangy Yakult like flavor. You can still find it at their Irving St. location.
* Yogurtland Yuzu Tart Yogurt: Available a few months ago, it tasted like orange + lemon, tangy and sweet, the way I like my fro-yo

I'm excited about the new fro-yo flavors that 2011 will bring.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

A Cool Gift is Even Cooler Yogurtland Promotion

Fro-yo girl here. Hope you are enjoying your Christmas Eve. I had fro-yo today at Yogurtland and I found another gift card promotion. Yogurtland is giving away a free Yogurtland cooler bag with a $30 gift card purchase. And their gift cards are the scratch n' sniff kind! So cute. The card smells like strawberry (I was hoping it would smell like fro-yo).

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Fro-yo Gift Ideas: Fro-yo Accessories

Fro-yo girl here. So maybe you have fro-yo fans on your list that you don't think will make their own yogurt or frozen yogurt. Here are some additional fro-yo Christmas gift ideas:

* YOGURT BOWLS: Now that supermarkets carry an expanded selection of fro-yo and places like Pinkberry offer a take home size, doesn't your fro-yo friend deserve his/her own special yogurt bowl? I like bowls that come with matching spoons. Add some fro-yo toppings in scoopable containers, like mini M&Ms, roasted almonds, gourmet syrups, organic gummi bears, and mochi balls.
* YOGURT/ICE CREAM TUB: Zak Designs adorable 1 pint container features a freezable gel lid and comes in turquoise, kiwi, orange or white ($11.99) or you can buy a cooler bag so that your friend can transport fro-yo in style.
* YOGURT BOWL FOR DOGS: Yoghund makes fro-yo for dogs and you can even buy yogurt bowls for pets!

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Fro-yo Gift Ideas: Make Your Own Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. The holiday fro-yo gift guide continues. Today I have suggestions for the people on your list that like to cook.

* FROZEN YOGURT MAKER OR YOGURT MAKER: I don't know which maker is the best but Cuisinart seems to be the most popular brand. The fro-yo makers aren't that expensive. They start around $60 and they can make ice cream and sorbet as well. Easy Health Food Guide just published an article with tips on buying a frozen yogurt maker. Or you can give them a yogurt maker with yogurt culture packets.
* YOGURT RECIPE BOOKS: I like the Book of Yogurt (based on flipping through it) by Sonia Uvezian.
* SET OF FROZEN YOGURT MIXES: Barnes & Noble sells a set of four frozen yogurt mixes for $24.95. To make the yogurt, you add the mix to a blender (you don't need an ice cream/fro-yo maker). Or you can buy the mixes individually from TrendyRightNow.com and a few other websites.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Christmas Fro-yo Gift Card Deals

Fro-yo girl here. Are you still looking for stocking stuffers? Give your fro-yo loving friend or family member fro-yo gift cards. Check out these special offers. I used to think gift cards were boring, but now I'm a fan (especially of the fro-yo ones).

* RED MANGO: Buy $25 worth of gift cards, get a $5 RM voucher for yourself
* TUTTIMELON: Buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a free small fro-yo with two toppings
* BLUSH ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: Buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a free small fro-yo with toppings
* GOLDEN SPOON: Buy $20 worth of gift cards, get a free small fro-yo (deal is only valid in Orange County, CA though)

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Streets of Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. Once a year I talk about fro-yo hot spots, cities where the most fro-yo activity is occurring. Today I wanted to recognize specific streets in San Francisco. Which SF street has the most fro-yo shops?

Right now it's Fillmore St., so let's take a look at the fro-yo shops on Fillmore.

* JUBILI - 1515 Fillmore St. Now that Yogurt Bar has closed, Jubili is the oldest tart fro-yo shop in SF. The fro-yo hasn't changed much recently (same flavors) but they added cupcakes and cookies (a line called Velveteen Sweets). I wonder why they stopped coming out with new fro-yo flavors?
* FRAICHE - 1910 Fillmore St. Fraiche's organic fro-yo is really great right now and their homemade mochi cubes are the best. I like how the mochi is bigger and fresher than the mochi at other fro-yo shops. Their newish pumpkin flavor is amazing and I like those yogurt muffins too.
* YOPPI YOGURT - 2208 Fillmore St. They opened up recently and brought self-serve fro-yo to this street. It's a cute shop (like those Yoppi characters) though on the small side for a fro-yo shop.
* ROYAL GROUND COFFEE - 2060 Fillmore St. Okay, it's not a fro-yo shop but they do have one machine. I would avoid it. Fro-yo feels like an afterthought here.

Quickly on Fillmore had a frozen yogurt sign but when I went inside, they didn't have fro-yo.

Union Street and Irving Street are also good streets for fro-yo.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Five Stoelting Fro-yo Machines for Sale

Fro-yo girl here. If you're looking for fro-yo machines, I know someone in San Jose who is looking to sell 5 Stoelting f-131-381-GY air-cooled yogurt/ice cream machines. They're about a year old, currently in use, in excellent condition, and still under warranty. Stoelting, a 100 year old company, is considered to be one of the better fro-yo machine manufacturers. Back in 1939, they invented the first soft ice cream machine for Dairy Queen (known as Home Made Ice Cream Company back then). They're the brand of choice for Straus Organic Frozen Yogurt.

Original price: over $70,000
Asking for: $45,000

"Counter-top Model, Twin Twist, Gravity, Soft Serve/Yogurt Freezer. Triple-duty freezer allows you to serve two individual flavors or combine them for a twist, produces quality product consistency from first cone to last. IntelliTec control for worry-free operation. ECM (Energy Conservatiom Mode) protects from over-agitation. Optional floor stand creates a 'floor model" package freeing up counter space and providing additional storage."

If interested, e-mail your contact info to froyogirl@gmail.com

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Five Facts about Frozen Yogurt

This guest post was contributed by Sauce Communications

What exactly is Frozen Yogurt?

Frozen yogurt is a frozen desert made from yogurt and other dairy products. The taste of the original version was a little different that regular ice cream, just a little more tart. Manufacturers changed that by increasing the sweetness of the recipe and the chilly dessert's popularity soared. The consistency comparison to ice cream could surprise you; they have a very similar appearance. Frozen yogurt is generally lower in fat thereby being considered better for you nutritionally.

Frozen Yogurt - The Beginning

Frozen yogurt was originally introduced in the 1970's in New England and was served under the name Frogurt. Once manufacturers started offering the sweeter tasting frozen treat in the 1990's, sales took off. Today this treat is the favoured selection of many weight conscious consumers.

Which Flavour do you Favour?

Offered in many different styles and flavours, frozen yogurt is a very versatile dessert choice. It comes in soft serve varieties as well as in the more tradition ice cream like consistency. Ice cream shops offer the choice of cups of the delicious, creamy treat that allow the customer to create their own concoction using a variety of topping choices. Served soft on a cone in a variety of exotic flavours still seems to be the choice of many.

Cost of a cone

The cost of frozen yogurt is very comparable to ice cream. Depending on the size of cone you select or the size of your bowl, this treat can be family friendly when it comes to summertime treat at the park. Your local ice cream shop will offer values on this healthier treat that may it easy to make it the choice over ice cream.

Why Frozen Yogurt?

With the attention being paid today to making better healthy food choices, frozen yogurt reigns above ice cream. You can feel like you are eating ice cream with actually doing it. No more fat grams to count. Just sit back and enjoy that luscious cone without having that guilty conscience.

Celebrating the Holiday Season with Fro-yo

Fro-yo girl here. It seems like I can't go anywhere these days without seeing a Christmas tree and fro-yo shops are showing their Xmas spirit as well. While Halloween and Thanksgiving were about pumpkin fro-yo, Christmas brings flavors like egg nog, peppermint/candy cane, and gingerbread and toppings like peppermint bark and candy canes.

Fro-yo gift cards are a no-brainer stocking stuffer for any fro-yo fan on your list, but did you know about fro-yo ornaments? The ice cream ornaments are cuter though.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

Bluecherry Asian Style Pure Yogurt Review

Fro-yo girl here. A friend of mine told me about Bluecherry Asian yogurt. It's sold at several Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area. I wasn't sure what it was - only that it wasn't frozen. It comes in a white plastic cup and looks like regular, non-frozen soft yogurt (e.g., Dannon, Yoplait). However, they gave me a straw, so I thought it might be a drink like Yakult only in a yogurt cup. I peeled off the lid and saw regular looking yogurt. The straw works though, so it's like a thick drink (not watery).

Bluecherry is inspired by Beijing style "sour milk" - a product that is famous throughout China (and has been around a long time). It has a blue and white paper wrapper, like the product you'd find in China.

Bluecherry Yogurt seems to only come in two flavors: Classic and Honey. San Dong House sells one serving for $3 a 8 oz. cup. The product comes from Alhambra, CA (SoCal) and it looks like the Bluecherry store has fro-yo too. The nutrition facts are provided on the paper wrapper but the ingredients are not listed. The wrapper says it's lowfat and all natural.

I tried the Classic flavor. It's sour but not too sour, has a sweet aftertaste and is tangy. There was a mellow smoothness that I really liked. It didn't taste that different from sweetened plain yogurt, so the price tag seems too high.

4 out of 5 stars

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* SAN DONG HOUSE: 3741 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA
* BLUECHERRY YOGURT BAR: 137 W. Main St., Alhambra, CA

New Stanford Alumni Website Features Fro-yo Image

Fro-yo girl here. People at Stanford University love their fro-yo. You get it on campus and throughout Palo Alto. The Stanford Alumni website (https://alumni.stanford.edu) was just remodeled and it now has social networking features. Alumni can join groups and even create their own groups. The panel that describes the group feature on the website features an image of fro-yo. I didn't find a fro-yo group, but I wouldn't be surprised if one formed soon.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.