Fro-yo girl here. Yoplait introduced Yoplait Original and Yoplait Greek Frozen Yogurt in pints and frozen bars back last month. It took awhile for me to find their fro-yo in the Bay Area but Yoplait Original Frozen Yogurt is finally being carried by Safeway. I haven’t seen the Greek Frozen Yogurt or bars yet.
Safeway had all seven flavors of Yoplait Original Frozen Yogurt: Cherry Orchard, Harvest Peach, Mixed Berry, Mountain Blueberry, Strawberry, Strawberry Banana, and Vanilla. A pint is $3.99 regular price and $2.99 for club card holders.
* Vanilla original fro-yo: The texture was quite pleasant. It scoops easily like ice cream and has a good creamy texture, creamy not too chewy. It has the expected vanilla flavor and some yogurt flavor. While it isn’t tart, it isn’t too sweet either and it has refreshing edge to it. It was quite similar to ice cream but a hint of yogurt flavor and live and active cultures. Yoplait Original Frozen Yogurt is made with cream and eggs, like ice cream. A half cup serving is 100 calories with 2 grams of fat.
4 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* SAFEWAY: 601 Westlake Center, Daly City, CA 94105
Fro-yo girl here. Pumpkin season runs from October and November and it’s the time of year that I develop a seemingly tireless craving for pumpkin fro-yo. I recently tried the pumpkin fro-yo at several Bay Area fro-yo shops to see which place had the best pumpkin fro-yo.
* Fraiche Yogurt: Their organic pumpkin fro-yo comes back in the fall and it’s a strong contender for best pumpkin fro-yo. The flavor is clean and natural with a good balance of pumpkin flavor, spices and yogurt flavor. It’s not too sweet and tastes great with their toppings. It leans towards the icy side as well though it isn’t watered down.
* Yogurtland: Pumpkin pie fro-yo has returned to many Yogurtland locations for a limited time. It has a thick, smooth, creamy texture. I like how it isn’t super sweet and the spices aren’t overpowering.
* Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt: Blush pumpkin fro-yo has returned and it’s one of their best flavors. Their pumpkin fro-yo is not too sweet. There’s a hint of spice that doesn’t overwhelm but rather complements the natural, clean pumpkin and yogurt flavors. It’s thick, smooth and refreshing.
* Jamba Juice: The Great Pumpkin Swirl Whirl’ns fro-yo flavor shows up in the fall around the same time as their Pumpkin Smash smoothie. This mix-in style fro-yo features a base of vanilla fro-yo swirled with several scoops of spiced pumpkin puree. The two are combined in Yogen Fruz’s mix-in fro-yo machines. The fro-yo texture was thick and creamy but had larger ice crystals and the pumpkin and vanilla wasn’t evenly mixed in sections. The flavor was good but very sweet with an overwhelming amount of cinnamon.
* Easy Breezy: New pumpkin pie fro-yo flavor introduced in October. The squash/pumpkin flavor is clearly distinguishable. The flavor tastes natural and isn’t too sweet. I think it could use a bit more spice. It leans towards the icy side though it’s not watered down.
I’m pleased with the current crop of pumpkin fro-yo. I really like how most of the pumpkin fro-yo flavors that I tried weren’t too sweet and the spices complemented but didn’t overwhelm the pumpkin flavor. My favorite pumpkin fro-yo is still Blush’s, followed closely by Fraiche. Both offer a natural, clean tasting fro-yo that isn’t heavily sugared.
I like adding graham cracker crust and almonds to my pumpkin fro-yo.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* BLUSH ORGANIC FROZEN YOGURT: 1212 Donnelly Ave., Burlingame, CA
* EASY BREEZY FROZEN YOGURT: 4028 24th St., San Francisco, CA
* FRAICHE FROZEN YOGURT: 1910 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA
Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is now open in the Belmont Village Shopping Center.The grand opening celebration begins tomorrow and continues all week with the following events:
* Saturday, 11/24: Ribbon cutting with Menchie at 11 AM, free fro-yo from 11 AM - 1 PM, free t-shirts for the first 50 customers in line at 11 AM, balloon artist
* Sunday, 11/25: Free plushie dolls and t-shirts while supplies last starting at noon, face painting
* Monday, 11/26: $1 cups of fro-yo from 5 - 6 PM
* Tuesday, 11/27: Kids (10 and under) eat free from 2 - 4 PM
* Wednesday, 11/28: Half off fro-yo from 11 AM - 1 PM
* Thursday, 11/29: Free dodge balls at 3 PM while supplies last
* Friday, 11/30: Buy one, get one free from 8 PM till close
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* MENCHIE’S FROZEN YOGURT: 1200 El Camino Real, Belmont, CA
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Fro-yo girl here. Yesterday (November 20) was Customer Appreciation Day at 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt and they were giving away free small fro-yos all day long. There were six fro-yo flavors to choose from and complimentary toppings too (sprinkles, graham cracker crust, whipped cream). You could get more than one flavor.
Pasadena free fro-yo flavors: Circus Animal Cookies, Vanilla Bean, Valhorna Chocolate, Pumpkin Pie, Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, Fresh Strawberry
Yesterday they weren’t offering custom mix-in fro-yo flavors. There was one line, the line for free fro-yo. The line moved quickly. You could still ask for samples.
The small cup of fro-yo was a generous size and my fro-yo tasted just like Circus Animal Cookies (it had bits of Circus Animal cookies).
This is an annual event, so look out for it around the same time next year. 21 Choices announced the event on their Facebook page and Twitter account.
Thanks 21 Choices!
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* 21 CHOICES: 85 West Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104
Fro-yo girl here. Several months ago, I signed up for Yogurtland Burlingame’s VIP email list and last week I picked up the winter VIP pass. It’s a plastic card that you use to claim special offers each month for the next five months (good at the Burlingame location only). Supplies of the card are limited.
- November: Large cup of pumpkin pie fro-yo for $3. The large cup is massive...it’s too much for one person but perfect to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. Toppings are included.
- December: Five ounces of peppermint hot cocoa fro-yo for free
- January: Buy a small cup of vanilla fro-yo for $2
- February: Buy 5 ounces of fro-yo, get 5 ounces free
- March: Four ounces of mint fro-yo for free
You had to sign up by 10/29/2012 to qualify for the offer. The card can be picked up at the Burlingame loctaion by those who signed up in time between now and 11/26 (remember supplies are limited). They have a list of emails of those who signed up in time.
Thanks Yogurtland Burlingame, for making a girl feel like a true fro-yo VIP.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Fro-yo girl here. Pinkberry is ready for the holiday season with a new flavor, Pinkberry Gingerbread, debuting today and eGifting.
Enjoy seasonal toppings like crushed gingersnaps, nutmeg and white chocolate crisps with your cup of Pinkberry Gingerbread.
With eGifting, you can send and receive Pinkberry gift cards via the Pinkberry website, mobile app or email. Also starting today and through the end of the year, customers who purchase a $25 gift card in store or using the new Pinkberry mobile app will get a $5 gift.
“Consumers are looking for brands to enable commerce through their mobile devices,” says Ron Graves, CEO of Pinkberry. “For the holidays, Pinkberry is elevating social commerce through eGifting with our new mobile app, empowering our customers to easily share the delicious gift of Pinkberry with friends and family via social channels and email from their mobile device."
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Fro-yo girl here. Let the Yuletide Yumminess begin...Yogurtland’s third annual holiday promotion launched on Monday, 11/12. Each week for the next six weeks, participating Yogurtland locations will offer two holiday fro-yo flavors. Here’s the flavor schedule:
- Nov. 12 - 18: Cinnamon Roll & Peanut Butter Cup
- Nov. 19 - 25: Egg Nog & Brownie Batter
- Nov. 26 - Dec. 2: Butterscotch & Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
- Dec. 3 - 9: Sticky Toffee Pudding & Amaretto Cookies
- Dec. 10 - 16: Black Forest Cake & Boysenberry Tart
- Dec. 17 - 23: Tiramisu & Gingerbread
I picked up my Yuletide Yumminess card at Yogurtland this week. You’ll get a stamp for every cup of fro-yo purchased (minimum 8 ounces) during the 6 week period (Nov. 12 - Dec. 23, 2012). After you collect three stamps, you can get 3 ounces of free fro-yo. After you collect 6 stamps, you can get 12 ounces of free fro-yo. I think the only flavors I’ve tried before are Egg Nog and Gingerbread. I’m most looking forward to trying Strawberry Rhubarb Tart. For each completed card, Yogurtland will make a donation to the Save the Children’s Hurricane Sandy Children in Emergencies Fund.
The format has changed. In the past, Yogurtland introduced a new flavor every day for 12 days and card holders were entitled to 2 ounces free of the featured Yuletide Yumminess flavor.
What a great way to try new flavors, earn free fro-yo and help needy kids. Remember the fro-yo flavors will only be in the stores while supplies last, so go early.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Fro-yo girl here. It feels odd to blog about ice cream but I just had to share my excitement about finding my favorite ice cream, Tara’s Organic Ice Cream (TOIC), at Canyon Market in SF. They had a few flavors in the freezer: black sesame, lavender, cardamom, and mango agave sorbet (12 ozs. for $8.99). Tara’s ice cream is made in small batches (2 - 4 gallons at a time) with the best organic ingredients with no emulsifiers or stabilizers. The roster includes 132 flavors of ice cream and sorbet, including unusual, sophisticated flavors like white pepper chocolate chip, epazote, cucumber basil and chocolate tarragon.
* Cardamom ice cream: This could be my favorite ice cream flavor. It’s dense, firm and creamy and the taste is pure heaven, the best thing in the world...possibly as good as the best fro-yo. It’s the ice cream version of the amazing Indian sweet, soan papdi. The cardamom flavor is intense and it blends perfectly with milk, cream and sugar. Their cardamom just tastes better. It’s freshly ground for each batch.
Tara’s website lists the locations that carry TOIC in Northern California and they can ship via FedEx to any address in the continental US. If you can make it to their shops (in Berkeley and Oakland), hit the Berkeley location. It has more flavors (more to sample).
While you’re at Canyon Market, I also recommend picking up the butternut squash lasagna and smoked chicken spread from the deli case. The grilled cheese sandwiches on housemade bread are really good too. You can pick the cheese and bread you’d like.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* CANYON MARKET: 2185 Diamond St., San Francisco, CA
Fro-yo girl here. Want to serve fro-yo at home in a cute cup? I found the cutest fro-yo cups at Shop Sweet Lulu. They have polka dot fro-yo cups, pastel fro-yo cups, colorful taster spoons, cone holders, milk bottles, glass pedestal jars, etc.
My favorite cups are the pastel blue and white striped ones (12 cups for $7).
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Fro-yo girl here. About a year ago, I reviewed Meiji Yogurt caramels (firm, tasty caramels with yogurt flavor). Since then, they’ve come out with Chelsea Yogurt Scotch Biscuits. The look of the packaging with its 70’s inspired flowers, is similar to their Yogurt caramels. The cookies are made in Japan.
There are four packages inside a box and each package contains two sandwich cookies. The cookies are crispy and light like butter shortbread and the creamy filling in between the cookies has a tangy sweet flavor that I’d say tastes more like a sweet yogurt drink than yogurt. It’s an interesting flavor.
I found a 3.8 ounce box of Meiji Chelsea Yogurt Scotch Biscuits at Nijiya Market for $2.79.
Ingredients: wheat flour, shortening, sugar, whole milk powder, yogurt powder, salt, sour agent, emulsifiers, butter oil, artificial flavor, whey powder.
4 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* NIJIYA MARKET: 1737 Post St. #333, San Francisco, CA
Fro-yo girl here. I’ve long been a fan of To-Fu Oyako, the tofu characters designed by the Japanese company, Devilrobots. Back in 2005, they introduced five Series 6 Kubrick toys. The characters included Yogurt, Milk, Dog, Strawberry and New Zealand. The figures are poseable and can stand on their own.
Yogurt To-Fu’s tagline is “His work is fermentation.” You can learn more about To-Fu Oyako on their website.
The To-Fu app was just released and it’s a math game for kids.You can find it in the App store by searching under To-Fu Oyako. It’s free.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
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