Yum Crumbs Dessert Toppings Review

Fro-yo girl here. I spotted Yum Crumbs online while searching for interesting froyo toppings. I was impressed and intrigued by the wide range of Yum Crumbs flavors and decided to order the sampler pack to try the product.

Yum Crumbs dessert toppings can be sprinkled on froyo, ice cream, pancakes baked goods, dipped fruit, donuts, and more. The sampler pack of 1 oz packets included the following flavors:

• Strawberry Lemonade
• Banana Cream Pie
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Red Velvet
• Lemon Pound Cake
• Cinnamon Roll
• Bubble Gum
• Mint Chocolate
• Key Lime Pie
• Cherry
• Salted Caramel
• Blueberry Cobbler
• Berry Blue
• Mint Chocolate
• Orange Creamsicle
• Rainbow
• Apple Pie
• Strawberry Shortcake
• Pumpkin Pie
• Chocolate Éclair
• Birthday Cake

I tried two flavors and didn’t feel like trying other flavors afterwards. The Strawberry Shortcake crumbs were small, hard, and crunchy. They tasted like cherry cough syrup, not strawberries. They had a pasty quality that I also did not like. The Lemon Pound Cake crumbs were a bit better and did taste like lemon (more like lemon oil than lemon juice) but the texture was unappealing.

Yum Crumbs are hard and more like sprinkles than crumbs. When I think of crumbs, I think of soft baked crumbs like donut or cake crumbs. Crumbs aren’t supposed to be hard.

The main ingredients of Yum Crumbs are sugar, wheat flour, and malted barley. Half a tablespoon is about 25 calories.

I’m not sure what I’ll do with my remaining Yum Crumbs packets. Maybe I’ll put some in Christmas stockings.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Which Froyo Toppings Freeze Well?

Fro-yo girl here. With froyo shops closing or switching to takeout or delivery only in light of the current global pandemic, it’s a good time to stock up on froyo. By next week, most if not all froyo shops may be closed.

Some shops offer pre-packed pints and quarts at a discount and those are great, but if you could pack your own pint, you may wonder whether you should add toppings or not.

The answer is it depends on the topping. Some toppings freeze well and I like adding them to my froyo because they break up the monotony of a big quart or pint of froyo.

Toppings that freeze well include nuts (they don’t really change when they are frozen), mochi, coconut, sprinkles, sauces, cookies, brownies, cake, cereal, chocolate chips, chocolate shell and chocolate candies. Cookies, granola, and cereal may soften when they’re frozen under a pile of froyo, but they still taste great.

Toppings that don’t freeze well include fruit (too much water, they become really hard), gummy candy, whipped cream, and malt balls. For some reason, the malt balls become quite hard. I haven’t tried freezing popping boba, but they’re filled with water, so I imagine they’d become pretty hard.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Yogurtland & Cheetos Santa Ana Event Recap

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland hosted a special event at the Yogurtland inside Main Place Mall in Santa Ana, CA on Saturday, December 7. The event promoted their new limited time topping, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

I arrived around the time the event started, a little after 1 PM. There were two tables set up and it looked like you could walk up and take whatever was on the table without making a purchase. They had giant green and pink Yogurtland spoons, Yogurtland coupons for free froyo, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos samples, and small bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Chester Cheetah was also there for a meet and greet. I even saw him holding a cup of froyo and using the giant orange Yogurtland spoon.

The giant orange Yogurtland spoons were hard to get and it was unclear how to get one. I didn’t see how to win branded merchandise, like the Yogurtland Cheetos t-shirts. You probably had to get there right at 1 PM or earlier. It would have been better to set up a prize wheel.

I did get the new holiday cup which is inspired by their new Molasses Gingerbread Cookie flavor and I put Flamin’ Hot Cheetos on my plain tart froyo. The Cheetos overwhelmed the yogurt flavor. It wasn’t bad though.

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

* MAIN PLACE MALL: 2800 N Main St. Santa Ana, CA 92705

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Toppings Changes at Menchie’s

Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s is currently phasing out several toppings to make room for new toppings. This list isn’t complete.

Toppings to Be Phased Out: Whoppers, peach gummy rings, Nutter Butter, Andes Mints, yogurt chips, Jet Puff marshmallows, Sour Patch Kids, Nestle Crunch

New Toppings: Cupcake bites, rainbow marshmallows, papa gummy bears, milk chocolate mini marshmallows, gummy sharks, sour gummy poppers

What do you think? Do you like any of the old or new toppings? I personally preferred the old toppings, especially Whoppers, Nutter Butter, and Andes Mint. What toppings would you like to see Menchie’s add? I wouldn’t mind seeing another kind of granola, hemp seeds, chia seeds, chocolate crisps (the round balls that Pinkberry carries), honeycomb, pretzels, and other types of cookies.

Thanks, Zelda Z., for the toppings update!

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Top Ten Toppings You Can Buy for Home Froyo Consumption

Fro-yo girl here. Froyo shops have good toppings but if you’re eating froyo at home, you can get even better toppings. Better yet, these toppings are widely available.

If I had to pick one store to buy toppings from, I’d choose Trader Joe’s. The toppings choices there are overwhelming, including biscotti, Joe Joe’s, gummy candies, peanut butter cups, peanut butter filled pretzels, chocolate chips, toffee chips, cinnamon graham crackers, meringues, macarons, cake, cheesecake, cupcakes, chia seeds, fruit, yogurt pretzels, dried fruit, honey, olive oil, etc.

My second choice would be Sprouts, because they have those bulk bins with many kinds of granola, candy (jelly beans, gummy candies, chocolate covered things, peanut butter cups, sesame sticks), yogurt pretzels, nuts, and seeds, not to mention a wide variety of fresh fruit, natural cereal, granola, honey, chocolate, dessert sauces, cones, etc.

If I had to pick my favorite toppings for home consumption, I’d choose the following:

1. Marcona almonds: These Spanish almonds are better than the California almond and rarely spotted at froyo shops. Almonds go with every flavor of frozen yogurt, soft serve, or sorbet. Love the crunch and flavor that they add.
2. Nature’s Path Organic Love Crunch Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter Granola: I’ve tried many brands of granola and many of them are too sweet. Nature’s Path Love Crunch dark chocolate and peanut butter granola is addictive, with big crunchy clusters, dark chocolate pieces, roasted peanuts and peanut butter granola. And it has less sugar than most granola on the market. I’ve seen it at Sprouts and Target.
3. Chocolate shell: I tried Hershey’s Shell and Smucker’s Magic Shell and Hershey’s chocolate shell was better! It was thinner, crispier, less sweet, and had more chocolate flavor. I like the crunch of the shell because it doesn’t mask the yogurt flavor as much as a sauce.
4. Peanut butter chips: I haven’t met a brand of peanut butter chips that I don’t like.
5. Nutter Butter cookies: Sensing a theme? Love peanut butter and Nutter Butter is crispy and creamy.
6. Belgian butter waffle cookies from Trader Joe’s: They look like mini waffles but they’re thin, crisp, and buttery. So good!
7. Speculoos cookies from Trader Joe’s: These crispy cookies have a wonderful blend of warm spices.
8. SMASHMALLOW: These flavored, non-GMO marshmallows are so much better than typical marshmallows. They’re firm and chewy and come in flavors like Cinnamon Churro, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Coconut Pineapple. I’ve seen SMASHMALLOW at Target and Whole Foods.
9. Peanut M&M's: I just like peanut butter. Peanut M&Ms have bits of peanut and chocolate in a crunchy shell. 
10. Chocolate covered honeycomb and malt balls: Find both in the bulk bins at Sprouts. Both combine crunch with chocolate.

I left a few toppings off the list because they’re not as easy to get. But if you can find mochi, get the Korean kind. You’d probably have to go to an Asian market to find some. Turkish delight is similar and also lovely as a froyo topping. It’s also not that easy to find though, unless you live by a Middle Eastern market. And if you’re at the Middle Eastern market, be sure to pick up some baklava for your plain tart frozen yogurt.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Unlimited Cup Lessons, Part Three

Fro-yo girl here. I’ve earned the Yogurtland Unlimited Cup reward for the third time. While I’ve been going regularly (i.e., at least once a week) to Yogurtland for years, earning the unlimited cup is no easy feat, even for me.

Consider this: To earn the Unlimited Cup reward, you need to (1) be a Real Rewards member and (2) collect 520 points within a year of the day you first joined Real Rewards (your anniversary day). One (paid) ounce is equal to one point. The free froyo you earn along the way doesn’t earn you any reward points. If you buy gift cards, the points go to the person using the gift card at the time he/she is paying for the yogurt.

With the free froyo rewards every 36 points, you will consume more than 520 ounces to get to your Unlimited Cup. Assuming you are a Platinum Real Rewards member, you’ll have earned 14 four-ounce rewards along the way, or 56 oz. and an additional reward, a free 16 oz birthday cup. This translates to a minimum of 592 ounces of froyo (unless you didn’t redeem your rewards) or 11.38 oz/week to consume. That’s a lot of froyo if you’re only buying froyo for yourself.

Since you’re only paying for 520 ounces, if the froyo was 50 cents an ounce, that’s $260 of froyo or $21.67/month. On a monthly basis it doesn’t sound so bad, like 5 lattes or 5 cups of froyo, plus a free 6 ounces in rewards (another cup).

Once you earn the Unlimited Cup, you have a month to redeem it. You can redeem it at any Yogurtland store in the US whenever you want. And whatever fits in the 16-ounce cup is yours.

I’ve seen a few articles about getting your money’s worth when it comes to toppings at self-serve froyo shops.

Light toppings:

• Oreos 
• Sprinkles 
• Whipped cream 
• Cap’n Crunch 
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch 
• Mini peanut butter cups 
• Reese’s Pieces 
• M&Ms 
• Chocolate sauce 
• Coconut 
• Nuts 
• Marshmallows 

Heavy toppings:

• Cheesecake bites 
• Maraschino cherries 
• Strawberries 
• Blueberries 
• Brownies 
• Wet walnuts 
• Popping boba 

Cookie dough and gummy bears appeared on light and heavy toppings lists. Usually, I pick the toppings that I think complement the yogurt and also freeze well.

You shouldn’t just go in unprepared though. At a minimum, make sure your shop has at least one froyo flavor that you like, go when it’s not busy, and bring a cooler bag filled with ice. For more advice, see my older post http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2017/07/unlimited-cup-lessons-part-two.html

My goal was to exceed my last unlimited cup of 70.2 ounces. I was definitely feeling the pressure. It’s a lot of work to build a giant cup of froyo. I’m happy to report that I met my goal, though I made a mess doing so. My cup was 83.4 ounces after deducting the weight of the cup. I chose Sumatra Coffee and Pumpkin Pie froyo, with chocolate wafer roll cookies, mini chocolate chip cookies, toffee chips and crushed Oreo cookies. What did I learn? Adding big cookies to froyo is easy and it seems to help hold the shape of the froyo together. Also, be careful of froyo burnout after you redeem your unlimited cup. Hopefully, you have someone to share that froyo with.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Happy Froyo Easter 2017

Fro-yo girl here. Happy Easter fro-yo fans! Remember last Easter when Menchie’s partnered with PEEPS and introduced PEEPS® flavored frozen yogurt? Easter seems like it will be more subdued this year; so far, I haven’t seen any new Easter inspired froyo flavors announced.

Are you celebrating Easter with fro-yo? Easter is one of my favorite holidays as it’s a time for egg hunts and Easter candy. My favorite Easter candies would also pair well with fro-yo.

PEEPS has tons of new flavors, including a few that are Target exclusives. The new PEEPS Delights line features flavored marshmallows dipped in chocolate. Marshmallow flavors include raspberry, blueberry, coconut, lemon, orange, etc.

Cadbury Mini Eggs, my personal favorite Easter candy, are now available in Chocolate Crunch & Crème. I haven’t tried them yet but I’ll have some on Easter.

Pepperidge Farm came out with Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish Grahams years ago, but I only tried them recently. They’re better than I expected. I love graham crackers. The Vanilla Cupcake ones have that graham cracker flavor, plus a subtle vanilla cake flavor. They’re not crazy sweet but they are very crunchy and would be great as a topping for sweet froyo. I rarely see Goldfish offered as a froyo topping, which is a shame. I’m not saying that they’re better than Teddy Grahams though.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Smucker’s Magic Shell vs. Hershey’s Shell

Fro-yo girl here. I grew up with Dairy Queen chocolate dipped cones. My parents were dipped cone fans and they introduced me to DQ’s dipped cones during a road trip (we didn’t live near a DQ). To this day I still love the chocolate shell that hardens over frozen yogurt but I wasn’t sure which brand of chocolate shell was the best.

I started looking at the available shell options and there aren’t that many. I’ve only seen chocolate shell (and other flavors) offered by Smucker’s and Hershey’s. Smucker’s Chocolate Magic Shell is everywhere. Hershey’s Chocolate Shell is hard to find though you can find it at some Menchie’s locations. I tried them side by side on the same cup of frozen yogurt.

* Texture: Smucker’s Magic Shell was softer. It did firm up but it remained on the soft side. Hershey’s Shell turned into a thin, very crispy shell. Hershey’s Shell definitely won the texture comparison.

* Flavor: Hershey’s Shell had a stronger chocolate taste than Smucker’s and it wasn’t as sweet. Hershey’s Shell tastes better than Smucker’s Magic Shell.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Egg Tarts and Froyo

Fro-yo girl here. My Yelp friend, Stephen D., suggested that I try egg tarts (dan tats, egg custard tarts) as a froyo topping. I like egg tarts and I liked the idea of a warm tart with its flaky shell and creamy filling contrasting with cold froyo. I was inspired by Chinese New Year to make this combination a reality.

The first challenge is finding a good egg tart. I haven’t found the perfect one yet but right now I like the ones at Kee Wah Bakery the best.

This time I tried a bakery I hadn’t been to before, Domies Bakery, because I read good things about their egg tarts. The egg tarts were still warm when I purchased them. They had delicate deep, flaky shells. I took my tart over to Yogurtland. I would love to have the egg tart with milk tea froyo but since I can’t find that flavor, I opted for peanut butter froyo. Chinese people like peanuts…and Yogurtland’s peanut butter froyo is really delicious – creamy, milky and peanutty. It’s balanced – the yogurt doesn’t overwhelm the peanut butter flavor and vice versa.

My Domies egg tart wasn’t creamy and custardy but the shell was still nice and flaky. The egg tart was huge. I think next time I should chop it up before adding it to the froyo. 

I tried JJ Bakery's Taiwanese style egg tart with Yogurtland's matcha green tea froyo. The Taiwanese egg tart has a thin cookie like crust. JJ's egg tart had that nice creamy custardy consistency and neither the custard nor the cookie were too sweet. The flavors were neutral enough to go with any froyo flavor.

The next thing I’d like to try is a milk tea affogato: a swirl of froyo topped with milk tea.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Flavor at Pinkberry: Pink Champagne

Fro-yo girl here. I’m making an effort to check out multiple Pinkberry locations in hopes of finding test products and I recently spotted a new flavor that they’re testing at the Little Tokyo location: Pink Champagne.

The flavor sounded intriguing and fitting – given that Pinkberry is celebrating its 10th birthday this year. It’s tart based and tastes like their original tart with a hint of sweet pink champagne. The texture is the same as the original tart: smooth, light, refreshing. The yogurt is white (looks just like original tart).

Recommended toppings: Raspberries, mochi, chocolate shavings, pizzelle cookie

Pink Champagne Pinkberry is available for a limited time.

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

* PINKBERRY LITTLE TOKYO: 332-A E 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA 90012

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, an resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

Pressed Juicery Freeze Review

Fro-yo girl here. Do you love cold pressed juice? Are you a fan of Pressed Juicery? 

Pressed Juicery launched “Freeze” in June 2014 in Palo Alto, CA. Freeze is a vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free soft serve frozen treat made with 100% fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The flavors are similar to their juice flavors.

Freeze flavors include Greens, Roots, Citrus, Fruits, Chocolate Almond Freeze and Vanilla Almond Freeze. Freeze contains no added sugar but is sweetened naturally with dates. It has no additives or binders. The Chocolate Almond Freeze is made with four ingredients: almond, dates, sea salt and cacao.

I tried the Vanilla Almond Freeze and the consistency was icy and not very smooth, but the flavor was very natural and clean. It's surprisingly sweet thanks to the dates. A small (4 oz.) is $4.95 and you can add healthy toppings like fresh fruit, spices, granola, nuts, almond butter, honey, rose syrup, peanut butter, Hawaiian pink salt, cacao nut freezing drizzle, and goji berries.

Freeze is available at select Pressed Juicery locations. I found it at the Americana. I'd say that it's worth trying.

Less than a block away from Pressed Juicery, Pinkberry at the Americana offered their new Frozen Juice. Frozen Juice was introduced early this year. It’s a dairy-free frozen treat (their first) with no added sugar and three servings of fruit. The price is the same as their frozen yogurt. Dairy-free Pinkberry is currently available only in two locations in the LA area.

Interested in dairy-free, vegan soft serve? Check out my new Pinterest board,  Non Dairy Vegan Froyo Alternatives.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.

New Featured Flavor at Menchie's: Zesty Lemon Meringue

Fro-yo girl here. August’s featured flavor at Menchie’s is Zesty Lemon Meringue. It’s made with fresh lemon juice, eggs, and creamy vanilla custard. I tried a cup today and really enjoyed it. I’ve never had lemon meringue pie, so I can’t compare it to the pie flavor. It’s creamy, sweet and mildly tangy. It tastes mellow like lemon curd. I enjoyed mine with pound cake cubes, graham cracker crust and strawberries.

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

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.