Yoga-urt Brings Organic, Plant-Based, Hand Crafted Froyo to Echo Park, Los Angeles – Grand Opening This Weekend

Fro-yo girl here. Yoga-urt just opened their 2nd location in Echo Park (2211 W Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA). The grand opening is this weekend, June 8-9, from 1 PM – 11 PM. The flavor line-up is still being finalized but the Thai Iced Tea flavor will be back. And the purple sprinkles are new. Yes, there will be free froyo - get a complimentary mini from 2 PM - 4 PM on both days. 

If you love delicious froyo or soft serve that’s made from scratch with love, this is your place. Yoga-urt checks all the boxes: organic, vegan, kosher, soy free, gluten-free, all-natural, probiotic, hand-crafted, small batch, woman-owned, and eco-conscious. While their froyo is “free” of many things, it is flat out incredible – fresh and full of flavor. 

The first Yoga-urt location opened in Kenneth Village (Glendale, CA) in July 2015. The two locations are very similar, including the inspirational quotes and the zen-like vibe. The Echo Park location has a larger kitchen, including an oven.

Yoga-urt founder, Melissa Schulman, was inspired to combine her passion for yoga and frozen yogurt back in 2014. She wanted to create a healthier, allergy-friendly, plant-based frozen yogurt for yogis – something organic, soy-free, gluten-free, kosher, and all natural. Schulman joked that everyone can enjoy Yoga-urt except “for those with nut allergies.”

They start by making their own almond milk, crafting their froyo base out of almond milk and cashews, and adding probiotics. They don’t take shortcuts. For example, to make their Cookies & Cream flavor, they bake their own cookies because the cookies on the market don’t meet their criteria of being organic, plant-based, kosher, gluten-free, soy-free, etc. Their cookies and pie crusts are made with almond flour, a byproduct of their almond milk. The cones are handmade on site and the sauces are made in house.

Most flavors were inspired by what her friends and family liked and she’s still collecting flavor ideas using social media. There are some exceptions though. Purple Power was inspired by the color purple, Melissa’s favorite color, and the desire to have a purple colored soft serve for their second anniversary. For Ganesha’s Sweet Greens, a no sugar added flavor made with spinach, kale, pineapple, kiwi, mint, and more, Melissa wanted to offer something even healthier. 

Chocolate is their most popular flavor. My personal favorites are Vanilla Harmony, Ganesha's Sweet Greens, Strawberry Serenity, and Pistachio Passion. Mr. Froyo's favorites are Ganesha's Sweet Greens, True Tahini, Peanut Butter Prana, and Pistachio Passion.

In addition to froyo, Yoga-urt has organic smoothies, kombucha floats, organic drinks, froyo sandwiches, froyo popsicles, and froyo pies (by the slice or whole). Custom froyo pies are available. If you want to take some home, pre-pack pints are in the grab n’ go freezer. They started selling their almond milk and almond flour too.

Cups and spoons are compostable of course. Their products are good for you and they care about the Earth too. Ask for a stamp card.

Don’t live near Yoga-urt but want to try it? They ship their pints nationwide! Order from the website.

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.

Brio! Probiotic Healthier Ice Cream Review

Fro-yo girl here. I first spotted Brio! at the new Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in San Gabriel, CA for $1.99 (for 14 ounces, regular retail price is $5.99). It’s relatively new and I hadn’t ever seen it before. Since it didn’t say ice cream on the packaging and it was probiotic, I thought it was frozen yogurt. However, I subsequently learned that Brio considers itself a healthier ice cream.

Brio starts with fresh, whole, organic, rBST-free milk from Wisconsin dairy farms. They then add premium, all-natural ingredients. It’s richer than frozen yogurt but lower in fat than premium ice cream. Brio is all-natural with probiotics, pre-biotics, anti-oxidants and omega 3-6-9s. It’s non-GMO, gluten free, with less sugar. One serving is ½ a cup, 150 calories, 7g total fat, 16g total carb, 14g sugars, and 6g protein and 40% fewer calories and 20% less sugar, and half the fat of super premium ice cream brands.

Flavors: Very strawberry, Madagascar vanilla, Café latte, Tropical mango, Vanilla caramel, Dark chocolate

* Madagascar vanilla: The color was darker and browner than I expected. The vanilla flavor was mild but the overall flavor was different and very pleasant. It tasted like caramelized sugar and grains (maybe the whey protein concentrate). It was sweet, creamy and smooth. The aftertaste was clean and buttery.

* Very strawberry: The strawberry flavor tasted like strawberries but with that same brown sugar/wheat flavor of the vanilla flavor.

I liked the vanilla flavor better because I think the brown sugar/wheat flavor complemented the vanilla more than the strawberry. For something that’s lower in sugar, it didn’t seem noticeably less sweet. It did feel indulgent. There was no tanginess, so it did taste like ice cream. I wanted to try other flavors, but the Grocery Outlet sold out of those.

Ingredients: Organic whole milk, natural fructose (sugar cane), whey protein concentrate, organic dried cane syrup, organic agave nectar, non-fat dry milk, organic canola oil, organic sunflower oil, organic inulin, pure vanilla extract, organic clarified butter, sunflower lecithin, guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum, probiotic (organic inulin, bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086)

To find Brio, check out their store locator: https://briolovesyouback.com/store-locator/

4 out of 5 stars.

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.

Frozen Yogurt and Probiotics

Fro-yo girl here. I recently asked my readers how important the live and active cultures in yogurt were when choosing to consume frozen yogurt. The results are in and 2 out of 3 respondents felt that having live and active cultures in yogurt was moderately or extremely important. So, there’s a clear majority of fro-yo consumers out there who value the benefits of live and active yogurt cultures.

According to Mintel Research News, “70% of US yogurt users say they consume it for digestive health.”

Probiotics are live microorganisms, aka as friendly or good bacteria, like the bacteria found in fermented foods like yogurt. Probiotics may improve digestion and the immune system though there is still much research to be done on the beneficial health effects of consuming probiotics.

Probiotics are also available in capsule form (Whole Foods carries these capsules). I was surprised that a 1 month supply of Nature’s Way probiotic capsules is $40 - $50. I’d rather eat fro-yo than take capsules.

The National Yogurt Association (NYA) established the Live & Active Cultures seal for refrigerated and frozen yogurt. Refrigerated yogurt carrying the seal has at least 100 million live cultures per gram at the time of manufacture. For frozen yogurt, the seal indicates that the yogurt contains at least 10 million live cultures per gram at the time of manufacture. The program is voluntary, so the absence of the seal doesn’t indicate that the products don’t meet or exceed NYA’s benchmarks.

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