Thursday, February 27, 2020

Kite Hill Blissful Coconut Milk Yogurt Review


Fro-yo girl here. There’s been an explosion of coconut milk yogurt on supermarket shelves. Kite Hill, which started as an almond milk yogurt maker, introduced a new coconut line of plant-based yogurt called Blissful. I spotted Blissful at Whole Foods for $1.99 regular price for a 5.3 oz cup. Blissful is dairy-free with no artificial flavors or preservatives, made from live cultures, non-GMO, vegan, kosher, soy-free and gluten-free.

* Decadent vanilla bean: It was creamy, smooth and about the thickness of regular yogurt. The yogurt was sweet and not tangy. It tasted like vanilla coconut. The flavor was natural but too sweet. I think it would be great in smoothies but I wouldn’t want to eat it straight from the cup.

One serving of vanilla bean yogurt is 140 calories, 14g total sugars, 6g fat, 1g protein and 21g total carbohydrates. Ingredients (vanilla bean): Coconut cream (water, coconut), cane sugar, modified tapioca starch, tricalcium phosphate, natural flavor, pectin, locust bean gum, lemon juice concentrate, salt, vanilla bean seeds, live active cultures, vitamin D2, vitamin B12.

Available flavors: Caffe Macchiato, Blueberry Limoncello, Decadent Vanilla Bean, Strawberries and Crème, Peaches and Crème.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

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.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Kite Hill Almond Milk Greek Style Yogurt Review



Fro-yo girl here. Kite Hill’s line of almond milk based Greek style yogurt provides a protein-rich, plant-based alternative for yogurt eaters. I found Kite Hill Almond Milk Greek Style yogurt at Whole Foods. One 5.3 oz cup was 3/$5 on sale or $1.99 regular price. Like other Kite Hill products, the Greek Style yogurt is made from live cultures, contains no artificial flavors of preservatives, non-GMO, vegan, kosher, soy-free and gluten-free.

* Vanilla Unsweetened: Ugh, it was so terrible that I could not finish it. The texture was thick but in a strange way, as if it were finely ground almond meal. The flavor was sour but also sweet. It tasted bitter and upleasant. I can’t see it being good in a smoothie or in anything.

One cup is 160 calories, 10g total fat, 8g total carbs, 11g protein, and 2g total sugars. Ingredients: Almond milk (water, almonds), natural flavors, tapioca starch, pectin, locust bean gum, agar, vanilla beans, live active cultures

Available flavors: Plain Unsweetened, Vanilla Unsweetened, Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach

2 out of 5 stars.

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.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

GT’s CocoYo Review




Fro-yo girl here. I’m a fan of GT’S kombucha, so I was curious about their plant-based coconut yogurt line, CocoYo. I found CocoYo at Whole Foods, on sale for $4.99 a jar. The regular price was $5.99. The yogurt comes in clear glass jars. Each jar contains 8 oz of yogurt, larger than the average cup of yogurt. The yogurt is vegan, gluten-free, Kosher Pareve and contains billions of probiotics. The proprietary probiotic blend includes 25 billion cfu per ½ cup. There are two servings per jar. One serving contains 110 calories, 8g total fat, 6g total carbs, 1g protein, and 1g sugars.

Vanilla: The texture is different from other brands. It has tiny bits of coconut meat, so it’s not as smooth but it’s more substantial. The flavor was tangy, as you’d expect from a fermented product. The vanilla flavor was not strong. It’s unfortunate that they chose to use stevia because it has a sweet but to me, unpleasant, aftertaste. The Pure flavor doesn’t contain stevia. Anyway, I wasn’t that fond of the gritty coconut meat texture either. It does taste like yogurt but the texture and the stevia ruin it for me. Still, I appreciate the short list of ingredients and the tang.

Ingredients (Vanilla): Raw young coconut, raw young coconut water, probiotic cultures, organic vanilla extract, organic stevia.

Available flavors: Pure (plain), Raspberry, Vanilla, Cacao

3.5 out of 5 stars.

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.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

The Body Shop Body Yogurt Review




Fro-yo girl here. A friend of mine was kind enough to give me a few tubs of The Body Shop’s Body Yogurt for Christmas. I haven’t been to The Body Shop in years and didn’t even know that they had body yogurt. It seems like their body yogurt was launched last year. The current scents are British Rose, Moringa, Pink Grapefruit, Almond Milk, Strawberry and Mango. The 6.98 oz (198 g) tubs retail for $15 each.

Body Yogurt is 100% vegan and made with organic almond milk from Spain. The Body Shop calls their body yogurt a lightweight, fast-absorbing gel-cream that provides up to 48 hours of moisture. They recommend applying it to damp skin straight after the shower.

The texture isn’t as thick as body butter. It’s lighter and more like a gel-cream hybrid. The texture is actually similar to yogurt. It did absorb right away when I applied it after my bath. A few hours later, I didn’t feel like my skin was still moisturized. The strawberry yogurt doesn’t smell nice. It has a powdery fake strawberry scent, like a cheap candle or lipgloss. The mango yogurt smelled better, like apricot. Anyway, I prefer the body butter because it’s more moisturizing and you can apply it any time.

Ingredients (mango yogurt): Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Parfum/Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer, PEG-100 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Dimethiconol, Caprylyl Glycol, Mangifera Indica Juice/Mango Juice, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Benzyl Alcohol, Limonene, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Extract/Sweet Almond Seed Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, CI 15985/Yellow 6, CI 19140/Yellow 5.

3 out of 5 stars.

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.




Monday, February 17, 2020

New February Feature Flavors at Menchie’s



Fro-yo girl here. I did look for Menchie’s new February feature flavors multiple times since the beginning of February, but I was only able to find Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake froyo this week. Since there’s no flavor finder feature and the Menchie’s locations in my area don’t post flavor updates, I had to make quite a few phone calls. And the Menchie’s in my area still don’t have Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake. I finally found both new flavors at Menchie’s Burbank.

Frosted Animal Cookie froyo: I’ve been eating Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies for decades. Even so, I had some doubts about making a froyo flavor out of frosted animal cookies. Menchie’s Frosted Animal Cookie froyo is made with real cookies and surprisingly, features no artificial colors or artificial flavors. The yogurt is lowfat and is made without high fructose corn syrup. Well, my instincts were right. I like frosted animal cookies because they’re crunchy and in yogurt form, it feels like eating cold pink frosting. I found it overwhelming. I tried it a second time. Still overwhelming. Recommended toppings: Nilla wafers, whipped cream, white chocolate chips

Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake froyo made with Anchor cream cheese: I don’t usually like chocolate froyo but this one was really good because the cheesecake muted the chocolate flavor. It wasn’t too cheesy or too chocolatey and the texture was creamier and thicker than usual. I didn’t find it too sweet either. I’m going to look for it again soon. Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake froyo is made with no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup. Recommended toppings: Heath, chocolate shell, chocolate chips

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.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Menchie’s Zombie 2 Celebration





Fro-yo girl here. Menchie’s and Disney Channel joined forces to celebrate the premiere of Zombies 2. Menchie’s provided 5 oz of free froyo for the first 50 guests starting at 3 PM on February 14, 2020 (yes, Valentine’s Day). I brought my zombies and we admired the Zombies 2 signs. Too bad they didn’t have zombie spoons or zombie flavors.

Zombies 2 is the sequel to Zombies and it premiered on February 14. It’s a Disney Channel original movie. The movie follows “The continuing adventures of Seabrook High students Addison and Zed, whose budding romance is threatened by the arrival of werewolves.”

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.

Friday, February 14, 2020

Valentine’s Day at Yogurtland, Giant New Red Froyo Spoon


Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland’s giant red froyo spoon, which was given out on Valentine’s Day with a minimum $10 purchase after 5 PM, was the first new collectible spoon of the year and new decade. It’s red, 12 inches long, biodegradable and it says Yogurtland on the handle. The giant red spoon joins the other giant Yogurtland spoons. The other colors are green, pink, platinum, and the hard to find orange spoon.

Each store received at least one case of spoons.

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.

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Yogurtland Adds Strawberries & Cream Milkshake (Drinkable Creations)


Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland just added a new Drinkable Creations flavor, Strawberries and Cream milkshake. I found it at Yogurtland Walnut, California. It’s a pretty pink color and thick, so thick that it looks like soft serve ice cream. The sweet flavor reminded me of the strawberry ice cream of my childhood. The strawberry flavor was noticeable but not overwhelming. It was creamy and indulgent. Recommended toppings: Whipped cream, fresh strawberries, frosted animal cookies, white chocolate chips.

In case you missed it, Drinkable Creations are now sold by weight. Check the Flavor Finder to see if your Yogurtland has this flavor.

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.

Thursday, February 6, 2020

National/International Frozen Yogurt Day 2020 Report



Fro-yo girl here. Do you look forward to National/International Frozen Yogurt Day all year like I do? If only I could eat more froyo in one day. NFYD (February 6) is always a busy day. I started the day with a strawberry Greek frozen yogurt parfait bar from Trader Joe’s. It was a seasonal (summer) product. I hope they bring it back this year.

Around lunch time, I went to Pinkberry in Los Feliz (Los Angeles) for the BOGO free special. There was no NFYD signage but they did know about and honor the NFYD offer.

Later, I stopped by Menchie’s in Glendale for the NFYD BOGO free offer. There were various NFYD signs up. I was able to try the new froyo flavor, Frosted Animal Cookie but they weren’t serving the other new flavor, Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake. I wasn’t given a coupon for a return visit.

Finally, I visited Yogurtland Eagle Rock (Los Angeles) for their IFYD free froyo event. There was a short line outside the door. The event was organized, with a limited number of people allowed into the shop. We were given sample cups and a 5 oz IFYD cup from 2017. There was no IFYD spoon or new flavors for IFYD. But we could take as much froyo and toppings as long as they fit in the cup. The toppings selection was limited; I’ve never seen that before on IFYD at Yogurtland. Guests received $1 off Yogurtland coupons. 

I heard that Yogurtland Hayward had zero IFYD offers. Sad! I had a feeling that might happen.

I had the impression that NFYD/IFYD celebrations were toned down this year. But with all the free froyo, I can’t complain. I’ve got plenty in the freezer for the Academy Awards, Saturday night movie night, etc.

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.

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Loving Cup at apizza San Francisco





Fro-yo girl here. I finally made it to apizza, the new concept from the founder of La Boulangerie and new owner of Loving Cup. The idea is to make high quality pizza and froyo that’s fast, eco-friendly, and affordable. It’s not a new concept but apizza puts its own spin on it and offers Loving Cup froyo too. The toppings are more chef-driven and creative than say Blaze Pizza, Pieology and the build your own individual pizza competitors. There are fewer options though. You don’t build your own pizza but they have options that you can customize with an egg, potato stix, fried onions and coming soon, CBD oil. They use organic dough and organic tomato sauce.

I was surprised by how cheap the froyo was. It’s smaller than the serving you’d get at a full-fledged Loving Cup. There are fewer choices as well. Choose your base (nonfat vanilla, nonfat chocolate, non-dairy vanilla made with coconut milk) and pick a swirl (achocolate, my favorite, thinner mint, guilty-ish pleasure, all good). You can add a chocolate chip cookie, sprinkles or additional mix ins or toppings. The froyo is mixed to order.

* My favorite (vanilla froyo base mixed with Heath and peanut butter), $3.75. It was a good size portion for a snack or dessert – not too large and not too small. The froyo was very creamy but most of the flavor came from the mix-ins.

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

* APIZZA: 2043 Fillmore St., San Francisco (Pacific Heights), CA 94115

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.