Frozen Yogurt using no machines

One of my favorite frozen yogurt flavors, pumpkin, can be made using one of the easiest recipes I've seen yet. No blenders, ice cream makers or machines necessary.

Here's what you need:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups plain Greek-style yogurt (low fat works)
1/2 cup maple syrup (can substitute for sugar free)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Now, here's how it's done:

-Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate for a few hours in a seal tight container and it's ready to go. 

Pumpkin frozen yogurt is easy to make and the most time required dedicated to the freezing process.

A frozen yogurt myth busted by Seinfeld

In 1993, Seinfeld aired an episode called "The Non-Fat Yogurt."  This was when frozen yogurt shops were appearing everywhere nationwide, claiming to taste like ice cream with but no fat. 
In the episode, Jerry and Elaine become regular customers at a non-fat frozen yogurt joint, and start gaining wait in the process. They begin to suspect that the yogurt isn't "non-fat' and they have it tested only to discover there's a lot of fat. 
Although the writers of Seinfeld hadn't created that episode to claim that frozen yogurt 
wasn't as healthy as advertised, that's exactly what came of the episode. 
The following year, New York Magazine released a story on false claims made by frozen yogurt companies about the calorie count and fat content of their food. The yogurt companies mentioned in the article are no longer prominent figures in the business. 

                                            In 1994, New York Magazine released a story on the false 
                                           claims of "non-fat" yogurt made by prominent frozen yogurt companies. 

A recipe: Cinnamon Pear Frozen Yogurt

With the beginning of Fall upon us,  I wanted a way to appropriately incorporate the season into my frozen yogurt choices.

Here's an easy recipe for a cinnamon pear frozen yogurt:

What you need:

- 1 (15 oz) can of pear halves
- 2 cups vanilla yogurt (low fat works, too)
-1/3 cup white sugar (or Splenda)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp allspice


Here's how it's done:

• Drain the pears, saving 1/2 cup of juice.
• Puree pears in a blender.
• Combine pears with all of the other ingredients. 
• Blend on high until you are happy with it's consistency. 
• Either serve immediately or store in the freezer. 

How to finish it off: frozen yogurt toppings

With dozens of toppings to choose from at DIY frozen yogurt shops, I wanted to narrow down the healthiest options. Although frozen yogurt is a healthier dessert option, loading up on toppings like cookie dough and chocolate syrup won't help the cause.

So, here are my top 5 healthy topping combinations:

1. Banana slices, walnuts and a spoonful of chocolate chips.
This combo works well with a vanilla or cheesecake flavored yogurt.

2. A spoonful of butterfingers, KitKat and graham crackers.
Because these toppings pack in a lot of flavor, a lighter yogurt would work best. 

3. Lychee, mango and passion fruit flavored lychee. 
Any fruit flavored yogurt would work with lychee. Consider a mango yogurt with passion fuit lychee.

4. Blueberries and graham crackers
This pairs deliciously with a cheesecake flavored yogurt. 

5. Pineapple, strawberries and mango
An original tart flavored yogurt is best with this topping combination. 

What to call it: frozen yogurt slang

I was under the impression that everyone who has tried frozen yogurt knows that "froyo" is nothing more than a shortened version of the term. After checking out Urban Dictionary, a website full of definitions for slang terms, I realized that I was wrong.

Urban Dictionary users can enter definitions, much like Wikipedia, but much of the site has become satirical and it is rarely taken seriously. I decided to search for "froyo" and the results were not what I expected.

Here's a few of my favorites:

1. Frodo playing yoyo. 


2. A game combining the use of a frisbee and a yoyo.

3. In reference to sorority girls who binge drink on the weekend and then exercise obsessively and eat frozen yogurt in order to avoid gaining weight.

4. Google's not-so-secret code name for their phone operating system, Android 2.2.

And finally:

5. Frozen yogurt (from a contracton of frozen yogurt)




                 
                  Urban Dictionary is a Website where users can 
                  submit definitions for whichever slang term they want. 
                  Below is a screenshot of the frozen yogurt definitions from visitors. 

DIY part two: How to make frozen yogurt without an ice cream machine

Following my recent post about how to make your own frozen yogurt, I received mixed reviews from people who didn't want to buy an ice cream maker that they would almost never use. So, I found another solution.

Here's what you'll need:
- Ice
-1 cup water
-4 cups plain yogurt (low fat works)
-1 cup peach syrup (any fruit flavor works)
-2 cups frozen strawberries
-Blender

Now, here's how it works:
1. Place the water, 2 cups yogurt and 1 cup of the frozen fruit into your blender. Blend on high, stopping to shake the mixture up if it freezes.
2. Add the remainder of the fruit and yogurt to the blender, blending on high. Make sure to stop if the mixture freezes.
3. Add water to thin out the mix, adding ice until you've reached a consistency you're happy with.
4. Either serve your yogurt immediately or store it in your freezer. 

Frozen yogurt for your smart phone

In the event of a frozen yogurt craving, don't fret.

There are several apps for your smart phone to help you locate a nearby frozen yogurt shop and with about 10,000 downloads this past month, the Orange leaf application is a contender.
Here's the low down:


-It's free.
-It features a store locator.
-Offers nutritional facts for its flavors.

The Orange Leaf app allows you to create your
own frozen yogurt in the form of a game. 









                                                                                                                   








The store locator offers up any location within the radius that 
you decide. Store hours and contact numbers are also available. 

Frozen Yogurt Techniques: split or pile-up?

While at a frozen yogurt shop the other night, I overheard a conversation between two friends about they way they distribute their frozen yogurt.

Person 1: "Your cup is a mess, why would you just pile flavors up? You ruined it."
Person 2: "You are soo boring. You section your flavors off. You're just wasting space."

I looked down at my cup — a mountain of pumpkin cheesecake yogurt all covered in clodhoppers, lychee flavored boba and cheesecake bites. It was a mess.

I glanced over at my friend's cup and saw perfectly sectioned off parts of frozen yogurt and toppings. I couldn't help but compare our personalities to the way we distribute our froyo. My friend is an obsessively organized person and I'm not. He doesn't like doing things on a whim and I find that incredibly boring. We're very different and our frozen yogurt techniques just further enforce that truth.

The creative freedom given to a person at a frozen yogurt shop allows them to express themselves — even if they're a little obsessive compulsive.

DIY: Frozen yogurt

In hopes of not going broke because of my fro-yo addiction, I decided to see what I needed to make my own. According to this site, it's an easy process and I figure it's worth a try. 
Here's what you need to make a simple banana frozen yogurt:


Ingredients: 
1. cups vanilla yogurt  (lowfat or nonfat works, too)
2. 1/2 cup mango, apricot, orange or any other juice
3. 2 large or 3 medium bananas cut up

4. An ice cream maker (Here's one for $30)

Now, Here's how it's done:

1. Chop up bananas and puree with the juice.

2. Set up ice cream maker.

3. Take the yogurt out of the refrigerator, place in a large bowl and stir in the banana mixture.

4. Pour that into your ice cream maker and churn as you would to make ice cream. Serve immediately or freeze for 2-3 hours. 

And there you have it — DIY fro-yo