The following frozen yogurt recipe tastes better than your go-to fro-yo from your favorite frozen yogurt shop and takes only minutes (if not seconds) to prepare.
Frozen yogurt has long been heralded as the guiltless dessert. It’s low in fat, calories and feels light. However, it is not all it’s whipped up to be. In fact, it may be doing more harm than good. The following frozen yogurt recipe offers you a healthier alternative to a dieter’s classic.
In about ½ cup of vanilla frozen yogurt, there are 114 calories, 4 grams of fat (2.5 grams of which are saturated), 1 milligram of cholesterol, 63 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 17 grams of sugar, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 2.9 grams of protein and 10 percent of the RDA of calcium.. Except for the 17 grams of sugar, these stats aren’t particularly alarming. However, frozen yogurt is still not the virtuous dessert it is made out to be, and for several reasons.
First of all, how many of us go out to get fro-yo and stop at a measly one-half cup? Likely, we are pushing 1-2 cups of swirl. This means the calories are adding up, reaching up to about 400 in one serving. Then there are the irresistible add-ons. Even if you aren’t loading on candy, the so-called “healthy” snack toppers like granola, cereal, nuts, dried fruit and yogurt chips are actually compounding the treat with either more sugar, fat or extra calories. It all adds up.
There is talk about healthy probiotics inherent in yogurt. While yogurt is naturally harnessed with such bacteria that benefit our digestive tracts, frozen yogurt is manufactured and processed to the point where probiotics are covered in a heap of sugar and artificial additives – preservatives, flavorings and colorants. Not exactly a healthy treat.
Spend even less time making your frozen yogurt in the comfort of your own kitchen. The following frozen yogurt recipe is vegan and devoid of any refined sugar. In fact, it only requires 4 ingredients! Because this yogurt recipe is chilled, adding powdered probiotics to it will not negative affect the probiotics’ benefits. This way, you can get real frozen yogurt with probiotic power without the excessive processing or hard-to-digest dairy. Enjoy!
Vegan Nutty Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 2 tablespoons unsalted nuts (almond, peanuts, pecans, etc.)
- 1 probiotic capsule
- Dash of sea salt
- optional: replace nuts with fresh fruits such as berries, peaches or cherries
Directions
Peel and chop the bananas. Place them into a Ziplock bag and toss them into the freezer for a few hours, or until frozen. Put the banana chunks, nuts and salt into a food processor. Pulse a few times. Break open the probiotic capsule filled with probiotic powders and sprinkle it over the mixture. Blend, scraping the sides as needed, until it turns to the texture of a thick soft-serve ice cream. Serve immediately!
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Frozen yogurt via Shutterstock