As much as I love ice cream, I'm sad to admit that it is one of the worst foods you can possibly eat. It's loaded with sugar AND fat. Two of the worst culprits in the battle of the bulge! Luckily for me, so great genius created frozen yogurt. Still filled with sugar, but much lower in fat.
Then behold came the trend of frozen yogurt bars. Not like the bars you eat - but the little shops that are all the rage these days. You go in, try as much frozen yogurt as you want, serve yourself, and top it off with all the fresh fruits and toppings you can imagine. These places are great in my opinion, and I've ditched my Cold Stone days for Tutti Melon (Fayetteville's chain). They serve mostly fat free frozen yogurt, and some low fat, and for 1/2c you are getting in about 21g of carbs. Not too shabby for a cheat if you ask me! But where you have to be careful is the bowl sizes and the toppings. Most of the yogurt bars I've been to (yes, I've been to a lot! lol.) have giant bowls, so if you fill that sucker up, you are pretty much getting half a days worth of calories - and sugar! I try to eyeball about 1/2 to 1 cup.
Then you get to the toppings. This is where you make or break it. They have on one side, fresh fruits, exotic fruit, very healthy options. Then on the other side: Fruity Pebbles, cookie dough, Oreos, brownies. So beware of the toppings! If you are watching what you eat, then obviously stick with the fruits. If it happens to be your cheat - then knock yourself out! :)
Now onto bigger and better! A blog/website I follow brought to light a FABULOUS ice cream substitute. Behold: Arctic Zero! Basically it's a protein shake that has been turned into a delicious pint of ice cream. From the reviews I've read - it isn't the exact same as ice cream, but it's a great substitute if you're an ice cream addict like me. :) Now are you ready for the good part? One pint has less than 150 calories! Woohoo! You can get it from your local whole foods market, or get on their website to see where you can find it. http://www.myarcticzero.com/. I just ordered some from Amazon.com last week and it will be here within the next couple of days, so I will keep everyone posted! While you are at it, check out the blog/website I follow that introduced me to this wonderful product: http://www.busygirlhealthylife.com/ It was created by fitness model/competitor Lori Harder and it's jam-packed with recipes, workouts, and other great fitness related info - be sure to sign up for the newsletter.
And finally - if you can hardly wait for your Arctic Zero to arrive in the mail, then you can make your own ice cream substitute! I got this recipe from Oxygen Magazine this month and it's actually pretty yummy! Here is the recipe:
5 egg whites
1 scoop protein powder of your choice (I've only tried vanilla, but will try chocolate soon)
Stevia - to taste
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in protein powder and stevia, and let freeze for 1 or more hours. That's it! This stuff actually has the same texture of ice cream! If you like the taste of frozen yogurt, then add in a spoonful or two with the protein and it gives it that yogurt flavor. You can also add sugar free chocolate syrup, fresh fruits, nuts - have fun with it!
Before putting it into the freezer - looks yummy!
Frozen and partially eaten - by me! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment