An Undercover Fro-Yo Investigation

For me, summer is a time for serious cravings:

A good book and a big raft in the middle of a pool.

Flip flops. All the time.

The biggest craving, though – the one that just never seems to go away – involves a giant ice cream cone filled to the brim with frozen yogurt. I sit on the ground to enjoy it; licking the sides as the yogurt drips down the cone, threatening my freshly laundered madras shorts.

I don’t know what it is, but me+summer+fro-yo=total bliss.

And in terms of my many addictions in life – reality TV, coffee, giant muffins – this one is pretty harmless. Frozen yogurt is fat-free and low calorie, so even if I get it a few days a week (read: 7), it can’t be that bad.

Which recently made me question why my favorite new jeans were fitting a little more snugly. I started doing some research and found that I have been quite misled in terms of the nutritional information at some of my favorite fro-yo destinations.

The results are pretty shocking, so brace yourselves. After reading this I think I am going to attempt to wean myself off the yogurt and opt instead for some nice refreshing Crystal Light Slurpees. It is going to be tough, but still a hell of a lot easier than squeezing into those damn pants.

Cold Stone: I am not dense enough to think that this place is anything close to healthy, but I did think that choosing the Sinless Sweet Cream was a good start. Yeah…not so much: the Like-It size (which is like an ice cream shot glass) already has 140 calories. And that is before you start throwing in your favorite stuff.

Pinkberry: I have a feeling L.C. and Lo weren’t aware that this fro-yo hot spot is not only chock full of celebs, but is also loaded with calories. Each ounce has 20-25 calories, which add up quickly. It may not seem like a lot, but the company markets itself as uber healthy and low fat, so many people expect the counts to be a lot lower.

Baskin Robbins: Though not my favorite, I often get dragged to BR by friends and family. There isn’t much in the way of yogurt at this place, so I attempt to choose wisely by ordering a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. I know it isn’t the healthiest, but how bad could it be? How about 280 calories and 18 grams of fat bad? For a single freaking scoop.

Everywhere: There seems to be an over-serving epidemic at ice cream shops nationwide. While the serving size says 8 ounces, oftentimes you are getting much, much more. More fro-yo may be better, but with that comes more fat and calories. Be careful, ladies; it is a dangerous world out there.

[Photo courtesy of The Delicious Life]