Are you a frozen yoghurt lover? Have you noticed the craze in new stores opening around town? Indulgent toppings aside, you could be mistaken for thinking that all fro yos are healthy. But do they really live up to their nutrition claims? I caught up with our guest expert at the Good Food and Wine Show to get the scoop.
About our expert:
Cherie Gwozdziewski APD is a go-getting qualified sports dietitian exploring new horizons for our profession. She has a passion for good food, especially healthier, convenient food choices. And is the owner of Yoghurt Culture – an innovative, fresh and frozen yoghurt mobile store built from a portable shipping container. The mobile store currently moves around to cater events, functions, festivals, workplaces and sporting clubs. In addition Yoghurt Culture can set up permanent yoghurt bars in workplaces, school canteens and sporting organizations to provide a healthy alternative to the standard food you get at school, work or sport. Connect with Yoghurt Culture at info@yoghurtculture.com.au or via social media: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Frozen yoghurt is a big trend at the moment with new stores and chains opening up at every food court, shopping mall and CBD strip. So you would think that would great news to my ears as a business owner. But in fact I find myself getting increasingly frustrated. The problem is most of these products contain little or no protein, calcium or probiotics and are also packed with sugar despite their “healthy” claims. Believe me, I’ve done the research. And this is not always an easy task when you have to dig deep and ask specifically for the nutrition info despite star bursts and promises of “slimming” and anti-aging” blazoned all over signage. And even then the nutrition info can be incomplete or dare I say inaccurate in my eyes.
Based on my research and also a Choice review of several frozen yoghurt chains, I’ve put together this list of watch outs. Make sure you check websites or in-store brochures of your favourite brands and always compare products per 100g rather than per serve as the serving sizes between companies vary dramatically. Look out for: Self Serve Yoghurt Bars – they can be a big trap as most stores provide only large cups and you do not know how much you are serving yourself until you get up to the scales and find yourself eating 350g of frozen yoghurt and toppings for afternoon tea or dessert. At Yoghurt Culture we like to engage with our customers and we only offer two serving sizes, small and regular with a maximum serving size of 200g of frozen yoghurt. Kilojoules – depending on the fat and sugar content of the frozen yoghurt, plus the serving size, kilojoule content can range from 400 – 700kJ/100g. Yoghurt Culture’s Original frozen yoghurt contains only 427kJ/100g and tastes fantastic. Go for healthy toppings like berries or any fruit that are not soaking in sugary syrup, plus nuts or muesli. Save the Gummy Bears and cookie pieces as a treat every now and then.
Fat – aim for a yoghurt that is low fat, up to 97% fat free. Sugar – content per 100g can be as high as 25g compared to Yoghurt Culture at 13.7g/100g. Ideally aim for a product with a sugar level below 15g/100g in line with The Australian Dietary Guidelines. One thing to note is that you will rarely find a froyo with a sugar level below 10g/100g unless a sweetener is used. Why? Frozen Yoghurt and all frozen dessert products such as ice cream actually require a certain amount of sugar to freeze and become an edible product. Protein – look for products with more than 5g protein per 100g as it will assist in keeping you fuller for longer. Our frozen yoghurt at Yoghurt Culture has 6.6g/serve for the original and 10.1g for the high protein product. A 200g serve is the perfect snack post exercise as it delivers 20g of protein to assist in muscle development and recovery. Probiotics – to get maximum gut health benefits from your froyo make sure the brand can detail their live active cultures and better still name the strains of probiotc cultures for you.
My goal with Yoghurt Culture is to provide the highest nutrition quality and tasting products on the market. And with our portable set up, be right at the places people need a healthy snack from sports events to music festivals. We just turn up on a truck, unpack and are good to go with fro yo! Our fresh and frozen yoghurt bases are Australian made, portion controlled, 98% fat free, contain probiotics and are a good source of protein and calcium. Our yoghurt is gluten free and suitable for people with diabetes as it contains minimal added sugar, with most of the sugar coming from lactose. Lactose free and vegan options are available and we can cater for most dietary requirements. Product range includes Fresh yoghurt and Soft serve frozen yoghurt with your choice of fresh fruit/nut/cereal toppings, The Culture Cup (frozen yoghurt blended together with your choice of toppings), Smoothies,Yoghurt shakes, Breakfast bowls and Healthy fruit slushies.
Editor’s comment: Thanks Cherie. Hopefully the message is getting out that not all froyos are created equal…..congratulations on being runner up in the best catering outlet award at The Royal Sydney Easter Show. Look out for Yoghurt Culture lovelies or get in touch if you’d like them to cater your next event with a delish and truly healthy yoghurt bar. I loved my sampling at the show and my kids devoured the creamy, banana smoothie!
