FroYo

I came home for the weekend.  The main reason was to spend time with my family and just relax.  However, there was another aspect motivating me to come home.  I had to meet a new member of the family!

ICE CREAM MAKER!  That's right...I, Jodie, bought an ice cream maker.  It is a fairly large appliance and I just don't have the room for it at my fraternity house.  So, I had it shipped home.  It arrived a few weeks ago and I have been itching to meet it since then.  I have also been doing my research and looking for good frozen yogurt recipes.

FroYo (Frozen Yogurt) is my favorite dessert.  Hands down.  I am a huge sweets person, but ice cream takes the cake (no pun intended) every time.  I am also a huge health person, so when I decided to get healthy and work on losing some weight, I had to make a tough decision regarding ice cream.  That is when I developed my love for frozen yogurt.  It is still just as delicious and you feel way less guilty about eating it.  I found some fantastic recipes involving greek yogurt and I decided to try them out on my new appliance.

Greek yogurt is great.  I am a huge fan of any recipe that uses greek yogurt as some sort of dairy substitute.  It is lower in sugar, low-fat, and high in protein.  That makes it a staple in my fridge and a super food in my life.  These following recipes are so basic and so yummy!  All you need is some plain greek yogurt, sugar or a sugar substitute, vanilla extract, and whatever toppings/flavors you want for your frozen yogurt!

Here is what I made:

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt (from Marcus Samuelsson)

Ingredients:
3 cups non-fat plain greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Using a mixer, mix all the ingredients together until the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Make ice cream according to the directions from your ice cream maker.
Enjoy :)

We spiced this guy up with chocolate and caramel sauce that my parents got while on a vacation in Door County. Mmmmm...

Dark Chocolate Frozen Yogurt (adapted from Healthy Food for Living)

Ingredients:
3 cups non-fat greek yogurt (Again, Chobani)
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Using a mixer, mix the yogurt, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla until well combined and the sugar is completely dissolved.
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Make ice cream according to directions from your ice cream maker and add the chocolate chips in about 5 minutes before the ice cream is done.

Enjoy :)