I was going to call this post "After School Frozen Yogurt", as this simple recipe has become a favourite after school snack in our house. It didn't start out as kid food though. I started whipping up my own quick frozen yogurt ages ago, back when I lived and worked on Roncesvalles Ave in Toronto. I was a single gal desperate to lose a few pounds, and ice cream was a serious weakness (especially that 2am, post - bar pint of Ben & Jerry's...oh dear).
So I paired frozen raspberries with Activia's 0% Vanilla Yogurt. It was a match made in heaven; a sugary and faux yogurt heaven, but delicious none-the-less, and a slightly better option (just slightly).
I've since opened my eyes to all the yogurt fallacies out there and can only consider a good full fat, plain greek, bulkan or stirred yogurt a healthy option.
Your yogurt should contain only these ingredients:
- Milk and/or cream (grass fed or organic would be great, but it's not a must) and consider trying sheep or goats milk yogurts, they come with many unique health benefits
- Active bacterial cultures
- That's it
Your yogurt should not contain any of these ingredients:
- Sugar, corn syrup, maltodextrin, etc..
- Aspartame, sucralose or any other artificial sweetener
- Artificial flavours or colours
- Thickeners like carageenan, cellulose, modified corn starch
- Vegetable oils like palm or soybean oil
- Milk powder, modified milk ingredients
Sorry to be such a nag, but this is such an important topic. SO MANY folks believe they are consuming a healthy food that is rich in probiotics, contributing to gut health and weight management, when in fact, they are consuming a sugary, chemical-laden marketing scheme.
And there are so many ways to make your plain, full fat yogurt taste delicious!
Start with 2 cups of frozen raspberries. Pop them in to your food processor and process for a minute or two, until they look like this:
Add 1/3 cup of your preferred full fat plain yogurt. I've gone with bulkan style yogurt, which is naturally high in fat, as it's made with cream (and, oh my goodness, you can really taste its decadence). Greek yogurt would be a great option here, as well, to up the protein. If you're vegan or dairy free, you can try coconut milk yogurt or even a scoop of coconut cream.
Pop the yogurt into the processor with the raspberries and blend away for a minute or so. You may find you have to stop the machine and move things around a bit with a spoon, ensuring the raspberries and yogurt are mixing evenly.
With the machine back on, add 2 tbsp of pure maple syrup.
And blend! Continue to puree until the frozen yogurt is smooth.
Delicious! It should be smooth and silky and perhaps a bit soft. I like to eat it like this, but if you're into a more firm frozen yogurt, pop it into the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up.
This recipe serves 2 eager kids, 2 self respecting adults or one tipsy, post-bar, 2am Meghann.
Raspberry Frozen Yogurt
- 2 cups frozen raspberries
- 1/3 cup full fat bulkan or greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Optional Add-Ins
- Vanilla extract for that 2005 Vanilla Activia vibe.
- Protein powder; I love Genuine Health's Fermented Vegan protein powders. They've got lovely flavours like vanilla or coconut that would go very well with this frozen yogurt (however, any berry, vanilla or even unflavoured protein would work well here). Add 1/2 scoop.
- Other frozen fruit, like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or mangos.
- Bio-K; Using the unsweetened & unflavoured, add about 1/2 of a container (providing 25 billion live microorganisms) and simply reduce the yogurt by about 3tbsp so that your finished product isn't too soft.
- Kefir (I like this one); follow the same directions as BioK, add 3 tbsp kefir, replacing 3 tbsp yogurt
- Probiotic, omega 3 or multivitamin supplements! If you've got kids and can't manage to trick them into taking their supplements, this recipe will work wonders.
- Process the raspberries in a food processor until chopped/crumbly
- Add yogurt and process until it starts to come together (it won't be smooth just yet)
- Stop the processor to break up any chunks and stir things around a bit
- With the processor running, add 2 tbsp maple syrup
- Add your add-in of choice (if using)
- Process until smooth and scoopable, about 3 minutes
Enjoy!
