No Sugar Added Blackberry Frozen Yogurt

Have I said lately how awesome the ice cream maker is?  I love the damn thing.  Here is my latest frozen yogurt slam-dunk:

Blackberry Frozen Yogurt
1 32 oz container 0% Greek Yogurt
1 pint ripe blackberries
1/2 pint ripe raspberries
2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup erythritol (I used Z Sweet brand from WF)
2 packets pure via, stevia etc
2 tsp vanilla extract

Process/blend your berries until there are no chunks and mix in your sugar substitute, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.  Then mix together with your yogurt in a large mixing bowl.  Refrigerate for 4 hours or so.  Then prepare according to your manufacturer's instructions.  Super simple, and packed with protein.  Enjoy GFGs!!

No Sugar Added Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

I've mentioned before that I absolutely love frozen yogurt, tart especially.  It is the perfect treat on a hot day, and has the added bonus of not being too terrible for you.  But you know what?  In scrutinizing the ingredients (a habit I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of, sigh) it turns out even the brands touted as "healthy," "organic," "non-fat," "sugar-free" etc, are still full of lots of junk.  Lots of artificial flavorings, preservatives, fillers, and sweeteners.  I think we can do better people.

I made Peach frozen yogurt not too long ago.   It was pretty darn good.  Eager to try my hand at a new version- I thought- hey, why not try using strawberry preserves?  The fruit only kind?

Duh, it is awesome.  And easy.  And the prettiest pink color as you can see in between pineapple pieces above.  Don't have an ice cream maker?  Get one.  They are not that expensive.  Do you realize how much you are probably spending on frozen yogurt?  I can make 32 ounces of frozen yogurt for the same amount you spend on one serving.

The reason I am calling this No Sugar Added, is simple.  First- I can't rightly say it's sugar free.  Yogurt contains lactose- which is sugar.  So right off the bat frozen yogurt cannot be sugar free.  Then I added fructose in the form of fruit preserves.  It adds sugar and carbs to this recipe.  However, you'll be pleased to know that one serving of this also contains a whopping 22 grams of protein.  That is the magic of Greek Yogurt.

No Sugar Added Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
1 jar strawberry preserves, the kind that is JUST FRUIT (not the one with splenda instead of sugar)
1 32 ounces container 0% fat Greek Yogurt- I used TJ's greek-style 0% but check the ingredients to make sure there isn't any added junk to make up for the 0% fat
2 tsp vanilla extract
juice of half a lemon
2 packets of pure via (totally optional)

Mix all your ingredients together and refrigerate for a few hours.  Then prepare according to ice cream maker's directions.  Ready in about 15 minutes for soft-serve, or stick in the freezer for two more hours if you want it a bit more ice-creamy.

XoXoGFG

PS- do you follow me on Twitter?  @GrainFreeG

Sugar Free Tart Peach Frozen Yogurt

As you can see, this pic is not of sugar free tart peach frozen yogurt, though equally delicious if I may say so myself.  Isn't it funny that by 10AM you've already had a pretty full day, in toddler time?  We took a trip downtown to a cute little kiddo exhibit, and little miss hippopotamus had a grand old time.  So far it's been a pretty nice weekend, which kicked off with a relaxing shabbat dinner Friday evening.  A shabbat dinner of... bacon wrapped hot dogs!  Hmmmm, probably not the best thing to make for shabbat dinner, but whatever.

Have you ever had a bacon wrapped hot dog?  In my former life on the CW diet, I would never in a million years have dared to eat such a thing- but now- I don't bat an eye.  A little heavy on the nitrates but what the hell.  So easy.  Take a strip of bacon and wrap it around your dog- place on a cooling rack  over a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20-ish minutes or until your bacon starts to crisp up.  Pretty yummy folks!  For a veg we had:

Nothing crazy.  Peppers, onions, and grape tomatoes with a little sea salt and cumin and paprika.

What was crazy, crazy good that is, was my latest experiment with the ice cream maker.  OMG!!!!  I am really psyched about it, and the best part is how much it makes (and for a fraction of the cost of going to the yogurt shop.)

Get to the g-store and get yourself some plain 0% Greek Yogurt now!

Sugar Free Tart Peach Frozen Yogurt
-3 cups plain greek yogurt, I used 0%
-4-6 containers of peach baby food (I used 4 but would use 5 or 6 next time.  Or go crazy and do 3 peach and 3 banana, berry, whatever!)
-4 tablespoons or your preferred sweetener (I used Z-Sweet which is a mixture of erythritol and stevia which is amazing- from WF)
-juice of one lemon

In a large mixing  bowl, combine yogurt with baby food, sweetener, and lemon juice.  If you want to bump up the tartness, use the zest as well.  Combine well and refrigerate for 3-4 hours so it's nice and chilled.  Prepare the yogurt according to your ice cream maker's instructions and in 20min you'll have awesomely peachy frozen yogurt, or pop it in the freezer for 2 more hours and it'll be a bit harder.  Just note that the next day, it'll be rock hard straight out of the freezer.  You'll need to let it sit out on the counter for a bit first.

I loved this yogurt because it's packed full of protein, and has less carbs than other yogurt because greek yogurt has less lactose and carbs as the whey has been removed (right?) and it has a great tart flavor and a hint of sweet.  Plus, no gross chemicals or weird ingredients like when you buy the stuff at pinkberry or wherever.  You know exactly what's in there and it is GOOD stuff!  And it tastes incredible.  Not like some sad diabetic imitation but like the real thing- if not better!  And we have tons left over.  Yum!

Do you have an ice cream maker?  I'd like to try plain old vanilla too.  Just some erythritol and vanilla extract.  What's your favorite way to make ice cream or frozen yogurt?

No Recipe Recipe for a Protein Packed Yogurt Dessert

Kalyns Kitchen is a great blog for anyone following South Beach Diet or Atkins or whatever, which in some ways can be closely related to the GFG diet.  She has tons of low carb dishes.  One recipe caught my eye last week and I was excited to give it a try.  MKG isn't the biggest fan of chocolate and sometimes I get tired of baked goods.  He loves fruity desserts and this looked simple enough.  I am not even going to bother with a recipe, it would be too ridiculous.  Go to Kalyn's blog and check it out if you need to!

This dessert is so easy, S could probably do it.  And packed with protein.

Here are instructions for this Protein-Packed Yogurt Fruit Pie.

Combine two small packages of sugar free lemon jello with one 32 oz container of 0% fat plain Greek yogurt.  Zest one lemon and add zest to bowl.  Stir well to incorporate everything.  Microwave for about 90 seconds, and then stir.  Microwave another minute or two, and stir again.  Pour the heated mixture into a greased pie dish and let set for about 4 hours.  Before serving, top with sliced berries.  How easy is that?  And so yummy.  This is a dessert you really do not need to feel guilty about.  Kalyn suggests serving with whipped cream or topping, but honestly, why bother?  It's awesome just like this!

Edited:  I've also done this with strawberry SF jello and a container of ricotta- has a cheesecake-ish texture to it!