Battle to the Death: Frozen Yogurt vs. Ice Cream

There I was, standing on the sidewalk with a ten dollar bill in hand. On my left, a frozen yogurt store I affectionately nicknamed FroYo because one of the clerks there has a full-out afro. On my right, a classic ice cream store packed with more good memories than a train car full of business people in Japan.

photo by maveric2003

As my head whips dramatically between my two choices, my vision goes fuzzy and takes on an orange hue just as a sound that resembles a crate hitting a cement floor sounds through my mind. I realize that I’m having a Lost-style flashback.

“Rika, read this article!” Jala says, dropping an article on my desk. I narrow my eyes at the staff member that currently holds the award for the highest amount of views. She then leaves to go check her fanmail.

The article, from Newsweek, says that “numerous studies have suggested that yogurt and its so-called friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics, may actually enhance the immune system, have anticancer properties, help with allergies and yeast infections, lower cholesterol and even help you manage weight.” I read on to see that these “cartons of goodness” may even be better for you than milk.

Photo by voteprime

Five feet from my desk, Calister F. Wells emerges from a nearby broom closet. I narrow my eyes at the staff member that currently holds the position for second highest amount of views.

“So, she’s trying to convince you, huh?”

“Convince me of what?” I ask, looking around to see where the ominous music is coming from. Calister is holding a boom box. I walk over and turn it off, crossing my arms. “Jala just gave me an article.”

“She’s trying to make you believe Frozen Yogurt is better than ice cream.”

“But this Newsweek article says-”

He holds up a different Newsweek article. I tear it out of his hands and skim over it. A sentence catches my eye: “Suppose you could shave just 100 calories out of the daily indulgence–by forgoing a cookie or a third of a candy bar, or by substituting frozen yogurt for premium ice cream.”

Photo by gozalewis via Flickr

I look up to tell Calister that there must be a mistake -yogurt is BETTER than ice cream!- but he’s disappeared.

“What-?”

Another jarringly over-cinematic noise tells me the flashback’s over.

How could ice cream EVER hold a torch to frozen yogurt health-wise? Sure, it has calcium, an important fortifying vitamin, but it also has saturated fat and lots of sugar. And if lowfat frozen yogurt is paired with healthy fruits and toppings, then it beats ice cream by a long run.

And so my decision becomes clear, even to me. I begin walking.

In the direction of the ice cream store. Sorry, FroYo, today a brownie-fudge-cheesecake ice cream in a waffle cone beats your wimpy yogurt.

Even if you do have as many calories as a rack of ribs.

820 calories, to be exact.

Oh, and the sodium.

30 grams.

-Rika