Growing up, I was always a big fan of frozen sweet treats – frozen yogurt to be specific.  I have happy memories as a child going to Penguin’s Yogurt in Los Angeles and getting a small cup of vanilla topped with M&M candies.  Those were the days.  Then when my family moved to Orange County, Golden Spoon’s peanut butter chocolate frozen yogurt became my new flavor du jour.

For me, I always liked the soft swirl texture of frozen yogurt over ice cream.  I liked that it felt lighter and less dense, and of course I loved adding some sort of sprinkles as a topping.  Until now.

You see, my love affair with yogurt swiftly ended once I discovered I had corn allergies and I sadly realized that my beloved Golden Spoon made their frozen yogurt with high fructose corn syrup (this fact still pains me to this day, especially in the summertime).  Gone were the days of going to the yogurt shop and getting some simple soft serve.

Then the “yogurt craze” hit.  Pinkberry led the pack, claiming to be made with “natural” ingredients and was far “healthier” than other yogurt shops.  Other similar spin off shops soon followed.

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and try one of the healthy yogurt shops.  After all they claimed to be free of artificial ingredients right?  $3.00 and a stomachache later, I realized it couldn’t be farther from the truth.  After some extensive googling, I found out that not only were the ingredients not “natural”, but they were also things that I couldn’t even pronounce!  I felt like the kid in the ice cream commercials who tries to read all the ingredients on the back of the container.  So much for the fresh, organic, yogurt I was hoping for.

What these yogurt shops don’t realize is that yogurt without all the added sugars and preservatives actually tastes quite good!  There’s no need for the corn syrup, artificial ingredients and fake sweeteners.  Why isn’t there just natural frozen yogurt out there that not only tastes good but is good for you too?  I’m a big supporter of enjoying food in its purest form and then adding on extras if need be.  If plain yogurt is too tart or not sweet enough, add on some fruit or chocolate chips to sweeten it up a bit.  This way, everyone can control the sugar content of their yogurt to their own liking.

Until an all-natural yogurt shop opens, I’ll have to settle for other alternatives such as coconut milk ice cream and sorbet until I can enjoy soft serve frozen yogurt again.  Hey, a girl can dream right?