Hood's Greek Frozen Yogurt

As I mentioned in our Scooper Bowl post, a month or so ago, the folks at Hood sent over some samples of their new Greek Frozen Yogurt.

What a treat!

Before tasting it, I was weary about the Double Chocolate Chip. I like chocolate yogurt, but never as much as fruit yogurt. I was very pleasantly surprised once I tried it. It was so good!

To me, honey and Greek frozen yogurt are a given. Honey and Greece just go hand-in-hand in my mind. I'm not sure why. Is Greece known for its honey? I don't know. But never mind that. I wasn't surprised buy the honey but the Honey Vanilla was my least favorite. Maybe it's because I don't actually love honey. This one was very honey-y! But this isn't to say it was bad. I enjoyed it. It just wouldn't be my "vanilla" of choice if faced with a variety of vanillas. But if I were offered it, would I turn it down? Never!

My favorite though? I brought the Raspberry Granola over to a friend's house when our kids had a playdate. What a mistake. As a good guest, I couldn't take the leftovers home. But I wanted to! The granola crunch was perfect paired with the raspberry swirl. (On a related note, I hate when my posts make me want to go out right away and buy the product in question...)

Lucky for me, as I write this, I still have an unopened quart of the Hood Greek Frozen Yogurt that I was able to bring up from the basement that I can review on the spot. Just a hit of the "soften ice cream" button on my microwave and we are good to go. (Yes, my microwave does have a "soften" button and ice cream is option number 2.)

Anyway, verdict is in: though I would have preferred to have the Raspberry Granola sitting in my freezer, the Blueberry that I just softened is quite good. It's refreshing. I have to admit though, it pales in comparison to one of my favorite flavors: Hood's Maine Blueberry and Sweet Cream. It's not the poor Greek Frozen Yogurt's fault -- Hood just already had a blueberry frozen treat that can't be topped!

A couple of years ago we were getting a lot of samples of tart frozen yogurt. I wasn't a huge fan. But this Greek frozen yogurt is something I can get on board with. It's rich, creamy, and sweet (not tart!) as I like my frozen treats to be. Hood's Greek Frozen Yogurt is definitely a treat and something I would most certainly buy again. Thanks, Hood!

P.S. While on the Hood site to link to their products, I got a little distracted by a giveaway so I went ahead and entered. I hope I win! I love Hoodsie Cups! I love the taste and the fond memories of kids bringing them in for their birthdays in elementary school, complete with wooden "spoon"!

Tried the "first ever" Greek Frozen Yogurt Bar yet?

WE HAVE!  How could today possibly be the first day of Spring?! Seriously, more snow. Someone make it stop. The only good thing is that we have to look forward to warm days to come and that means more excuses to have some of our favorite summer treats. So awhile back I posted a sneak peek of a super fun package we received from Yasso. In case you don't yet who Yasso is, well they created the first "ever" Greek frozen yogurt bar out there created only with natural ingredients. Pretty cool. Yes, we know many have jumped on that bad wagon since but we give big props to the two founders of Yasso, who truly believe in and live by a healthy lifestyle and set out to make something that tastes great and won't pack on the pounds. And to be the first to do it with greek yogurt!

So as you may have seen, I was super excited when I opened this box from Yasso. Now typically we get samples in a big brown box and inside we find a styrofoam container with a pint of ice cream in it. No not this time...love how Yasso is branding themselves and standing out from the crowd. They are healthy and fun! Included was a Yasso beach bag (that I will proudly use on my beach trips..actually its my winter Y pool bag already!), a beach towel, shades, sun lotion, and an awesome drink cup. Oh and most importantly a box containing a bunch of new and existing flavors of their greek frozen yogurt bars. I love this page from one of the marketing pieces..."Get Bathing Suit Ready"...this package and the product fit it to a tee.

Well my coworkers were lucky that I decided to have this package shipped to my office because as that three o'clock hour hit when all were in a lull it was time for a taste test. This is fun because I get real reactions and its not just my take. Good crowdsourcing for this post. They sent the existing flavors of Strawberry, Blueberry and Raspberry and the new flavors that just launched of Vanilla Bean, Mango, and Coconut. I always find it interesting to see what flavors people pick. One who I would have pegged for a vanilla guy wanted coconut. So what was the reaction from everyone...."great texture"..."perfect and not too sweet"...."loved the vanilla but mango had an aftertaste"...."I need another now"..."like the creamy texture better than those healthy fruit bars...has some substance." There is one super health conscious person in my office and he was all concerned about the calories and protein in them. When I told him 80 calories and 6 grams of protein he was pleasantly surprised and then gave in to try one.

So after taste testing a few flavors myself I would have to say the strawberry was my favorite, I was excited about the mango but I think because they aren't very sweet (I have a major sweet tooth) I was expecting more of a burst of flavor and it wasn't there. I did really like the coconut and can see this being awesome on a hot summer day. These would be great on the go snacks. You know those days when you are going in a million directions and just need to eat something in the car quick. I already have a greek yogurt every morning so this would be a great option when I need to grab and go. I also like having this as an afternoon snack at work. Yasso was kind enough to send a good assortment so I was eating frozen yogurt bars as my late afternoon snack. Believe me every once in awhile I need some true sugar contents at 3pm at work but these did the trick. The Today show actually ran these on a "Cravings Curbed" segment which I do think they did but i have to agree with one coworker...that I needed more than one. Hey with only 80 calories I could have two and not feel guilty.

Yasso Strawberry Greek Frozen Yogurt Bars in production

All in all I am happy I was introduced to frozen yogurt bars. Why...well although I will take pure goodness of ice cream I too need to consider healthy alternatives and I have to be honest that fruit bars don't tend to cut it for me unless it is a super hot day. What I did really like about the Yasso Greek Frozen Yogurt bars is the consistency and creaminess. I felt like their was some substance to it. And I actually could see my grabbing this for the car ride to bring the kids to school, camp, the doctors as an alternative to my morning greek yogurt. What else...I love the brand and the people behind it and I haven't even met them! There is a personality behind these that you sometimes lose in big brands. They have a small office on Broad Street in Boston..right next to where I used to work. They are real people living their dream. Love that in itself. Thanks Yasso for sharing!!

Check em out on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Or run to one of these retailers and try them for yourself.

Liz Lemon. I want to go there.

I have a small crush on Tina Fey. I think she is a smart, funny, intelligent woman. She's gorgeous but humble. She's an excellent role model for young women.

I love her on 30 Rock -- so sad it ended. One of my favorite movies is Mean Girls -- it's so defining of girl culture. (And I am totally thrilled that Fey and her husband are working on a musical of Mean Girls). I couldn't stop listening to Bossypants. In fact, it was one of those books that actually made me want to go to the gym so I could listen and once I was there, I'd do a few more minutes on the stair machine just to be able to listen to a little bit more of the book.

Exhibit A

And you know Tina-of-this-blog (as opposed to Tina Fey) and my love affair with Ben & Jerry's (note exhibit A. I even dress my children to play the part of major fan!)...so when Ben & Jerry's announced Liz Lemon...I wasn't surprised, because while driving to downtown Burlington with some other bloggers and some Ben & Jerry's peeps when I was at Ben & Jerry's last year, I suggested Liz Lemon ice cream. My idea got pooh poohed, but I have a feeling they only did that because it was already in the works -- that, or they had already gotten that idea from tons of other fans. I mean, 30 Rock and Ben & Jerry's is a match made in heaven and Liz Lemon lemon flavored anything is a gimme.

I wasn't upset I didn't get credit for my (and undoubtedly thousands of other peoples') idea for Liz Lemon Ben & Jerry's. In fact, I was incredibly bummed neither of us on the Scoopalicious team could go to NYC for the launch of Liz Lemon Greek Frozen Yogurt. This would have been awesome. [Sometimes it's hard to be a blogger from Boston, and not NYC. We couldn't make it down for Jimmy Fallon's flavor launch either, and I ♥ Jimmy Fallon as much as Tina Fey (I always kind of thought they should get married...)] But I digress.

So naturally, I had to buy it when I saw it on the shelf. I'm kind of an ice cream girl above all else (frozen yogurt isn't my frozen treat of choice) but I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It's simply lovely. It's not too tart. In fact, it's incredibly refreshing. The blueberry lavender that runs through it is a sweet treat to offset the lemon. It's creamy and it was a nice change of pace to have Ben & Jerry's without the chunky mix-ins.

Added bonus, it the flavor gives a nod to Jumpstart, an awesome program that Fey is involved with. (Ben & Jerry's site officially says: "We dedicate this lemony-blueberry-y flavor to all the good that both Tina and Jumpstart have accomplished!" but I am not sure exactly what this means besides a "shout out" -- which while seemingly not financial in it's "dedication," at least Jumpstart is getting it's name out there to even more people....