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.

The buzz about The Fizz

Who doesn’t love a root beer float?! Now an ingenious way to enjoy this childhood specialty on the go from "The Fizz." Let’s see where to start....first off these samples came to me at my office so 10 corporate marketing professionals all test ran this fun product. Well I doubt we are the true target market and an executive conference room is not the norm for enjoying The Fizz but nonetheless we had fun and became kids again. As you can see from my photo diary you start with a bottle of root beer and vanilla ice cream, then The Fizz cup, fill it with vanilla ice cream, and insert straw in the center. This then screws onto the top of a plastic rootbeer bottle. Place the lid atop and squeeze the plastic soda bottle. Volcano starts to erupt, cup starts to fill with rootbeer, ice cream starts to blend in and shazaaamm . . . instant rootbeer float that combines the soda and ice cream to yummy perfection.

According to the website this product was developed "as a way to put a fun new spin on an all-American classic: the root beer float. He sought a way to simplify the process of making a soda float, at the same time making it more fun to drink. His concept was to devise a “mixing chamber” that would separate the ingredients and allow the float drinker to mix them as desired, and also make it fun visually as the soda mixes with the ice cream to create an eruption of foam. "

It's simple but not. It's on the go but not. You must have all your ingredients...soda, ice cream, and Fizz cups ready...and a place to assemble your concoction then "go" and its simple to put together but not as simple as throwing a scoop in a glass but then you can't just go which is the point of this all! Overall we had a blast with it and it was quite entertaining to see us all in suits sipping our Fizz. I bet my daughter would get a kick out of this as would anyone wanting to relive their childhood days of sipping root beer floats.

www.icecreamfizz.com
6 Pack$12.99 (includes shipping...does not include ice cream or soda)
Oh and the cup is reusable, but not dishwasher safe.

The buzz from our taste testers....

"Love it but there is something about wanting to take the cover off and scoop the ice cream like you do with a true root beer float. Regardless it brought me back childhood memories at the soda fountain."

"I expected this to be messy and the concoction mixed and flowed under my control of a squeeze."

"This was fun and certainly a novel idea! Root beer float was good, but as my true passion is the ice cream, I too had frustrations with not being able to get the ice cream with a spoon. I am actually excited to try it with the other "recipes" on the cup..."

• [The Float: Ice Cream, Soda, Whipped Cream (oooh, we forgot the whipped cream!)
• The Smoothie: Yogurt, Juice, Milk (ooh, healthy!)
  
• The Milkshake: Ice Cream, Milk, Syrup (this sounds right up my alley!)
• The Snow Cone: Crushed Ice, Flavored Syrup (I think I'll pass on this one, as I am not one for snow cones...)]
  

"Also loving it for it's "green" aspects. The "apparatus" is certainly strong enough to hold up to handwashing and reuse! Oh. One other thing...this does not work with glass bottles, so your Stewart's float is out of the question..."

"This would be really useful at a hockey game. At the Minnesota Wild game, Jeff and I had to go down two floors to get root beer floats and then come back through a crowd. I'm still not sure how we did it."

"I didn't actually try it, but i did think the idea was pretty cool."

Pamper Yourself with Ice Cream Treats Under $6.00

Holidays stressing you out? I found some sweet treats on Etsy to calm for this holiday season. It might be a little late to order as a holiday gift (but contact the sellers to be sure) but are a perfect new year treat!

Since we are all busy, I am keeping the list short, but as always, sweet.

I was first inspired to write this post when I saw a listing for CrazyKBathandBody's Waffle Bowl Ice Cream Goats Milk Soap, but just visiting her site for the link, I also see she makes an Ice Cream Sandwich soap and some super cute Hostess Cupcake looking soaps (which is so real looking it seems that the seller's mom almost ate it!) Funny, I said these would be great pampering products, but I don't know if I could actually use these beauties, as they are so sculptural. At under six dollars and over three hundred scents to choose from, these soaps are a steal!

Next up we have something perhaps only a pregnant lady could love -- but boy would she love it! Elladean sells, get this, Pickles and Ice Cream Vegan Soothing Lip Conditioner for Moms to Be. I don't know if I could actually buy and wear this (but then again, I am not pregnant) but I am so amused by her darling illustrations and illustrative photos and the quirky text on the packaging (visit the listing to see that!) that it seems worth the $3.25 to try it out...Has anyone ever tried pickles and ice cream? Or pickle ice cream? Please do write us and tell us your opinions.

And last but not least, we have perfect Ice Cream Cone Handmade Soap by SoapStore. SoapStore's shop is totally worth checking out, as her food soaps are so realistic looking. At $4.50, these are so on the list of prizes for next year's ice cream party -- my only trouble? -- picking among the many colors and flavors! My one sweet wish -- not SoapStore's fault -- is that shipping didn't have to be so high.

Have a clean and sweet holiday!

PhillySwirl Ice Cream Cupcakes

A while back we got an email asking if a PR firm for PhillySwirl could send us samples of their new ice cream cupcakes. We wrote back and said "No, we don't like ice cream or cupcakes." Yeah, right. Of course we jumped at the occasion! After we went back and forth coordinating when the cupcakes could be delivered, the delivery finally arrived on the doorstep on Wednesday.

To start, I thought the best would be a photo essay of their arrival, because I have never before had ice cream mailed to me:

Box arrived at 10:30ish. (Good thing I saw the FexEx truck though.
The driver didn't even ring the bell.) Box was well labeled. I won't let this go bad!

Box contains a styrafoam cooler filled with dry ice.

Here is the twelve pack I receive. Put this in the freezer and wait patiently for husband.

Husband being husband is more interested in the dry ice. So before eating, we play.

And play.

And play. (But it does look pretty magical,
husband pulling it out of the smoke, doesn't it?)

Here are the cakes packaged as a six-pack
(probably how one would get them at a non-Costco type store).



And here is the cake. Yum! (My photo skills leave much to be desired --
I am going to borrow one of their images from their site)

The box that arrived held two six packs, each of which had three cakes with chocolate cake bases and three with vanilla cake bases. Other than that, they were the same. The cake base was dripping with chocolate sauce (that was now frozen, so not runny), then topped with a disc of vanilla ice cream, a swirl of chocolate and vanilla frosting and sprinkles. Heaven.

I didn't realize the cake base difference, so I had two chocolate based cupcakes for dinner (!) and it wasn't until my husband pointed out that his first cake had been chocolate and his second had been vanilla. Oh, I wish I had known, but as much as I like ice cream and cake, there was no way I was fitting that third cupcake in tonight! (I can give a vanilla base report at a later time...)

Did I like them? Yes. A lot. The cake was dense and rich and balanced by the creamy ice cream. The one thing I didn't like was the frosting, to no fault of PhillySwirl's. The frosting reminded me of a whipped cream frosting, which has never been something I have been a fan of. I am a buttercream girl all the way. Easy remedy for me though...I could just take it right off.

My husband enjoyed the little cakes too. He said "They were good!" He thought the frosting tasted of marshmallow -- marhsmallow or whipped cream tasting, he liked it. Taste is in the tongue of the beholder, I guess...!

When visiting our new puppy on Saturday, a couple of friends tried the vanilla-based ones as well and enjoyed them very much. One of the friends was surprised at how moist the cake was. I agree. It really was very moist.

I had never heard of PhillySwirl before the initial email, and when I went to their website, it became clear to me: their products aren't readily available in Massachusetts, which is really too bad, because I could see myself picking them up occasionally. I love the idea of ice cream cupcakes, but the actual making them wasn't my favorite thing, if you recall from our Cupcake Roundup. The site did say they have them seasonally at Costco, so I will have to keep my eyes peeled when I visit.

Final thought? Yum.

Oh, and as with the general feedback from our own homemade ice cream cupcake collection, these are messy to eat. But all the more fun to be covered in ice cream.

Tina's review will follow soon.

Onesie Cone-test!

To celebrate National Ice Cream Month, I designed and printed two onesies with ice cream cones on them. Printing both designs is a bit time consuming, so I would really like feedback on which I should continue to print and sell, as well as any comments/feedback on the design itself.

You can help! Leave feedback either via the comment form or in an email as to which onesie you like the best by this Sunday, July 27 (be sure to include your email!), and be entered to win your favorite. (Even if you don't have little ones, chances are someone you know is having or will have a little one in the near future, so this is still a great prize!)

Options are below:

Skinny Cows and Ice Cream Sandwiches

I am a huge fan of Skinny Cow products, and not just because they are supposedly healthier. I think their vanilla ice cream sandwiches are amazing and I love their Skinny Dippers as well.

The ice cream sandwiches normally come in a pack of six, they carry a much larger box at Costco. I am always tempted to buy, but...

I cannot keep these in the freezer. I am addicted.

One thing I am a bit confused about is their affiliation with scrapbooking. In fact, they have a list of scrapbooking events at which you can taste samples. I'm not much of a scrapbooker. I wish there were more places I could test their treats!

For those of you who want to make your own ice cream sandwiches, I am a big fan of these little ice cream sandwich makers -- I don't have this shape, but I am sure they still work just as well. One note I learned? You can even put a pile of brownie scraps in and it makes a pretty yummy ice cream sandwich, even thought it might not be quite as pretty as using the cut out shapes.

Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup with Cupcake Project

A while back the fabulous Stef at Cupcake Project contacted us about co-hosting an Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup. What could be better than cake and ice cream all in one, we thought...not much, except, well, cake and ice cream all in one in a mini version -- a single serving just for you!

So, during the month of May, Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious will be co-hosting an Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup. If cupcakes are the "it" thing, we are hoping ice cream cupcakes will become the summer "it" thing.

We want you to send us your ice cream cupcakes. Post about them and be sure to include directions for others. Tell us what worked and what didn't work. Get creative. Try different flavors of ice cream and cake. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Let's take ice cream cupcakes out of the sidelines and make them a top choice for a summer dessert.

To participate:

Post on your blog about ice cream cupcakes some time in the month of May and link back to this post somewhere in yours to spread the word about the event. Feel free to use the event logo if you'd like!

Send an email to stef at cupcakeproject dot com by May 30th with:

• Your name
• Your blog's name
• The name of your ice cream cupcakes
• A link to your post on ice cream cupcakes
• A photo of your ice cream cupcakes!

Stef will respond to all entries. If you don't hear back from her within a couple of days of sending the email, drop her a note to make sure she got it.

Don't blog? That's ok too! Send us a little note about your ice cream cupcake along with a photo and we'll post a little something for you on our site.

Need some tips to get you started? After the break is Stef's quick and dirty tutorial on how to make ice cream cupcakes.

How to Make Ice Cream Cupcakes

A simple ice cream cupcake is just cake on the bottom, ice cream on the top, and some frosting.

1. Use any cake recipe you like. Just fill your cupcake liners half as full as you normally would. You don't want the cake to come to the top because you want to leave lots of room for ice cream. Bake as normal, although you may need to cut baking times a bit since there is less cake.
2. When the cupcakes are done baking, let them come to room temperature and stick them in the freezer. I froze mine right in the cupcake tins to make it easy.
3. Remove the cupcakes from the freezer and use a spatula to cover the cupcake with ice cream. I worked with ice cream that was out of the freezer for just a couple of minutes. It was still hard but not so hard that I couldn't spread it.
4. Return the cupcakes to the freezer and wait for the ice cream to get hard again.
5. After the ice cream is hard again, you can further smooth the tops by dipping your spatula in hot water and running it over the top of the cupcakes.
6. Frost the cupcakes with your favorite frosting - I think a cream cheese frosting works best. You can also frost the cupcakes with ice cream. The words "Ice" and "Cream" in the photo above were frosted with ice cream. I found this to be REALLY hard. As I tried to pipe the ice cream, it would melt and as soon as it melted it wouldn't hold any shape. If anyone knows a good way to do this, please write about it!

Stef goes into more detail on her blog, so please feel free to visit.

I made mine a little bit differently....

This ice cream cupcake thing was quite an adventure. As ice cream, not cupcakes are my thing, for both my bases I went the mix route and I made a dense cake batter using the following recipes, as I thought a denser cake would hold up better in the little cups:

For vanilla:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

For chocolate:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix the three ingredients with an electric mixer, and then make a one and a half inch ball and flatten it into the foil cupcake cup lined muffin tin. Bake them at 350° for 20 minutes. (Both of these recipes also make great cookies so if you have leftover dough, put similarly one and a half inch balls of it on a greased cookie sheet and bake along with your "cupcakes." I mean, these were so great and so easy that I had to make a dessert for a party and I whipped these up in about three minutes, cooked for twenty, and off to the party...)

(Note: For the chocolate, I would use the butter in place of the oil if I did this again, the cake bottoms were much harder when I used the oil over the butter.)

For the ice cream, I had planned to make a strawberry ice cream to go with the chocolate and a orange ice cream to go with the vanilla bases. However, for some reason my strawberry ice cream came out really dry and hard and it just wasn't worth using. I didn't even keep it. This might be the first time in history I actually trashed an ice cream right after making it...I think it was my fault, not the recipe's.

I did make an Orange Popsicle ice cream using David Lebowitz's The Whole Scoop. I am not sure if I love this ice cream flavor, but it's not bad. One problem was that it was super super soft, and never really hardened, which made it harder to assemble the cupcakes and hard to eat them too. I did alter the recipe a bit, making it non-alcoholic by using orange extract instead of the liquor, but that would surprise me if that was what affected the hardness, because usually alcohol keeps things from freezing.

So, I used a large scoop to scoop the creamsicle ice cream onto the vanilla bases...I ran out of the ice cream though (maybe it was too large a scoop?), so I experimented with a few others...some of the chocolate that I used on the chocolate cakes, and some cinnamon frozen yogurt I had made a while back...I out them back in the freezer to chill...

I then made a white chocolate shell to pour on top. I altered a version of a hardening shell used in Tartufi in Lebowitz's book as well. The problem with this was that I think that the different make up of the white chocolate made a huge difference in the outcome. My "hard shell" was soft and chewy like caramel. (And ok, ok, David, I have learned not to alter your already fabulous recipes!!!) While this would make a YUMMY candy, it made eating the hard base, the soft ice cream, and the chewy topping an almost impossible feat!

So in the end after my strawberry fiasco, I decided to go the completely easy way with the chocolate based cakes. I went out and bought Hood's Light Under the Stars ice cream and used a large scoop to make a dome of ice cream on the top. I topped it with Hershey's Chocolate Shell Topping and some sprinkles. Simple and easy! (And yummy!)

What is great about these cakes is that you can easily make them from a cake mix, store bought ice cream, and a store bought chocolate shell, or you can use ice cream you have made yourself to give it your own personal touch. And everything is completely interchangeable in the recipe...for those picky eaters you can customize ice cream and base...Also a plus!

In the end, would I make these again? I don't know. Reviews were mixed...the chocolate ones were more of a hit, but all agreed they were hard to eat. I think the cookie base was too hard (I had pulled it from another recipe in which I LOVE the base, but you put a pumpkin cheesecake on top and then everything is just gooey). Even though I liked the initial idea of having a more solid base than just regular cake, I think that using a regular cake would work much better.

I think I WILL try making Stef's sometime in the near future though!

That was my adventure. Not a total success, but fun nonetheless! I am interested to see what our lovely readers come up with too!