Lightened Up: Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

Like I mentioned before, I’m kind of obsessed with pumpkin.  If you’re not, you might want to not read my blog again until January or so, because I have lots of big plans.  Like granola, muffins, cookies, quick breads…

But after trying pumpkin ice cream with my husband, my new mission was lower calorie pumpkin frozen yogurt.

Especially because my husband didn’t want to share his ice cream.  Fine, don’t share your extra calories either.

Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

1 quart low-fat vanilla yogurt (see substitutions below) (32 oz)

1/4 cup sugar-free maple syrup (could use less)

1/4 cup brown sugar (could use less)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

(you could also use a combination pumpkin pie spice)

Mix well & freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions. 

Mine is a cheap-o version that you have to place in the freezer for 8 hours beforehand, so I ended up having to freeze the entire mixture in the freezer, which yields a too-solid icy product. 

For best results, consume straight from ice cream maker, or stir every half hour for three hours until partially frozen and perfect fro-yo consistency.

When I ran the nutrition for the specific products I used, I was really surprised by the comparison!

• At first I was regretting using the low-fat sweetened yogurt (lots of extra sugar calories), but when I replaced that with greek yogurt in the calculation they yielded very similar caloric products – but the protein was much higher in the greek yogurt version. 
• If using plain yogurt, you might need to add more sweetener and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. 
• I thought using a vanilla flavored greek yogurt (fat-free) would be even higher in calories than the low-fat, non-greek version – but Vanilla Oikos Greek (0%) seems to be the lowest cal option.

Another surprise – the frozen yogurt product was only 40 calories less than the brand of ice cream that we got at the fair (per half cup serving).  Had I known it then, I would have given in and not made my husband share with me!  Other companies’ ice creams might have very different nutritional profiles.

Approximate nutrition comparison:

I’ll definitely be making the greek vanilla version next time!

Happy Thursday all – remember to be thankful today.  I’m thankful for my husband, and the fact that the wedding is behind us and we can look forward to the honeymoon!

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