A confession: I balance out my holier-than-thou healthy-seeming diet with ... copious amounts of frozen yogurt.
Little do my coworkers know (until now) that my carefully-crafted (and homemade!) spinach-based salads are negated by just as carefully swirled but gluttonous portions of the icy treat -- I'm talking double-digit dollars worth. My favorite is the self-serve establishment; I lose myself in the beckoning handles aligned on the walls. The toppings -- they call to me.
I am not the kid in the candy store, but the young woman in the froyo shop. I imagine many of you can relate (not to generalize, but to generalize, I've been around these parts long enough to take note of the demographics here).
My method is infallible. Start with toppings in your empty cup (impressed already, I see). Then a swirl of one flavor, another topping layer, a squirt of carmel, a squeeze of peanut butter, back to the machines, a final dusting of toppings, and voila -- a Fro Yo Parfait (cultured!).
Try as I may, I'm not fooling myself. I know the phrases "fat-free" and "no sugar added" are virtually meaningless: while it's possible to stay in a somewhat-acceptable calorie range, I have confessed my lack of self control when it comes to portion. And using the calorie-laden toppings as bottomings and middlings doesn't help.
This past weekend, my closest friend -- and frozen yogurt comrade -- and I presented each other with a challenge (spoon-in-mouth at Tasti D-lite, no less): A Week With No Yo. Perhaps a week sounds like no feat to you, but I am the one who receives daily text messages from a shop around the corner, insisting I sample their newest flavor -- with 20 percent off discounts, to boot!
After meditating on the challenge, I've opted to up the ante: A month -- I'm going a month with No Yo. To me this means I'll miss the new flavors featured in the upcoming weeks (I know cookie dough is next on the menu) and will have to find a different way to socialize with said friend. Think I can do it? Want to join? Follow my #noyo challenge on Twitter (my handle is @kbratskeir, but we'll be re-tweeting on @healthyliving, too) and help me find some substitutes before I start twitching.