Who says you can’t have “ice cream” or frozen yogurt when you’re on a low carb diet such as the 17 Day Diet?

Well, you can!

Our resident clean-eating community member, Ann B., came up with this low-sugar dessert on a cold Canadian day that can be enjoyed year-round and she appropriately named it Ann’s Creamy Fruit Freeze!

The main base is yogurt, so we’ll call it a healthy and refined sugar-free frozen yogurt, too!

This is such a great way to cool off during the hot months, so make sure you add this to your Summer BBQ recipe ideas list!

This frozen yogurt is also a great heathy alternative to ice cream. Plus, it’s “children friendly” and they’ll not only want to help you make this treat, but they’ll want to indulge with you!

Healthy Frozen Yogurt Ingredients

This recipe is considered “clean eating”. The ingredients are wholesome and perfect if you’re living a refined sugar-free lifestyle.

Plain Greek Yogurt

This is your base for your creamy fruit freeze. Greek Yogurt is strained three times (versus two times for regular plain yogurt), so there’s less water in it. 

Choose a Greek Yogurt with few ingredients as possible.  Stick to a no-sugar added variety (this is the case for all uses of yogurt for the best healthy treat and way of eating).

If you can use a full fat yogurt, the better. It will result in a creamier frozen yogurt than a fat free variety. Plus, the fat free yogurts usually contain a lot of extra ingredients (like sugar) to make it taste better!

Sour Cream

This recipe calls for only a Tablespoon of sour cream, so make it count!

Like yogurt, stick to a sour cream that has few ingredients as possible. Many contain gums and stabilizers and those can affect your health.

I personally like to stick to a full fat sour cream – I use the Daisy brand in all things cooking and eating when it comes to sour cream. Their full fat version has one ingredient: cultured cream.

Maple Syrup

This recipe includes pure maple syrup, which is a clean and “real food” when it comes to adding sweetness to your creations.

If you’re following the 17 Day Diet to the “T”, then you may want to sub the syrup for an approved sweetener, like a Stevia-based product.

However, I personally like to use a real food like real syrup rather than an overly processed sweetener.

Make sure you use a real maple syrup – there are many “look-a-likes” on the market that are basically sugar and you definitely do not want to use a fake syrup.

A little goes a long way in this recipe, so overall, it’s not that much syrup. Plus, real maple syrup contains a lot of great minerals to better your health.

Berries

Ann’s creamy fruit freeze calls for berries (Ann used raspberries).

Any low-sugar berries will work – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.

The beautiful color of your fruit freeze will be determined by the berry you choose.

If you want a pink-colored frozen yogurt treat, stick with raspberries or strawberries! 

If you want a deeper purple color, use blueberries or blackberries! You get the idea, right?

Frozen vs. Fresh Berries

Either frozen or fresh berries will work in this recipe. If you have fresh berries on hand, you can easily use them and get right to work mashing them up.

If you use frozen berries, allow them to thaw enough so that they’re easily mashed. 

If you keep frozen berries on hand, then you will easily have the ingredients year round to make this frozen yogurt.

If you’re in a later cycle, you can use a higher-sugar fruit (such as banana).

Applesauce

Applesauce is used in this recipe to help sweeten and give the frozen yogurt a bit more bulk. 

Choose a brand of applesauce that contains as few ingredients as possible as well as no sugar added.

You’ll want to gather your wholesome ingredients together – your dairy includes yogurt and sour cream. You’ll use real fruit, applesauce and your real maple syrup (or your sweetener of choice).

You’ll see below that Ann has gathered her ingredients together. She did a great job choosing clean products such as Fage yogurt and Daisy sour cream along with real maple syrup.

 

Step By Step Instructions For Healthy Frozen Yogurt

After you have all of your ingredients gathered, it’s time to get to work.

I promise, this is an easy recipe so there’s hardly any work at all!

First, you need to grab a big mixing bowl and mash your berries.

If you’re using frozen berries, let them thaw enough to make it easier to mash.

Next, add in the other ingredients and stir well to combine.

You’ll freeze and stir a few times until you get the frozen consistency you’re looking for. All the exact steps are below in the recipe card!

 

When you have a finished frozen yogurt (or Ann’s Creamy Fruit Freeze as we call it) ready to eat, you’re going to thank yourself for choosing a healthier alternative to the crazy sugary desserts you find in the stores.

Plus, if you make this with your kids, you’re not only giving them a valuable recipe-making lesson, but you’re also giving them a dessert that’s refined sugar free. 

If you’re the type of person like me (and Ann) who enjoys eating real foods rather than artificial sweeteners or highly processed “natural” sweeteners such as several Stevia-based products, then use this recipe as-is in all cycles in moderation. Enjoy!

Other Healthy Dessert Recipes 

If you enjoy Ann’s Creamy Fruit Freeze (aka healthy frozen yogurt), you might want to try these other healthy dessert recipe ideas:

• Apple Chips
• Chocolate Chia Pudding
• Mini Cheesecakes (low carb, low fat)
• Faux Chocolate Pudding
• Banana Protein Nice Cream

If you decide to make Ann’s Creamy Fruit Freeze, I’d love it if you’d come back to review the recipe below.

If you’re on social media, make sure you tag me @17ddblog with your picture of your creation! Enjoy!