Fro yo, yo.

I’m not sure when the frozen yogurt “craze” hit the US, but I just know I used to eat TCBY (apparently they go back to 1981) in my hometown when I was in like 5th grade. I guess it’s the whole Pinkberry thing in the US (which apparently started in 2005), but I have no idea why it took so long to catch on here. Two fro yo places have finally opened in our area in the last year, and they’ve been cropping up all over London in the last 2 or so. One apparent difference about the UK is that the shops I’ve tried have plain/natural yogurt, which is awesome. Even “original” Pinkberry has sugar as the second ingredient. Does plain fro yo exist in the US anywhere? If not, it should!

Anyway, if your kids aren’t old enough to figure out that chocolate yogurt is an option, or that you can get it topped with Oreos instead of fruit, this makes for a super-healthy snack - the small natural at Frae is I think 85 calories, fat free, organic and with all the protein/calcium of normal yogurt. And of course it’s good for adults too. I made the mistake of actually telling Owen it was yogurt, but like ice cream. He was kind of confused, but then he tasted it. Unfortunately the neighborhood gelato shop still has these places beat because they have a shelf of toys and books for kids. Oh well.

If you live in London and want to try British fro yo out, Frog is perfect if you’re on the go (it’s a really tiny shop with nowhere to sit except a small bench outside on the street) and Frae is probably better if you’re looking to eat-in, which is kind of essential when a 7-10 minute walk in 80 degree heat is standing between the shop and your dining room or the shop and your nearest park. Frae’s still small, but there are several tables, and conveniently they're all just at kid-height.