Loco for Fro Yo!

It has been happening when you weren't looking.

A war has begun.

You probably didn't even know about it.

We have been witnesses to wars before. We've stood along and watched Coke battle Pepsi, McDonald's fight Burger King and Walmart attempt to destroy Target.

This war, however is much more fierce, and more dramatic. There are more players. More options and only a few will survive.

It's a yogurt war.

10 years ago there was only one place to get frozen yogurt: TCBY. Technically speaking, it wasn't really ever frozen "yogurt" it was like healthy soft serve. TCBY popped up all over the country and took the country on a frozen yogurt craze. Then, they slowly stopped becoming so popular as we got more and more choices to satisfy our sweet tooth.

However, now frozen yogurt has been reinvented once again. It's possible you may have never heard of all of the options but, at this very moment there are 18 different frozen yogurt shops competing for your business. The frozen yogurt craze is being led by popular chains Pinkberry and Red Mango. Below are other shops that have popped up trying to get a piece of the frozen yogurt action:

Ice Berry, CaliYogurt, Kiwiberry, Blue Cherry Yogurt Bar, CéFiore, Berry Berry Yogurt, BerryLine, Yo Berry, Snowberry, Roseberry, Berri Good, Limelite, Pin Go Yogurt, Peach House, Dolci Mango and Cantaloop.

Most of these concepts are concentrated throughout the health conscious California area. Some are more popular than others, some have websites, and big marketing budgets and a lot of locations. Others, only have a handful of stores and can't even afford to brand their logo on the frozen yogurt cups.

They all have one thing in common: "healthy yogurt". It's organic, natural and delicious.

CaliYogurt is a local frozen yogurt shop here in Tampa, FL (Dale Mabry). They also have two other locations. One in Clearwater, FL (Cleveland St.) and the other in Orlando. Through a tip from a healthy, vegetarian friend my wife and I found out about this latest food craze and today got a chance to swing by and get a taste of this life altering yogurt (yo).

I have been skeptical of this "yo" ever since I first heard about it. Being the happy plump man that I am, I traditionally prefer ice cream, cupcakes or cookies as a "dessert item". Rumor had it that this frozen yogurt actually tasted like yogurt - plain good old fashion yogurt like you would buy from the grocery store.

As we entered the shop I was immediately impressed with the streamlined, modern, and stylish atmosphere of CaliYogurt. With mostly white walls and a touch of red, the layout is simple yet powerful.

The manager of the store explained how everything worked to me. They have three flavors - plain, green tea (eek!) and raspberry. The yogurt is a base price of around $3 and two toppings of fruit, candy or cookie cost $1.45. After some thoughtful deliberation and not without a free sample first - I went with the plain and added Oreo crumbles and white chocolate chips.

I was shocked that it really did taste like plain yogurt. A little sour, but smooth, creamy and sensational. The addition of the sweet cookies and chocolate chips on top completed the perfect combination.

Check this out - one ounce of this dreamy treat is only 25 calories. I know you're thinking what I thought - one ounce is 25 calories!!! An ounce of frozen yogurt is bigger than you might imagine. My small cup was 5 ounces - 125 calories and it was more than enough.

CaliYogurt didn't stop there. The entire shop is environmentally friendly. The floors - made from recycled glass. The wood used above the counter - it was recycled. They have an energy efficient restaurant and their cups are all recyclable as well.

My wife's dish was just as good (she opted for fruit instead of the more luxurious cookie and candy as I did). CaliYogurt also makes smoothies and changes one of their flavors on a weekly basis.

Bottom line is this, it's no ice dream or blizzard but, if you're in the mood for a healthy, refreshing dessert fro yo is the way to go.

It looks like yogurt is back, and it's here to stay.

This video blog is a little jumpy and random - we were excited about trying the fro yo.....Can't see the video? Click here.