Frozen Ice-cream, Yogurt and Other Delightful Cold Goodies

With summer just round the corner (at least in my mind), I decided to do what any normal person would do to prepare for it--I went on a quest for good ice-cream. To my delight I found out that Columbia, MD offers me enough of a delightful variety to keep me visiting a dental office for ages (with a huge smile on my face).

Here are the options for great ice-cream and frozen yogurt or custard in the Columbia, MD area:

1. Maggie Moos - If you have every tried their cake batter ice-cream you will understand why they have such an avid following. The ice-cream actually tastes like cake-batter, and you get to choose the goodies that you want them to mix into it. I choose different things depending on my mood, and have yet to be disappointed. The children seem to love the cotton candy. Maybe because it is extremely sweet, or maybe because they get to walk around with blue lips. The matter is still up for debate. If you can't decide what you want, choose one of their Fresh Escapes which are comprised of their most popular ice-cream combinations.

2. Rita's Ice Custard - For those who want to feel healthy about their indulgence, the solution is Rita's. The lines are always long so be prepared to wait a while. Their shaved ice and snow cones are very popular and they taste great. It is wonderful to enjoy a tasty ice-cream without the guilt factor (they are fat-free and cholesterol-free). The ices are made with real fruit. Get your Gelatis and Blendinis here for a great Italian ice experience.

3. TCBY - Ahhh...now this is the way to build my probiotics and still smile. They offer a frozen yogurt made from real dairy and topped with fresh fruit, granola, healthy bites, chocolate, sprinkles, cheesecake, brownies, chocolate syrup and gummy bears (you see how I quickly disintegrated into the sinfully delicious toppings, but you can make your own decisions).

4. YogiBerry - Pick from frozen yogurt, smoothies and shaved ice. Their green tea yogurt is surprisingly tasty and refreshing. I was impressed. The toppings were fun. I tried the fruity pebbles and they were pretty good. You have over twenty toppings to choose from, so you might be standing there a while trying to figure out what you want. The real hit though are the Yogiberry Smoothies that are your choice of flavor of yogurt blended with two toppings of your choice. That presents an infinite amount of taste possiblities. Beware, this might become an obsession as you go in a quest for yet another unique blend all your own.

5. The Meadows Frozen Custard - Now this is a lot of fun.They offer gelatis, smoothies, shakes, frosts (thick shakes), frozen yogurts and frozen custard. What you really want to do, though, is try their meadows favorites. The black cow and the turtle are delightful.

Looking at this list, I realize that Columbia, MD is blessed with quite the gourmet collection of frozen yogurt and ice-creams. Thank goodness we have all those gyms to work off the extra calories! Have fun staying cool in the sun with these options.