Product Review: Frozen Treats by Freshens

Couldn't get enough of Freshens Smoothies? If the Freshens facility near you offers their frozen treat brand, it's time to help yourself to an ice cream fix and go for these treats once you've had your smoothie fill.

The Freshens Frozen Treats brand offers the Candy Blasted Soft Serve, parfaits, milkshakes, and classic cones and cups of ice cream. Each comes in different sizes and includes one or more toppings.

The Candy Blasted Soft Serves, also known as Microblasts, come in a regular 12 ounce size or large 16 ounce size. They are made with vanilla, chocolate, or twist frozen yogurt, syrup, and a candy topping. Toppings available include Oreos, Butterfinger, cookie dough pieces, brownie bites, Reese's peanut butter cups, M&M's, and strawberry syrup. Once the topping and ice cream are put in the cup, they are mixed together in a mixer for about 10-15 seconds. The finished result is a product that is similar to the Dairy Queen blizzard or a McDonald's McFlurry.

Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milkshakes are available in the 16 ounce size. They are made by filling the cup a little less than halfway full with milk. The ice cream and one squirt of vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry syrup are added to start creating the drink. Another kind of milkshake is the Oreo Cream variety, which is made with one squirt each of vanilla and chocolate syrup, then three scoops of Oreos. These are made in the same mixer machines as the microblasts and you have the option of getting whipped cream on top.

The three kinds of parfaits are triple ripple, triple berry, and brown roof. They are made by putting in a squirt of syrup, a scoop of candy or fruit, then four ounces of ice cream. This pattern is repeated until the parfait cup is full and topped off with more syrup and candy. One of the best toppings for the parfait is the chocolate cone dip. It will come out like regular syrup when your server puts it on, but once it has sat for about a minute, it will be a hard shell topping.

For anyone looking for a small serving, cake and waffle cones are available along with small, regular, and large cups of frozen yogurt. You are still able to pick from your favorite topping if you prefer, but obviously, it is put on top of your yogurt instead of being mixed in.

I have enjoyed making and eating the Frozen Treats, especially the microblasts. The candy and ice cream are always well mixed ensuring you get plenty taste of each, but if you're not quite happy, you can always ask your server for extra scoops. The parfaits provide enough in each layer to give you a quick snack and hold you over until your next meal. The milkshakes are thick enough to drink easily, but need to be mixed for just the right time. I have found the Oreo Cream difficult to make and just cannot get the thickness down pat. This leads to the drink looking and feeling not as well blended.

My personal favorite frozen treats: the Reese's Microblast and the Triple Ripple parfait.

The frozen treats are a good snack or dessert, even if they are not as healthy. We all need to indulge ourselves once in awhile and a candy blast, a parfait, or a milkshake from Freshens is the way to go. If you still need a health benefit, the frozen yogurt is fat free. Stop by your local Freshens stand or visit www.freshens.com to learn more about these delicious ice cream snacks.