Jessica tries out the Fro Yo! at Mama Mia!

Some people just don’t like to put their feet up and relax. Even if they’re sitting pretty. Very pretty. About five years ago, Mama Mia! conquered Calcutta with a stunning range of gelato — ice cream made faithfully the Italian way — and over the years its repertoire has kept increasing at a rate as hard to keep up with as it is to resist. Along came gelato cakes, frozen desserts, pastries and cakes not frozen, smoothies, sorbets and now with the mercury going haywire and the humidity causing dehydration, the perfect antidote: Fro Yo!

No relation to Olympian Flo Jo or singer/actress JLo, but just as alluring. Fro Yo! is frozen yogurt. Literally. Doi or dahi just as we know it, but cold and ever so cooling, yet having the same softness and consistency, no hardness or stiffness one would normally associate with freezing. And in a stunning range of flavours and variations, with the bonus of knowing that you’re having something really good for you — all the nourishment of fresh yogurt and fresh milk (protein, calcium, live culture) and the plus points of fresh fruits as well, because Fro Yo! is flavoured, and generously topped, with fruits.

Imagine dodging into any of the Mama Mia! outlets in the city at about 9am or 10am when the heat is starting to get serious and mean, and kickstarting your day with the goodness of dollops of Fro Yo! flavoured with anything from strawberry, blueberry, green apple and mango to melon, passionfruit, red orange, pomegranate, black grapes and kiwi. Topped with pourings of the same fruit pureed, or chopped and served as an accompaniment. And if fruit flavours are enough and you don’t want extra add-ons of fruit, then Fro Yo! with muesli and granola are other options which provide our fix of fibre and finally, for sheer ecstasy, there’s always chocolate crispies, choco chips, almond flakes or marshmallows. And if you consider that Fro Yo! has zero fat content, your halo will surely glow brightly.

Over the years, and several visits to Mama Mia! later, it’s quite apparent that to find a better hideaway from the heat, or even from the hugger mugger of a crowded and polluted environment, is not easy. All the food intake that any responsible nutritionist recommends is available in the most tempting forms and it’s worth a thought that a good book, an iPod and the menu is all we need to stay in for the whole day… a serious way to chill out.