Tutti Fruitti Frozen Yogurt - Review

There are lots of questions that people will randomly ask you when they find out you are a vegan.  There are really good questions, such as "how has your environmental impact changed as a result of your consumption habits?" or, "how do you avoid over-doing carbs on a vegan diet?".  And while your teacher/mom told you there are no stupid questions, there are actually a crapload of them which people feel they need to ask in this particular scenario.  Actually, not so much stupid questions as godforsakencompletelyretarded questions.  Just a sample include such jems as "where do you get your protein" (if I had a nickel...) and "don't plants have feelings too?" (no, they don't, and don't try to deflect from the calf that died in terror and is now your steak sandwich).

Yet another question that often gets asked is, "oh, don't you miss eating ____".  Usually the blank is cheese (like 90% of cases).  And my answer is typically no, with a few slim exceptions.  What absolutely delights me is that the list of so-called "things I miss" is progressively fewer and fewer items all the time.  Cheese?  No, don't miss it at all, I have delicious meltable Daiya.  Fried shrimp?  One of my favorite vegan restaurants makes a wicked facsimile.

And now, (choir of angels sing) I can happily say that Edmonton has a delicious replacement for frozen yogurt for vegans and the otherwise dairy-free.  Tutti Fruitti has been in Edmonton for over a year and has several locations around town.  While frozen yogurt is really nothing new, there are a few reasons why Tutti Fruitti stands apart and why it is clearly such a successful business model.

Firstly, the soy yogurt (which I call soygurt).

Yes, it's real, and it's delicious.

Tutti Fruitti is the only Edmonton frozen yogurt franchise that offers soy yogurt (as far as I'm aware, and that barfy one on Jasper Ave doesn't count).  This alone elevates them completely for me as a vegan, but I'm going to focus on other reasons why they rock for the rest of you too.  At any rate, the soygurt is beautiful.  The flavors are rich and never too sweet, and are so deliciously creamy.  I absolutely CRAVE this stuff!  My only complaint is that the various locations don't always have a soy flavor on offer.  Which is a real piss-off, because honestly, sorbet doesn't cut it.  I can get sorbet at the grocery store, I can't get soygurt there.  My favorite flavors are the above soy peanut butter and soy latte.  The only one I can't stand is black sesame, it's absolutely barf-worthy.  And while I'm grateful that there is soybean yogurt at all, it would be really nice if there was a greater variety of flavors available.  Best case scenario in my mind, if I could actually have the CHOICE between two flavors that would be mindblowingly-awesome (and the dairy people get at least six choices, so I don't really think that's so much to ask!)

Another great thing about Tutti Fruitti are the topping choices.  Because you get to choose your yogurt, as well as how much you want (which I LOOOOVE), you also get to do the same with your toppings!  It is so great to be able to choose from a range of fresh fruits, candy, nuts and syrups.  My favorite toppings are strawberries, oreos (a surprising vegan treat!), mango and peanuts.  There are usually a good two dozen options to choose from, so Tutti Fruitti never lacks in this department.

Here's a shot of my concoction from today, peanut butter soygurt with strawberry, mango and chocolate chips:

 

A real piece of vegan paradise.

So, to conclude!  Tutti Fruitti is a great option for not only vegan folks, but pretty much everyone who enjoys a frozen treat topped with even more deliciousness.  And with their continued expansion across the city, there is probably a location near you.  Go get some.  You know you wanna.  :)