She has also had 16 wellness books published by major publishers including the bestselling Easy GI Diet, The Macro Method, Quit Alcohol (For a Month) and Eat 5. Her books have sold over one million copies.
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Healthy frozen goodies have been a trend for a while now and the other day, I decided to succumb. Theorising that no matter how healthy it is, if you then eat a giant tub of the stuff (which I always do when faced with ice cream), it might negate some of the benefits, I was excited to see Twisted Healthy Treats Minis while shopping. These are individual tubs of frozen yogurt – and I decided to snap up a packet. They were pretty good – but tasted super sweet, which got me wondering… are they healthy?
What’s the Idea of Twisted Healthy Treats?
The company was originally created in Sydney, Australia – in ‘healthy central’ – known to the rest of the world as Bondi Beach. Not surprisingly, if you live by one of the world’s most famous beaches, you spend a lot of time in a bikini and therefore, the healthier your treats the better for you all-year-round abs!
However unlike many Bondi trends, Twisted Healthy Treats weren’t created by an instagram superstar but by Cass Spies, a food technologist who was looking for a healthy treat for her family – and who found the products that were currently on the market didn’t quite hit the mark.
She decided to try and make a range of frozen goodies with low, or no, added sugar, that are lower in calories and are a good source of protein saying ‘We are pushing the boundries of what can be achieved with clean recipes that contain only natural ingredients, without unecessary emulsifiers and stabilisers – and with much less sugar and fat than other products on the market.’
Adding that Twisted aim to make healthy choices around food easy, with ‘complexity out, simplicity, healthy and guilt-free happiness in’
Sounds good, but does it stack up? Well, here’s our review of Twisted Healthy Treats Minis to help you decide.
Starting with most important…
What Do They Taste Like?
My first though was ‘wow, this is sweet’ – so much so that it actually made the Tim Tim biscuit that I’d plonked on the top in an attempt to make it feel like I was having a sundae taste like it didn’t have sugar in.
But the good thing about this initial burst of sweetness was, I didn’t need a lot of it to feel like I’d had a treat.
The taste was actually really good. I had the Chocolate and Vanilla Bean one and, because the mini’s are swirled and the yogurt element clearly cut through the sweetness of the chocolate swirls.
When I first served it, I thought I’d probably go back for the second one – and I had money on the fact that The Boyfriend would, but we were both quite happy with what we’d had.
And I still have another one on the freezer for next weekend too!
How Many Calories Are in a Twisted Mini?
The Twisted Minis have 95 calories per pot which is pretty good; 100 calories is a good amount to aim for in a snack or treat and this falls under that.
How Much Sugar is In It?
I was concerned about this because it was so sweet (I’ve been caught out by that before) and, if you just look at the label. Twisted Minis might look like they are high in sugar.
After all, there’s 9.9g per 70g serving in the Chocolate and Vanilla one I tried, which is 42 per cent of the calories – but, the two main ingredients, milk and yogurt contain naturally-occuring sugars that you don’t need to worry about, so don’t panic too much!
The fact that they are allowed to call themselves ‘Low in Sugar’, as that term is highly regulated in Australia, and that milk and yogurt are the main ingredients, not sugar, is a good sign that that number is probably made up of low added-sugars. Plus, the small portion size means you can’t do too much damage anyway!
It’s more likely that the very sweet taste comes from the xylitol sweetener it contains – and, before you panic about the word sweetener, xylitol is one of the good guys in the sweetener world. It has very little impact on insulin levels – and has actually been shown to be good for teeth!!!
However, if you’ve seriously watching your sugar levels, then reach for the Licks products in the range which contain less than 1g per lolly (sadly they didn’t have those in my supermarket).
Are Twisted Minis Keto?
They wouldn’t be my first choice in the range as a whole pot contains 12.2g of total carbs, which is a bit high for keto.
If you’re following a keto plan, instead, pick the Twisted Healthy Licks Frozen Ice Cream Bars which are suitable for a keto-diet – they contain no actual sugar and use natural sweeteners like monk fruit and erithytol which are both keto-friendly to create sweetness. As I said above, the result is that they contain less than 1g of sugar.
The lollies are also coconut milk based which ups the fat slightly – that makes them potentially even more satisfying than the Minis.
Talking of keto. If it is a plan you’re trying, then have a look at our guide to the best ways to get your micronutrients on keto.
Are Twisted Minis Low Fat?
Yes. To be classed as a low-fat food in Australia, a food must contain no more than 3g of fat per 100g, and that’s exactly how many are in the Chocolate and Vanilla version.
Of course you’re not eating 100g and so the individual pot contains just 2.1g of total fat and 1.4g of saturated fat- and most of this will come from dairy sources that a number of studies have shown might not have fewer negative effects on health as those from meat so, that’s all good.
Are Twisted Mini’s Gluten-Free?
Yes, all the Twisted Healthy Treats products are gluten-free.
Anything Else I Need to Know?
The Minis also contain inulin, a prebiotic fibre that helps feed the good bacteria that live in the gut. I also discovered today that apparently probiotic bacteria in yogurt can survive the freezing process (who knew) so, you might also get a double bacteria boost.
The Verdict
I really enjoyed the treat – and, because they are individual portions I wasn’t tempted to go back for seconds – and, I particularly enjoyed not having that ‘oh, I just ate an enormous tub of ice cream and now I feel faintly sick’ feeling afterwards!!!
Yes, I probably need to look at my own guide to what’s a healthy portion!
In terms of health, the range is pretty good – but you need to pick the right product for your goals. So…
If you’re looking for a low-calorie, low-fat treat, then Twisted Health Minis definitely fit the bill.
If you’re looking to cut back on sugar or are looking for a keto-friendly treat, then reach for the Licks bars.
Of the two, I would say that bars are probably healthier than the Minis – but that’s because when it comes to the fat vs sugar debate, I’m in the fat (from dairy and plants) is better than sugar camp; someone else might hold the opposite view.
As I write this, I’m not allowed to venture too far from home and so, once the world returns to normal, I’ll go out on a quest to find the Licks and add a taste test of those too.
If you’re trying to health up your supermarket shop, have a look at some of other Aussie shopping guides.
We’ve looked at whether Grain Waves are healthy? And discovered that’s another food that we need to watch the portion size of.
We’ve found Australia’s lowest calorie beer (it’s a tough job but someone has to do it).
And, analysed the impressive collection of wraps in our freezer to determine Australia’s lowest calorie wrap
And for those who prefer to count carbs over calories we’ve also determined which of them has the lowest carbs.
Where to Buy Twisted Healthy Treats?
In Australia you’ll find them in selected branches of Coles and Woolworths, plus a lot of independent groceries around the country. To find your nearest stockist check the map here.
But one of the other reasons I decided to talk about Twisted Healthy Treats on here, is that, they are now available outside of Australia – and so, I figured some of you reading this might be seeing them in your supermarket for the first time and be wondering thinking ‘that looks nice, but is it healthy’.
Basically, Spies decided to use the chaos of the ‘you know what’, when the schools that buy many of their products were closed, to focus on expanding internationally and so now you can buy Twisted Healthy Treats in Costco in the USA as well.
Kiwi mates, you’ll also find them in New Zealand.
So there you have it, my short but sweet (no pun intended) Twisted Healthy Treats Minis review. So, have you tried them – what did you think?
Let me know in the comments – or, do you have a favourite healthy ice cream you think I should try and add to the ‘Is It Healthy?‘ section so, go on , give me some ideas.
Who is The Wellness Nerd?
My name is Helen Foster, and I’m a health journalist and wellness author. Publications I’ve written for include Women’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Body and Soul, Good Health at the Daily Mail, and more. I have also written 16 books on health and nutrition.