Anyone who knows me knows that I’m basically obsessed with ice cream. I can eat it at any time of day, for any meal—and if you’ve never had ice cream for breakfast, you’re missing out. I worked at a Cold Stone in high school and probably ate more ice cream than I sold most shifts. But, my roommate is a nutrition major and has somehow managed to convert me into a health food nut (high school me would be shocked, too). So, when I started seeing Instagram posts about “healthy” ice cream, I was pretty intrigued. But which, if any, are actually good? I decided to take one for the team and taste-tested all the types I could find, to create a Lala girl’s guide to healthy-enough-for-breakfast ice cream:
Artic Zero
this was the first type of healthy ice cream I heard of, so I was really excited to try it. A friend of mine and I first tried Vanilla Maple—and were sorely disappointed. The texture was more icy than creamy, it tasted like artificial sweetners and lacked the creaminess of good ice cream. Granted, I don’t really like maple, so I tried again a few days later with chocolate…and was equally disappointed. It was flavorless and, once again, the texture was just not ice cream-like. At least it’s not bad for you; a pint contains 140 calories, 28g of sugar, and 12 g of protein. For more information about Artic Zero, including how it’s made and where it’s sold, look at www.articzero.com.
“Nice” cream (or banana ice cream)
Instagram is flooded with “nice” cream—bowls of creamy, colorful concoctions topped with artfully arranged fruit and nut butter swirls. I decided to try making it and was pleasantly surprised. Granted, mine looked more like piles of sludge and I definitely don’t have the patience to arrange strawberries into heart shapes, but it still fulfilled my ice cream craving. If you don’t like bananas thought, this probably isn’t for you; even with lots of flavors mixed in, it still has a pretty banana-y taste. To make: freeze very ripe bananas overnight, then blend in a food processor with a dash of milk and whatever toppings you like. My favorite toppings? Peanut butter and chocolate chips—because everything is better with peanut butter and chocolate—or vanilla extract, strawberries, and blueberries.
Halotop
After the Artic Zero debacle, I was pretty hesitant to try store-bought healthy ice cream again, but desperate times call for desperate measures (by desperate times, I mean midterms and my out-of-control stress-eating), so I caved and bought a pint of chocolate. And I am so glad I did. Halotop was creamy and chocolatey and delicious. It takes a little longer than normal to thaw, because of the type of ingredients, but it’s well worth the wait. If you’re not a big fan of chocolate, don’t worry—I also tried mint chip and birthday cake, and both flavors were just as good as chocolate. Plus, they just released 10 new flavors. The best part about Halotop? A pint contains 240 calories, 24g of protein, and 16g of sugar. Check out their website to find out where it’s sold near you: www.halotop.com
