If there's one thing that most people know about me, it is that I love ice cream. I could not live without ice cream. I would be nothing without ice cream. Seriously, I feel that strongly about this dessert. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and be happy forever. Unfortunately, ice cream is not as kind to my body. Ice cream is probably the reason I don't look like a Victoria's Secret model (oh and genetics, I'm not freakishly attractive, I'm not 5'10, but hey, let me tell myself it's all the ice cream). In my quest to stay generally not fat and averagely fit, I had to find something to satisfy my sweet tooth when I probably shouldn't eat a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's. And for any other ice cream lover out there, I have compiled a semi-extensive review of the most popular "healthy" ice creams on the market.
For the most fair comparison of these ice creams, I will be judging them on many different categories: macros (i.e. the macronutrients that compose these foods, carbohydrates, fats, and protein), taste, flavors offered, and accessibility.
First, lets introduce the most beloved two men in the whole entire world, Ben and Jerry. Ben and Jerry's will be our independent variable in this experiment (I think...I don't know, I withdrew from Biology).
One pint of B&J Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Calories: 1,080
Carbohydrates: 132 g
Fat: 56 g
Protein: 16 g
Taste: 10/10, obviously, but a pint everyday doesn't exactly help the waist-line
Flavors offered: Infinite, so that's a plus.
Accessibility: Everywhere
One pint of Halo Top Ice Cream
Calories: 240
Carbohydrates: 56 g
Fat: 8 g
Protein: 24 g
Taste: 8/10. For best experience, heat up in the microwave for about 25 seconds before consuming.
Flavors offered: Vanilla (pretty good), Chocolate (extremely good), Cake batter (omg YES), Lemon Cake, Strawberry, Chocolate Mocha Chip, and Mint Chip
Accessibility: Halo Top will allude the hell out of you. Harder to find than Where's Waldo. Everyone's getting hip, so they're always out of stock, but you can (hopefully) find them at your local Kroger or Whole Foods.
Best Taste Winner! If you close your eyes, Halo Top could actually pass as real ice cream!
One "chunky" pint of Arctic Zero
Although the chunky pints are a bit higher in calories and macros than the creamy pints, they taste 17,000,000 times better.
Calories: 300
Carbohydrates: 44 g
Fat: 6 g
Protein: 12 g
Taste: Brownie Blast gets a solid 8/10, but the overall average for all the Arctic Zero flavors I've tried is a 5/10. Some of the flavors don't even pass as ice cream, but AZ is starting to step up there game.
Flavors offered: Arctic Zero by far has the best assortment of flavors, with 12 creamy pints and 9 chunky pints.
Accessibility: Arctic Zero is by far the most accessible brand, you can usually find them in your local Walmart.
BestMacro Winner! A whole pint of Arctic Zero is generally the lowest in carbs and fat. Doesn't taste as good, but fits well with your nutrition plan.
One Pint of Enlightened
One Pint of Enlightened This is the newest "healthy" ice cream on my radar, and I've only tried one flavor, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Calories: 400
Carbohydrates: 72 g
Fat: 12 g
Protein: 28 g
Taste: 8/10
Flavors Offered: Enlightened offers 8 different flavors, and I've been on the look out for Frozen Hot Cocoa and Triple Chocolate.
Accessibility: I stumbled upon this ice cream while perusing the ice cream section of my local Shop Rite
Not the best for macros, but definitely a decent taste.
Hopefully this completely biased review will help your sweet tooth and the number on the scale. These "healthy" ice creams are great, but they will never replace Ben and Jerry in my heart.
