Light Ice Cream (Article and Ice Cream Recommendations for WW Folks)

[E'sMommy]

Dessert, especially when it's ice cream, is clearly the best part of dinner. Unfortunately though, it doesn't typically bode well for a svelte, slim figure. But thanks to the deluge of reduced-calorie ice creams in the grocery store, just because you're watching your waistline doesn't mean you can't indulge.

But how do light ice creams taste? Ingolf Gruen, Associate Professor of Food Chemistry at the University of Missouri, has done extensive testing on ice cream, and says that while light ice cream isn't quite as creamy and delicious as premium (you probably could have guessed that), if you stick with a brand that has between four and 10 percent fat, you'll still get very good flavor. Go any lower than that, and you delve into the realm of "nonfat" ice cream, (which, despite the label, really isn't ever completely nonfat) – and you'll start to taste the difference.

"There is a harshness of flavor and also a problem of texture difference," explains Gruen. "It becomes icier, colder on the tongue."

Since a ½ cup serving of light vanilla ice cream is only around 100 calories – calories you can burn off chasing the kids around the house, or in an afternoon walking around a mall for that matter, we sampled six popular brands of light vanilla ice cream to see which ones taste best. Here's what should be in your freezer.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

Edy's Grand Light Vanilla Ice Cream

Calories: 100 per ½ cup

Testers said: creamy, great texture, subtle vanilla flavor, no aftertaste, light and fluffy, rich



RECOMMENDED:


Breyers Natural Vanilla All Natural Light

Calories: 110 per ½ cup

Testers said: a little fake tasting, respectable vanilla flavor, good flavor, good mouth-feel


Healthy Choice No Sugar Added Vanilla

Calories: 100 per ½ cup

Testers said: smooth, frozen yogurt-y, tastes like Carvel, some artificial vanilla taste, some aftertaste


Mattus Lowfat Ice Cream Original Vanilla

Calories: 140 per ½ cup

Testers said: butterscotch-y, mild aftertaste, tastes like vanilla cake mix



NOT RECOMMENDED:

Turkey Hill Light Ice Cream Vanilla Bean

Calories: 110 per ½ cup

Testers said: no taste, bad aftertaste, weird texture, gummy, foamy, too white


White Rose premium Ice Cream Light Vanilla

Calories: 100 per ½ cup

Testers said: not a good mouth-feel, chalky, fake vanilla tasting, bad aftertaste



(This was taken from a WW email that I received)

[Joni_P]

thanks ! i was wondering about these....

[Lynnette1]

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately when it comes to ice cream I can't control my portions because I like it way to much. That is why I have fudgesicles so my portion is controlled for me. And I can have 1 for 2pts and they taste wonderful.

Lynnette