This vs. That: Ice Cream

We all need ice cream from time to time. 

But most of us don’t have the luxury of going to a local ice cream shop to get our ice cream, so we have to rely on store-bought. 

But alas, like many delicious things, not all ice cream is created equal. In fact, if you eat an entire pint of some brands of ice cream, it could cost you half a day of calories and often a full day's worth of sugar, fat, and carbs. 

So before you reach into the freezer at your grocery store, let’s cover five ice cream brands we love and five we suggest you skip over if you don’t want to derail all the hard work you’ve put into your health and fitness. 

After all, we want you to scream for ice cream, not because of ice cream. 

1. Halo Top: When compared to the nutrition facts of traditional ice cream, Halo Top is downright spectacular. Available in over 20 flavors (and counting), each one falls in the range of 240-360 calories per pint. Compare that to your average Häagen-Dazs pint, which typically has 1,000 calories or more. 
2. Arctic Zero: The pints with no mix-ins contain only 150 calories, while the ones with mix-ins go up to 250. Compared to the typical Ben & Jerry's pint, Arctic Zero is 14-24% of the calories. Regarding ingredients, Arctic Zero is mainly composed of water; whey protein concentrate in the form of milk, sugar, and chicory root. 
3. Edy’s Slow Churned: Traditionally, slow-churned ice cream has fewer calories than regular ice cream, is half the fat and is slightly lower in cholesterol and sodium. But it is important to note that slow-churned ice cream can be somewhat higher in added sugar. So keep your portions in check.
4. Enlightened: This ice cream option is both nutritious and delicious. That’s because it is low in calories, fat, and sugar but also full of protein and fiber while still tasting like good ice cream.
5. So Delicious: If you are trying to keep calories in check but are craving ice cream, then this dairy-free “ice cream” is for you. You'll be happy to know that some versions of this indulgent treat are relatively low in fat and calories. For example, So Delicious' Creamy Vanilla soy milk ice cream has only 120 calories and 0 grams of saturated fat per half-cup serving. Delightfully delicious indeed!

1. Blue Bell: Where to start? The high fructose corn syrup? The cellulose gum? The artificial flavors and colors? The fact that they had to shut down production for a while in 2015 because of reports of listeria contamination that resulted in three deaths? There’s a reason Blue Bell often ends up on the “Worst Ice Cream Brands” list. 
2. Coolhaus: We commend Coolhaus for its range of flavors. Unfortunately, those funky flavors often balloon the calorie, sugar, and fat content. Some pints can wipe out half a day’s worth of calories and have around the same amount of saturated fat as a stick of butter. Are you getting the idea?
3. Magnum: As delicious as some of Magnum’s flavors sound, they come with some of the highest amounts of sugar in a single pint. For example, the Double Cookie Crumble has 96 grams of sugar, while the Double Almond Brown Butter has 90 grams. That’s more than four king-sized packs of M&Ms. 
4. Häagen-Dazs: The myth, the legend, the king. Häagen-Dazs knows how to make our mouths water with some of their flavors. But then we look at the nutrition label. Each pint is loaded with unhealthy fats and sugar, and the average calorie count per pint is around 1,200. Yikes. 
5. Ben & Jerry’s: It should be no surprise that Ben & Jerry’s makes this list. What flavor haven’t they created at this point? They are innovative and delicious. But all that innovation comes at a cost. With all those ingredients they pack into a pint, you can only imagine how much sugar, saturated fats, and carbs go with it. Let’s not even get started on the calorie count. You get the picture.