Room for Frozen Desserts

Ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sherbet: most like them, many love them.  Realistically, we cannot just cut foods we like completely out of our diet.  Instead, we should focus our attention on portion sizes, eating in moderation, and low fat and low sugar products. 

All the nutrition labels for ice creams, frozen yogurts, and sherbets have the standard serving size of a half cup.  When you read the label and it says 200 calories, remember it is 200 calories for a 1/2 cup.  You know those itty bitty containers sold at the grocery store?  That is a serving.

Reading nutrition fact labels is important.  There are two key nutrients to focus on when discussing frozen desserts: fat and sugar content.  While looking at a carton of ice cream, you will see terms like fat-free, light, low fat, reduced fat, and premium.  All refer to various fat contents.  Terms like no sugar added and sugar free are used for sugar content. 

Fat-free Ice Cream	less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving
Light Ice Cream	at least 50% less fat than regular ice cream
Low-fat (1%) Ice Cream	3 grams or less of fat per serving
Premium Ice Cream	more fat on average; made with higher quality ingredients
Reduced-fat (2%) Ice Cream	at least 25% less fat than regular ice cream
No Sugar Added Ice Cream	No sugar added during processing

 The fat and sugar content of the various Blue Bunny vanilla ice creams are listed below for comparison.

	Fat (g)	Sugar (g)
No Sugar Added Reduced Fat	5	4
No Sugar Added Fat Free	0	5
Premium Light	3.5	8
Light	3.5	15
Premium	9	15
Original	7	16

As a way to gauge the best options when choosing ice cream, there are some guidelines to follow.  Choose ice creams with less than 4 grams of fat and less than 15 grams of sugar. Adding fresh berries or nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds) to your frozen dessert enhances flavor and will be adding vitamins A & C along with protein.

Individual servings and smaller containers of ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sherbet are a little pricier than gallon containers, but if you are busy and always on the go, these might be a good option for you.  They are also already in a single serving size so you don't have to worry about overeating. Healthier single size versions, like Skinny Cow and Weight Watchers, are now on the shelves.

Frozen yogurts are a healthy alternative to ice cream. They are similar in taste but a little tarter, and lower in fat.  They are made with yogurt and sugar.

Another frozen dessert is sherbet. Sherbet is made with 1-2% milk fat, fruit juice, and sugar. They are higher in sugar content than other frozen desserts but very low in fat. Comparing Calcium levels among these products, sherbet only contains 2% calcium, while the frozen yogurts and ice creams contain 10%.

A variety of frozen desserts are now available at the grocery store that cut down on both fats and sugar.   Take advantage of them if ice cream is a food you love.  Just remember to read the label for serving sizes and content and like everything, it needs to be eaten in moderation.