Is Halo Top an angel or a deceiver? There are many genuine advantages to low-calorie ice creams, namely the fact that there are fewer calories in them. Full stop. The ‘but’ to that statement is a surprise to be revealed later in this article.
Here we’ll look at 3 brands of low-calorie ice cream: Enlightened, Breyers, and Halo Top. We will compare the advantages and nutrition information of each and try to understand the benefits (and even the risks) of this dietary innovation.
Enlightened
Among the highest quality low-calorie ice creams is Enlightened. Enlightened not only tastes like the ice creams with lots of sugar and milkfat; most pint-sized containers hold only 320 calories worth of ice cream, or 80 calories per serving (though we all know how easy it is to clear half of one of those things at least!).
Many flavors (there are 30) have just over 70 calories worth of fat per container, and up to 10 grams of protein! One flavor, triple chocolate (among the most caloric of the flavors), has 18 grams of carbohydrates. While normally each gram of a carbohydrate contains around 4 calories, most low-calorie ice creams contain a sugar alcohol called erythritol, which only contains .24 calories per gram. Erythritol is the (open) secret ingredient in low-calorie ice cream, and we’ll discuss its safety later in this article. Two thumbs up for Enlightened, though, for crafting what essentially amounts to high tech ice cream.
Breyers
Good ole’ Breyers. Breyers really comes through with their product, however much they seem like the establishment choice. The vanilla flavor has 260 calories per container and, like Enlightened, up to 10 grams of protein, depending on the flavor. Breyers also contains erythritol, as well as stevia for its sweetening properties. On top of it all, it’s good! Though you don’t get as many flavor choices (four).
Halo Top
The Vanilla Bean flavor of Halo Top contains just a little more fat than Breyers’ Vanilla Bean. But Halo Top contains 20 fewer calories because there are significantly fewer grams of carbohydrates that are not erythritol.
Halo Top is very much an originator of the trend of using erythritol in ice cream, and their OG status is reflective in the quality of the recipe. It tastes like one might mistakenly call “the real thing”. It tastes that way because it is the real thing. It’s good and, given the protein content and prebiotic blend, is, in some ways, good for you as well.
So What’s the Danger of Erythritol?
There are no proven risks of consuming erythritol. Enjoy your ice cream!
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Chad Weisman—CEO, Golden Strands Communication; ‘creative type’; surfer on the amber waves of grain; avid concert attendee.