A Guilt-Free Guide to Ice Cream
July is National Ice Cream Month and there’s no better time to enjoy a creamy, cool scoop! If you’re worried about splurging on this sweet treat— don’t! Ice cream can have a nutritional advantage over some other desserts because it provides high-quality protein, calcium, and other essential vitamins and minerals. While these nutrients are less concentrated in ice cream than in milk, yogurt, and cheese, you can still benefit from some of dairy’s many nutritional benefits.
Try Healthy Toppings
Instead of sugary candy and sprinkles, top your ice cream with naturally sweet fruit. Try a tropical fruit salsa topping made with mango, kiwi, and papaya. Instead of chocolate sauce, try blackberry syrup or take advantage of seasonal summer fruit like sliced peaches.
For a more savory, crunchy topping, sprinkle peanuts, walnuts, or pumpkins seeds on your next scoop of ice cream. All offer up protein and healthy omega fats to help fill you up.
Know Your Ice Cream Options
There are freezers full of frozen dessert options at the grocery store, which may leave you wondering, what’s the difference between sorbet, gelato, and ice cream? And is one healthier than the other?
When it comes to nutrient content, gelato and ice cream are pretty similar. Both contain milk, but due to the way it is made, gelato is lower in fat than traditional ice cream and has a denser texture.
Sorbet is typically made from just fruit juice, water, and sugar, making it fat-free. However, because it is dairy-free, sorbet does not naturally provide high-quality protein, calcium, and other nutrients found in ice cream.
Churn Your Own Ice Cream
Making a traditional homemade ice cream recipe at home will still provide you with a similar nutritional content to what you will buy in the store. However, an advantage to making your own is the opportunity to add more nutrients with ingredients like fruit.
Having your own ice cream maker also gives you the flexibility to use different fat levels of milk, so you can still get the high-quality protein and other essential nutrients from milk, but with potentially less fat and calories than a serving of traditional ice cream.
Check out our recipes for some delicious Ice Cream Month inspiration!
Laura Marbury MS, RDN, LD
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