The Best Low Calorie Ice Cream

I have a huge sweet tooth so I'm always trying to find healthier versions of desserts. The reason I always eat low cal ice cream is partly for the calories, but also I'm trying to reduce my refined sugar intake. I read this fabulous book last year Cancer-Free with Food that repeats what I've read in many other places, that sugar causes cancer to grow and spread more quickly. And weight gain  to your waistline can lead to cancer.


"70% of all cancers are related to diet. Cancer loves sugar. One of the key principles for overcoming cancer is to never consume white or refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. Small amounts of real sugar found in fruit, honey and maple syrup are fine to eat, but not the amount of white sugar the average American eats. Its safe to eat dates, maple syrup, stevia and monk fruit. But you should not eat anything made with sucralose, saccharin, corn syrup, or white sugar."

I wrote a post on artificial sugar eight years ago that explains in depth what is wrong with them. I haven't bought white sugar in years, I either use stevia, coconut sugar (from Trader Joe's which has a lower glycemic index), lucuma or Ideal sugar, each for a different purpose. If you search my blog you'll find many recipes made with Ideal. That's not to say I won't try a dessert in a restaurant or a cupcake at a birthday party, but I try not to consume large amounts of white sugar.  I check ingredients in ketchup, nut butter and salad dressings that I buy to pick the ones that don't have sugar. I read the labels of the yogurt I buy to make sure the sugar is low. I'm giving you all this back story to explain that while low cal ice cream doesn't taste as rich as regular ice cream, I thought it was critical a few years ago to make the switch. I tasted a bunch of brands for you and these have lots of flavor.




Breyers Delights are sweetened with Erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol and have the best calorie breakdown of all the brands on this list.  Cookies and Cream is my favorite ice cream flavor and this actually tastes like real ice cream. Breyers regular ice cream has 170 calories per serving and 15g of sugar.  They have a no sugar line but that is made with Splenda. The low calorie line only has 4 flavors now (mint chip and vanilla are the other two flavors), but I hope they add more!  Here are the breakdowns of these two pints, there's 3 servings in one pint:

Cookies & Cream
110 calories per serving, 3g fat, 9g sugar, 7g protein

Creamy Chocolate
90 calories, 2.5 fat, 7g sugar, 7g protein



Cado Avocado Ice Cream
This is non-dairy avocado ice cream! That's right the first ingredient in the Deep Dark Chocolate flavor is avocados! This is a very creamy, decadent chocolate flavor but it is made with cane sugar. I tried their vanilla bean flavor which is not made with actual avocado, just avocado oil and didn't like it. There's 4 servings in a pint.

Deep Dark Chocolate
170 calories per serving, 12g fat, sugar 12g, 1g protein


Ben & Jerry's Light Ice Cream 
Ben & Jerry's doesn't make basic flavors, always some crazy mix with chocolate. When low cal ice cream first came on the market, the brands started with just the basic flavors. But when Ben & Jerry's released their light brand, they started with unique flavors. They have a mocha fudge brownie flavor which I accidentally bought not realizing what mocha was since I don't drink coffee. I didn't like it because I don't like the taste of coffee, but you might like it.  Ben & Jerry's regular pints are 350 calories a serving with 27g sugar and 22g fat. The light version is made with skim milk and sugar and there's 4 servings in a pint.

Mint Light Ice Cream with Fudge Truffles & Chocolate Cookies
160 calories for 4 servings, 15g sugar, 7 g fat, 3g protein


Haagen-Dazs
When I was in college the dining hall always had ice cream but only the same 3 flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. I only got strawberry and after college I was all strawberried out. But it's been a minute so I thought I'd try this Strawberry Waffle Cone light ice cream since no other light brand has a strawberry flavor. I found the flavor very lacking, it tasted "light" but decent.  A regular pint of Haagen-Daz has 290 calories 7g fat, 24g sugar. The light one is made with skim milk and sugar but has the same amount of sugar as their regular flavors

Strawberry Waffle Cone light ice cream
210 calories, 6g fat, 25g sugar, 7g sugar



Nightfood
This is a new brand I found at the grocery store. It's sweetened with cane sugar and monk fruit and claims to have added minerals, digestive enzymes and amino acids. I love the Milk and Cookie Dough flavor!  One container has 4 servings.
90 calories, 2g fat, 8g sugar, 6g protein


I was into Halo Top for a few years which is made from organic stevia and erythritol (so great macro wise) but ultimately felt it tasted like frozen yogurt and wanted something else. I'm not a fan of their new Keto line which doesn't melt and has the consistency of butter.  I couldn't get into the taste of Arctic Zero and Englightened. So Delicious makes a huge variety of vegan ice creams, but the sugar free Coconut Milk Vanilla flavor has a strong chemical taste I couldn't stomach. Calorie wise it would have been a great fit.

I'm glad I wrote this comparison because seeing all the brands on one page I have a clearer view of what is a better option from the group. Breyers came out on top, far surpassing the other brands in macros!




Cookies & Cream Low Cal Ice Cream Review
New Halo Top Flavors
Low-Calorie Ice Cream for Chocolate Lovers

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