Hot weather, time for ice cream?
I remember my first ice-cream cone in the Shuswap. It was a hot day, and my husband and I were driving to Salmon Arm for a job interview. Having mistakenly taken the Trans-Canada Highway instead of the Coquihalla, we had been in the car a long time and my shirt was plastered to my back in our air-conditionless car.
Pulling into the Co-op gas station in Tappen, we saw ice cream. Yum.
My husband ordered a double scoop, and we watched in awe as the lady proceeded to pile about a litre of ice cream on his cone. Seeing that, I opted for the single scoop, but still got almost the same amount.
Eating the cone I had a moment of cognitive dissonance – I knew it was way too much ice cream, but I was still unable to stop eating it. My life as a dietitian was getting off to a good start.
Ice cream is delicious and can be part of a healthy diet. However, the portions served at many of our favourite locations (or the portions we serve ourselves at home) are not realistic.
How can our body reconcile a medium blizzard that has the same amount of carbohydrates as 10 slices of bread?
So what are some good ways to enjoy ice cream?
1. Buy single-serving ice cream treats. This helps control portion size. Most ice cream bars come in 125 ml servings, which is half a cup. While eating one Rolo ice cream bar or fudgsicle is satisfying, a half cup scoop in a bowl is not.
2. If ice cream is irresistible, don’t keep it in your freezer. Make a special treat to go buy a cone. Enjoy it with someone you love.
3. Eat what you like. There are no real nutrition benefits to ice cream. Whether you choose low-fat, no added sugar, frozen yogurt or regular ice cream, they are all blends of milk solids and sugar. “No sugar added” ice cream does not actually have less calories than regular ice cream, it is just sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Frozen yogurt is slightly lower in fat and calories than ice cream, but still high in sugar. It does not have the probiotic activity of regular yogurt. Fruit sorbets are probably your healthiest choice, but not always what you are in the mood for.
4. Pureed frozen bananas have surprisingly similar texture to ice cream. Taking half a banana, putting it on a stick, dipping it in chocolate and rolling it in toasted almond pieces before sticking it in the freezer is also pretty good.
- Serena Caner is a licensed dietician who works at Shuswap Lake General Hospital.