Recently, it was announced that Halo Top is the most popular ice cream in America right now. For some, it may be easy to see why. The low calorie, low sugar, low carb, and all-natural ice cream comes in pretty cartons that proudly boast the relatively low calorie count for a full pint serving (because let’s face it, that’s what we really need to know). A pint of ice cream that doesn’t contain half your daily recommended calories and isn’t loaded with sugar sounds too good to be true, right?
According to consumers, it isn’t. When the brand announced its latest new flavors, it was like like the announcement of the birth of Beyoncè’s twins — it was all over the Internet. I won’t lie, pancakes and waffles ice cream does sound intriguing, but I’ve always been wary of diet desserts. To me, it’s an oxymoron. If I’m eating dessert, I’m not expecting it to be healthy in any way.
However, when I received a coupon for a pint after the news of its widespread popularity came out, I decided it was time to pop my Halo Top cherry.
My First Pint
I figured I’d give Halo Top a try — I had nothing to lose (besides $3). To be honest, I wouldn’t have purchased a pint without a coupon, because the almost $6 per pint price tag is not college budget friendly. Rather, I could get almost three iced coffees from Wawa for that price!
Anyways, my local store didn’t have a very good selection of flavors, so I went with the most exciting-sounding one: S’mores. My first thought after reading the label was what the hell are “sugar alcohols” and what are they doing in this “healthy” ice cream?
After the first bite, I thought it tasted like coconut. I checked the label. There wasn’t any mention of any coconut ingredients. Although it was supposed to be s’mores, I pretty much only tasted coconut ice cream because the graham cracker and chocolate chunks were microscopic. They might as well have not even existed. I suppose if they were any bigger they would mess up the low calorie, carb, and sugar counts, but still. I was kind of expecting a camping trip in my mouth, not a tropical beach.
The Letdown
I expected to have my mind blown and be marveling at how such a delicious ice cream could have such small numbers on the nutrition facts label. But I suppose you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. My first Halo Top was basically just an aesthetically pleasing treat for my eyes. Like, I would love to have a whole rainbow of pints in my freezer if it was all it’s cracked up to be.
I know some of you may be thinking, “But you only tried one flavor!” But first impressions matter. Diet ice cream that is just so-so isn’t something I can get behind.
My Issues With The Ice Cream
When it comes to dessert, I say go hard or go home. Words like “diet” or “low-calorie” and “dessert” just don’t mix. Part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle is eating the super decadent ice cream with the colossal chunks of cookie dough and chocolate. You can find incredible brands like Tillamook and Breyers that offer all-natural flavors without the diet food BS, and give you a real dessert experience.
Another issue I have with Halo Top is that the marketing campaigns perpetuate diet culture and harmful beauty standards. Ads for the ice cream label it “wedding season friendly,” perpetuating the idea that you have to lose weight for your wedding to be thin and beautiful, insinuating that thick and gorgeous are mutually exclusive.
ALL ice cream is wedding season friendly and guilt-free. Have ice cream with your cake during all those tastings. Eat ice cream while planning your big day. Heck, have an ice cream cake at your wedding, because that would be legendary.
Point is, just eat real dessert. Don’t deprive yourself of all the real, incredible ice cream brands just to save some calories. Dessert is not the time to try to be healthy.
I may be the odd one out, but Halo Top was not the ice cream of my dreams. America can eat their mediocre diet ice cream and pretend to be completely satisifed, but I’ll stick to my usual spooning partners, Ben and Jerry.