The Halo Diet: Too Good To Be True
Fad diets are nothing new, and Halo Top isn’t even the weirdest of them all. But it might sound like the best by a long shot, so that brings up an important question: does it work?
Let’s start with GQ‘s Shane Snow, who wrote about his ten days eating only ice cream. For him, it worked. Snow ate five pints a day, with mild side effects like headaches, chills, a craving for salt, low energy, and the inconvenience of a canker sore. But he also dropped 10 pounds, 3 percent body fat, and an inch and a half off his waist.
He’s not the only one that’s done it with some success. Yahoo editors who tried it lost an average of 2 pounds each over the course of three days, and Spoon University‘s Meredith Davin lost 1.4 pounds. That’s not too shabby, and while there are certainly less delicious-sounding fad diets you can go on, we also have to point out again that nutritionists don’t recommend it.
Halo Top Is Basically Guilt
When it comes to foods where it’s simply best to avoid looking at the nutritional information, ice cream really takes the cake . However, Halo Top tries to take the guilt out of the equation for those rare occasions, or nightly occurrences, when you devour an entire pint in one sitting.
Halo Top’s 17 flavors contain between 240-360 calories per pint, or 60-90 calories per serving. In comparison, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s vanilla contains 250 calories per serving. Halo Top also contains more protein and both significantly less fat and carbs . It even has three grams of fiber per serving. So, how is this possible?
Homemade Coconut Ice Cream
If youre looking for a homemade ice cream that doesnt contain added sugars and is low in carbs, try using full fat coconut milk as a base.
For a classic vanilla flavor, mix coconut milk with vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and your favorite sugar-free sweetener stevia, monk fruit, and sugar alcohols work well. Other sugar-free ingredients like nut butters, matcha, and cocoa powder make great optional add-ins.
Freeze the mixture in small, blender-friendly portions, allow it to thaw slightly, then blend it until smooth and creamy.
A 1/2-cup serving with no extra ingredients provides approximately (
- Sugar: 1.5 grams
Although theres no sugar added and its very low in carbs, this particular ice cream is higher in fat and calories than many other options. Thus, if youre following a low fat diet or trying to reduce your calorie intake, it may not be the best choice.
Choosing the right sugar-free or low sugar ice cream depends on your dietary goals and personal tastes.
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What Is Halo Top Ice Cream
Owned by the Iowa-based company Wells Enterprises, Halo Top was founded in 2012 by Eden Creamery.
The pint-size ice cream is a bestselling frozen dessert brand thats available throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, and some European countries.
Halo Top has significantly fewer calories than traditional ice cream because it contains natural sugar substitutes and less cream.
Its also made of a mix of natural and organic ingredients. For example, Halo Top uses dairy products from conventionally raised cows and organic cane sugar.
In addition to the original dairy-based varieties, Halo Top comes in versions suitable for people following vegan or keto diets. The brand also offers dairy- and fruit-based pops.
What Are The Ingredients In Halo Top
Halo Top ice cream comes in more than two dozen traditional and whimsical flavors, such as Birthday Cake and Peanut Butter Cup, all of which contain the same core ingredients.
Generally, most flavors include ingredients like skim milk, erythritol, eggs, prebiotic fiber, cream, organic cane sugar, vegetable glycerin, and organic stevia leaf extract. However, the ingredients may vary slightly for specific flavors.
For instance, in addition to the ingredients listed above, the vanilla flavor also includes milk protein concentrate, natural flavors, sea salt, vanilla beans, organic carob gum, and organic guar gum.
The dairy-based pops contain most of the same ingredients as the pints in varying amounts but are made without soluble corn fiber.
In vegan versions, the milk and eggs are replaced with a base of coconut cream mixed with water, which is essentially reduced fat coconut milk.
Most Halo Top fruit pops are made with real fruit and contain other ingredients such as soluble corn fiber, sugar, stevia, natural flavors, citric acid, and lemon juice concentrate.
Meanwhile, items in the keto series have most of the same ingredients as the dairy-based ice creams and pops but contain more cream and are made without cane sugar.
Heres a closer look at some of Halo Top ice creams core ingredients.
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The Low Calorie High Protein Ice Cream May Be The New Tasty D
“Healthy” and “ice cream” are two words that just don’t sound right together. However, the frozen dessert aisle has recently been taken over by Halo Top, a brand of ice cream that is trying to fit itself into the health-conscious food space.
Seemingly overnight, Halo Top has gone from a novelty to one of the most popular ice creams at your local grocery store. Seriously, go check to see if they have it, we’ll wait. But what is Halo Top exactly? And should you try it? We’re here to help you make that important decision.
Ice cream will be eternally popular, but when Halo Top hit the scene as a lower-calorie, higher-protein favorite of fitness fanatics this year, it quickly became a mainstream phenomenon.
Halo Top Light Ice Cream, Mint Chip, $5 on
Courtesy of Halo Top Courtesy of Halo Top
How To Make Keto Ice Cream
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Halo Top Lowcalorie Vanilla Bean Light Ice Cream Pint
- Smart Indulgence: Lower in sugar, fat, and calories than traditional ice cream with just 290 calories per pint to enjoy regularlyDelicious Flavor: Made with quality ingredients, our creamy vanilla light ice cream alternative is mixed to perfection with real vanilla bean specs throughoutQuality Ing
Ice Cream, Vanilla Bean Flavored, Light
Chocolate chip cookie dough. With natural and artificial flavors. 360 calories per pint. Good source of protein. Fat reduced 80% calories reduced 62% per serving compared to leading ice creams. Fat reduced 80%, from 18g to 3.5g and calories reduced 62%, from 320 to 120 per serving compared to leading ice creams. Contains bioengineered food ingredients. Creamery. Letâs not rush this. I need time to soften up. You might notice that Halo Top sometimes freezes a little harder and youre right. If youre wondering why, take a look at the sugar and fat numbers to the left. Just give me a couple of minutes on the counter before you dig in. We all know the best things take time. www.halotop.com. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Halotop. 1-800-331-0830. We welcome your questions or comments. Call us weekdays 8am to 5pm CST.
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Heres How Their Flavors Stacked Up
Lemon Cake
This one had such a vibrant lemon flavor and I loved it. They use lemon peel and lemon oil as the flavoring agents.
Total calories: 240 per pint or 60 per 1/2 cup serving
Macros per pint/per 1/2 cup serving:
- Protein: 24 grams/6 grams
- Net Carbs: 18 grams/4.5 grams
- Total carbs: 56 grams/14 grams
- Fiber: 20 grams/5 grams
Strawberry
This Halo Top flavor had a really great strawberry flavor with real pieces of strawberry visible.
Total Calories: 280 per pint or 70 per serving
Macros per pint/per 1/2 cup serving:
- Protein: 24 grams/6 grams
- Net Carbs: 27.2 grams/6.8 grams
- Total Carbs 60 grams/ 15 grams
- Fiber: 20 grams/5 grams
Vanilla Bean
I love vanilla ice cream for its simplicity and I love varieties that have real vanilla bean flecks mixed in. This flavor had just that and was delicious.
Total calories: 240 per pint or 60 per 1/2 cup serving
Macros per pint/per 1/2 cup serving:
- Protein: 24 grams/6 grams
- Net Carbs: 18 grams/4.5 grams
- Total Carbs: 56 grams/14 grams
- Fiber: 20 grams/5 grams
Mint Chip
This flavor contains real dark chocolate mint chips in a naturally flavored mint base. It was a tad too much on the spearmint side for me, but it did have a great balance of chocolate and mint flavor.
Total calories: 240 per pint or 60 per 1/2 cup serving
Macros per pint/per 1/2 cup serving:
- Protein: 24 grams/6 grams
- Net Carbs: 18 grams/4.5 grams
- Total Carbs: 56 grams/ 14 grams
- Fiber: 20 grams/5 grams
Chocolate Mocha Chip
Total calories: 280 per pint or 70 per 1/2 cup serving
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It Was Created By An Attorney With A Sweet Tooth
Pick up a pint of Halo Top, and you’re not supporting a big corporation. You’re supporting ex-attorney Justin Woolverton and his relatively small team. Woolverton was working as an LA lawyer , when a simple kitchen experiment changed everything. When he talked to CBS News, he said a huge part of what drove him to come up with Halo Top were his own difficulties with sugar. “My body doesn’t do well on sugar. When you have a hypoglycemic episode, you just turn white… You look like a zombie.”
Not content with what he found at the store, he sprung for a $20 ice cream maker and started experimenting. When he hit on the recipe that later became Halo Top, he told the Los Angeles Times, “I thought, ‘This is really good. I’ll bet others will like it, too.'” First on board was another disillusioned lawyer, Doug Bouton. They met through an amateur basketball league, and the rest is dessert history.
What Is Sugar Alcohol And Why Is It In Your Pint Of Halo Top
Halo Top, a lower-calorie alternative to traditional pints, currently reigns supreme in the frozen section, as the best-selling ice cream pint in America. They roll out new flavors regularly, like blueberry crumble and dairy-free toasted coconut, but something else caught our eye recently. Erythritol, a sugar alcohol is listed as the third or fourth ingredient on every pint, but what is sugar alcohol exactly?
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A Pint Shouldnt Be A Single Serving
Snow Monkey, which is currently only available in two flavors , is a dairy-free ice cream alternative made from bananas, hemp seed protein powder, sunflower butter, and either fruit or maple syrup as the sweetener. While not that low-cal at about 400 calories per pint, it provides 20 grams of protein, and nearly half of the daily recommended fiber intake. A full pint of the cacao also packs over 60% of a days iron and vitamin C needs. Impressive, but remember, polishing off a pint in one sitting doesn’t qualify as healthy eating!
Can I Lose Weight Eating Halo Top
If youre swapping Halo Top for high calorie desserts, it could help you lose weight by reducing your overall daily calorie consumption.
Halo Top frozen treats also contain a good amount of protein, which can increase feelings of fullness to help you maintain a moderate weight .
However, regardless of your health- or weight-related goals, its best to moderate your portion sizes and enjoy Halo Top products as an occasional treat as part of a balanced diet.
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Tips To Make The Best Recipe
- If your ice cream is too chunky, add some unsweetened almond or coconut milk to get it moving.
- For a soft serve consistency, you dont need to freeze it once it has been blended.
- This low calorie ice cream isnt overly sweet, relying on the bananas for sweetness. If you prefer a sweetener ice cream, add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar free maple syrup or chocolate syrup.
Bloggers Claim To Have Lost Weight With The Halo Top Diet But It’s Not Recommended
Halo Top blew up in the diet and ice cream industries when Shane Snow, a science journalist for GQ, decided to eat five pints a day for 10 days. Snow said he lost 10 pounds, but nutritionists told him he was feeling down and getting canker sores due to a lack of fat and vitamins.
Ice cream enthusiasts at Yahoo, Spoon University, and other outlets tried the diet for themselves, and many also lost weight. While you may lose weight eating exclusively Halo Top, it’s not designed as a meal replacement and nutritionists don’t recommend it.
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No Sugar Added: The Not
The no sugar added varieties of ice cream are sweetened with sugar substitutes such as sugar alcohols and sucralose, better known as Splenda. However, this doesnt make them sugar-free. Most no sugar added varieties are made using milk, which contains lactose a naturally occurring sugar. In addition, some sugar substitutes contribute carbohydrates and raise blood sugar, though not as dramatically as table sugar. Whats more, some people find the taste of ice cream sweetened with sugar substitutes unpalatable.
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Halo Top’s Inventor Once Almost Died From The Ice Cream But Not From Eating It
Creator Justin Woolverton told Inc. about the harrowing experience. He said was driving in heavy traffic with 40 pints of ice cream in the back seat of his car, talking to a friend over the phone, when he noticed he was having trouble breathing and his head was spinning.
When he reached a stoplight, he flagged down an ambulance that happened to be in the next lane.
Turns out the several pounds of dry ice that were keeping the ice cream cool during transport had permeated the air, creating an atmosphere of carbon dioxide that would have suffocated Woolverton if he had not gotten out of the car.
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Breyers No Sugar Added Ice Cream / Breyers Fat Free Ice Cream
- Breyers No Sugar Added Ice Cream come in 1.5 QT tubs and are available in a few different flavours such as Vanilla, Caramel Swirl and Butter Pecan.
- Their Fat Free Ice Creams come in Chocolate or Creamy Vanilla flavours.
- Buy from large supermarkets including Kroger, Walmart and Target.
- The SmartPoint values above have been calculated on ½ cup of ice cream.
- Sugar is listed in the nutritional information.
Halo Top: The Good The Bad And The Ugly
Its difficult to say whether Halo Top is sugar-free ice cream or a good choice for you. People in different parts of the world report that it causes them to feel sick or causes them to lose weight. A spokesperson for Halo Top tells WomensHealthMag.com that 15 minutes after the sugar substitute has been opened is ideal for allowing it to settle and avoid messes.
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Dairy Light Ice Cream Flavor Lineup
For this product lineup, we will divide it into some smaller categories based on the main ingredient.
- Chocolate: Chocolate Mocha Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel Brownie, Chocolate Almond Crunch.
- Fruit and herb: Strawberry, Peach & Cream, Mint Chip, Blueberry Crumble, Pumpkin Pie , Mochi Green-Tea, Chocolate-Covered Banana, Black Cherry.
- Cake flavor: Sea Salt Caramel, Lemon Cake, Cookie & Cream, Pancakes & Waffles, Gingerbread House, Caramel Macchiato, Birthday Cake, Vanilla Caramel Milkshake, Cinnamon Roll.
- Nut: Vanilla Bean, Pistachio, Peanut Butter Cup, Oatmeal Cream, Peanut Butter & Jelly.
- Others: Red Velvet, Candy Bar, Rainbow Swirl, Smores.
Each dairy light ice cream pint has 280 380 calories. It is relatively higher than other product lineups, so you should not eat a whole serving in a day, but divide it into several meals over a few days to avoid loading up a lot of energy into the body at once.
Getting Halo Top Onto Grocery Store Shelves
Justin Woolverton had spent a couple of years trying to get his ice cream company up and running. He still needed to get his product to consumers.
At first, Woolverton found it difficult to find stores that were willing to carry his ice cream. After dozens of cold calls, he managed to get space on the shelves of a few stores, including Whole Foods.
The hands-on approach is something that never changed. After the company became a success, Woolverton continued to keep his operations small.
By 2017, Halo Top had just 50 employees and most of them worked remotely. The company operates out of a co-working space in a low-rent area of LAs Fairfax District. Woolverton and Bouton dont have their own offices, as they often work from the road or home.
Most of the staff meetings occur virtually, using software such as Slack. The company also relies on third-party companies to manufacture and distribute the ice cream, limiting the scope of their operations.
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