HOW HEALTHY IS YOUR ICE CREAM?
Ice cream is one of those things that are just part of life. When you think of it, it usually provides you with great memories of Summer, holidays and happy times. Up until I was 18 years old, I never questioned the ingredients in this cold, creamy treat. Soft serve, gelato, sorbet – I enjoyed them all!
My view changed after I was listening to a health coach once. She mentioned that ice cream is considered as one of the most unhealthy things to eat. I was shocked and disappointed to say the least. How can this be? My curiosity about healthy eating was sparkled once again and I did a bit of research. Let me share my high-level findings with you so that you can make better health choices next time you want to treat yourself.
Wakingtimes.com article states that “Some of the largest ice cream chains in the world such as Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s, Dairy Queen and Haagen-Dazs all use the toxic ingredients in their flavors.
What makes ice cream toxic?
Ice cream is supposed to have 4 basic ingredients: cream, eggs, milk and a sweetener (sugar, honey or syrup). Consider you opt for a soft-serve ice cream with strawberry syrup or chocolate syrup, you’d have to contend with these ingredients: High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sugar, E330 citric acid, E405 propylene glycol alginate, E412 guar gum, E413 tragacanth, E414 acacia, modified corn starch, E296 malic acid, E211 sodium benzoate & E202 potassium sorbate, artificial flavors, E129 FD&C Red No. 40, E133 FD&C Blue No. 1.
I don’t know about you, but if I read about those ingredients, it feels like I am an experiment in a lab instead of enjoying the sun in the Summer while eating my delicious ice cream.
Avoid these ingredients when buying an ice cream
- Calcium Sulfate
- Polysorbate 80
- Magnesium hydroxide
- Xanthan Gum
- Corn Syrup Solids Corn syrup, corn syrup solids, and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are all made from corn, and bottom line, all are sugar and genetically modified)
- Potassium Sorbate
- Mono- and Diglycerides
- Sodium Phosphate
- Soy Lecithin or Soya Lecithin
Your 4 basic ingredients
Ice cream only requires 5 ingredients: cream, milk, eggs, sweeteners (honey, maple syrup or organic sugar) and a natural flavoring such as pureed fruit or super food powders.
Make your own ice cream!
For years, I have experimented with making my own ice cream. It is easier than you think. The basic ingredient for natural creamy ice cream is either: frozen bananas or soaked cashew (soak for about 2 hours) nuts. You will need a good food processor or a Vitamix blender. Both frozen bananas and soaked cashews give you a creamy ice cream when you blend it. You can add any flavour you want such as raw chocolate powder, chocolate nibs, strawberries, mangoes, almonds or blueberries. Play around and discover the wonderful world of raw and healthy ice creams.
The other alternative is to simply make your own original ice cream with eggs, sugar, cream, milk and vanilla.
There is nothing quite as satisfying as a good home-made ice cream without all the other nasties!