Halo Top Ice Cream: What's the Deal?

Halo Top ice cream is celebrating its 5 year anniversary but has only been on my radar for a little while. Ibotta, my favorite coupon/rebate app, promised me $1.00 off a pint, so I decided it was finally time to try Halo Top for myself. The $4.99 price at Giant curbed my enthusiasm for a minute, but I rationalized that it was about the same cost as a trip to Sweet Frog or Starbucks. 

The scoop: Halo Top has 17 flavors, ranging from traditional (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cookie dough...) to modern (sea salt caramel, s'mores, oatmeal cookie, pistachio...). Calorie counts range from 240 to 360, with the average falling around 320 per pint. Halo Top uses organic stevia as sweetener, which I'm guessing helps it lower the sugar levels, since stevia has a strong flavor. Other popular brands have 3 or 4g of protein per serving, so the 5g that Halo Top offers isn't a considerable leap. This is still a dessert, not body building fuel.

First impression: 320 Calories for a whole pint of ice cream is ridiculously low! I rarely sit and eat a whole pint at one time, so it's nice to know I could lower the number of calories even more by working on the pint over a few days. Or not. Either way, it's not too much damage. A sidebar on the label told me that Halo Top ice cream may be harder than other brands due to no added "softeners" and so they recommend you let it sit out on the counter a few minutes before diving in. Okay. More concerning was the lackluster appearance when I peeled back the wrapper--there were no cookie chunks in sight! I didn't expect Cold Stone proportions of topping but it was perplexing to stare down an almost pristine blanket of white ice cream. Had I somehow received vanilla that was mis-labeled as cookies and cream? Did I win a special prize? It was time to taste it.

Verdict: The ice cream was tasty, though not the best representation of Cookies and Cream. If I was craving that flavor, I would reach for another brand. However, I would definitely be open to trying different flavors. It tasted like ice cream, not frozen yogurt or a poor imitation. I love citrus flavors, so maybe Lemon Cake is the flavor for me! 

Have you tried any Halo Top Flavors? Which one is your favorite?

XOXO,
Maria
Strawberry Lemon Shortcake Bars--yum!
For a complete list of flavors, check out the Halo Top website: 
https://www.halotop.com

Oooohhh! Their website also has tons of recipes you can make using their ice cream!
https://www.halotop.com/recipes/ 

Comments

  1. Alli LizerAugust 4, 2017 at 12:14 PM

    I just tried Halo Top after reading about it online for forever. I had the mint and it is DEFINITELY my new go to! It's just a tad different from regular mint ice cream and at 240 calories it's amazing. $5 is a little high for the size, but that's true for Ben & Jerry's as well. I'd rather have the low calories than the wild flavors so I would count it as a win. I bet you're right that it depends on flavors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maria CheshireAugust 7, 2017 at 6:45 AM

      Hey Alli! Thanks for sharing! I can't say that I've switched 100% all of the time to Halo Top but I agree, I don't need the wild flavors and oodles of toppings that Ben & Jerry's has. I tried the peanut butter cup flavor recently (from Halo Top) and it was solid!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts from a New (Dog) Mama

Image
Lilly, sweet Lilly...how you delight and frustrate me. Everyone keeps telling me that having a dog is the precursor to kids and so I can't help but note the parallels.  1. This is affecting my sleep. Patrick is naturally a night owl and I'm more of a morning person and so I have assumed the morning shift with Lilly. This involves taking her downstairs to pee first thing, falling back asleep for an hour, and then feeding her and taking her out again for a longer walk (with intermittent running when I'm up for it and also want to wear her out). The plus side of this regimen is that I'm getting consistent exercise every morning before it gets too hot. Also, sometimes I feel inspired to complete a solo workout after the walk. Other times I go back to bed. 2. Her interests change over time.  When we first adopted Lilly, we were told that rope toys were her favorite, and this still holds true. However, within a week, Lilly developed a sudden fascination ...
Read more

Amber's Wedding

Image
This weekend, a little girl I once knew walked down the aisle as an adult in a white, flowing dress. But I'll be honest, it's hard to view her as an adult. Snapshots of Amber as a baby, toddler, and young girl kept flashing through my mind, as if I was trying to make sense of what was happening in front of me. How was this girl, splashing around in floaties, getting MARRIED right now? Just like my dad says about me, maybe in some ways, I'll always think of Amber as one of my little girls.  Our families took an annual trip to Nags Head, NC every summer for about ten years. I loved playing with Amber and her cousins and was amazed to see them grow from summer to summer When Amber decided to attend Bridgewater College, I was excited because I periodically visited my brother in that area. One afternoon, my nephew Hu and I visited Amber at her school. We played with her in the dorm and then explored the nearby Wildwood Park. Another time, Hu and I cheered Amber on during a Bri...
Read more