Frozen Treats: What I Buy & Won't Buy... & Why  

Good living means enjoying the good food and on occasion, fun foods too! That’s why, when I’m making the exception to my every-day-healthy-eating-pattern, I want to try to get the BEST quality ingredients and taste I can find! It’s summer time so I’m featuring frozen treats; everything from ice-cream to sorbet to fruit pops!

Special Edition 

Normally, I’ll only share specific brand names with my Ovvia Members. But in this special edition, I want to show you more of what Member’s get. They learn more directly what I buy, brand specific and why. They also learn what I don’t buy and why, which means, I’ll point to what to avoid, especially when it’s a well-known nostalgic brand so many of us default to buy.

Real ice-cream vs. Nostalgic Brands 

Breyers, Ben & Jerry’s, Dryers are just a few well-known brands I used to love and enjoy. Now, I won’t buy them. Why? They’ve changed the ingredients. Breyer’s shown below includes unnecessary gum. Egg yokes are the only necessary stabilizer, not gum or starch.  
If it doesn’t taste the same as you remember, that’s because the ingredients are the same. It true! Breyer’s used to advertise “All Natural”. Not anymore, because it’s not true. That’s why I always read the label, specifically looking at the list of ingredients on the back. 

To learn more, both Members & Subscribers can listen and watch these two LIVE videos I recorded on ice-cream “How to find the best” and “What Not to Buy & Why”. It’s the gums, fillers, artificial sugars and other unnatural ingredients that interfere with the quality, taste and texture, not to mention your belly! 

Ben & Jerry’s label, shown below, includes gums, carrageenan: 

Find The Best Vanilla

I will try flavors but always look for vanilla first, because it’s the best way to identify if they’re using pure, real food as a foundation. Then once I trust the brand to make a foundational vanilla base, I’ll buy other flavors in the same product line. 

My favorite brands and what I buy: Van Leeuwen, Straus, & Häagen-Dazs . Photos of each brand's Vanilla below:

 Ice-Cream Bars 

Find a brand that manufactures REAL ice-cream and buy the bar they sell. Sure if it’s covered in chocolate or mixed in with other candy or added flavor ingredients, the content of undesirable added ingredients may increase. But I figure if they’re able to make real, good ice-cream, I’ll trust them to make a real, good ice-cream bar too! 

 Gelato 

Most gelato is made without eggs and it is commonly softer than ice-cream. Gelato is also made from more milk and less cream, so it will be a bit lower in fat. And without the excess fat, the flavors in Gelato are typically more potent in the mouth than ice-cream.

I like this brand, because they use carob flour as a stabilizer instead of other gums. And at most it’s 5-6 ingredients, all real food. Find Naia bars near you! 

Greek Yogurt Bars

Greek Yogurt Bars list of ingredients (photo below) are commonly 8-11 lines long! With most everything I work to avoid included. That’s why, if I want my own yogurt bar, I’ll make it myself at home.

See how I make yogurt pops and juice bars the healthy way, real ingredients, no added sugar!  

OVVIA Member’s

Members get 3 more recipes favorite easy yogurt, milk and fruit blend pop recipes just added today to the Ovvia Member’s Resource Library: Banana Yogurt, Chocolate Nut-Butter Milk Bars or Fruit Bar….try them! Also get the Popsicle-molds I buy here too!  

Sorbet 

Sorbet is the healthiest choice because it’s water & fruit puree or fruit juice! No milk, cream or eggs so it’s “non-dairy” like a juice bar. But beware because 

Sorbet will commonly contain added syrups, gums and more. Of the commercial brands out there, I’d choose this one by Häagen-Dazs. 

 Sherbet

Sherbet is a mix of sorbet and ice-cream. Fruit, water and dairy. The USDA requires it to contain at least 2% fat. And while the light pastel colors are intended to reflect the fruity flavor, most are dyes. 

I used to LOVE sherbet as a kid. But now, I won’t eat it. The list of ingredients (see photo below) confirms it’s filled with loads of corn syrup, color dyes, gums, fillers, juice concentrates and more! If it doesn’t taste the same today, it’s because they don’t make it the same. I’ll leave the Sherbet in the past.

 Juice Bars

Real sugar not sugar alcohol or sugar substitutes. Real fruit puree, lemon or lime juice added, water and cane sugar.  No syrups or juice concentrates. Chloe’s is the brand I buy, this product, no "smuggles".  

Juice Bars I Won't Buy

Lots of packages (see image below) say, “No Sugar Added, Made with Real Fruit”. But, stop and read the list of ingredients.  

Fruit juice concentrate from several sources is combined with several types of gums and stabilizers. Most importantly, I avoid SORBITOL. 

Sorbitol & Sugar Alcohol Concerns

Sorbitol is a type of sugar alcohol and like most all sugar alcohols it should come with a *caution* of how it creates a “laxative” effect. But more importantly, recent scientific studies have proven Sorbitol converts into fructose in the human body. 

The reason why Sorbitol is a problem is consumers think it’s a “sugar free substitute” when in fact, it’s processed in the liver and either stored as fat in the liver or converted into triglycerides in the blood stream and stored as visceral fat around the belly and other vital organs.

The more data scientists have, it continues to prove these sugar substitutes are actually worse than cane sugar. 

To learn more listen to these two episodes of my podcast about the nefarious effects of sugar and how fructose is the fastest way to weight gain! 

Low-Carb & Keto Brands 

I also avoid all “low carb and keto” products like Halo Top, shown here. Sure they advertise 55% less sugar. But the list of ingredients shows the mango juice concentrate, sugar, Stevia for sweet taste in addition to the pureed fruit. They’ve also added soluble corn fiber. Typically imitation fibers are used to mathematically lower the net carbs. Even though biologically it doesn’t function the same. Ironically, the package says, “Real Fruit Makes it Real Good” so that’s why it’s even more disappointing that they add so many more things to make it no longer good. 

Want More Information?

Ovvia's Member’s Resource Library is dedicated to all of these types of food items and I also feature kitchen tools and electronic gadgets and apps I use too. Because as the Coach, it’s my job to help make your life easier, removing the guess work. To learn more about becoming a Member, click here, I’d love to work directly with you. 

I Hope you use these tips to occasionally enjoy REAL, GOOD ice-cream treats!