Don't be fooled by the pictures on the boxes. They might look delicious, but looks can be deceiving.
So keep watching for the frozen desserts you shouldn't buy. And those you should.
Who doesn't like tiramisu? This Italian classic with ladyfingers doused in booze and coffee with
creamy mascarpone cream is absolute heaven. It's easy enough to make your own tiramisu,
but it's a lot easier to just buy one. But if you do opt to buy,
you'll want to avoid the version from Our Finest, Walmart's store brand,
which doesn't have much of that home-style appeal. Instead, it features a long,
preservative-heavy ingredient list that includes the likes of modified cornstarch and icing sugar.
If you're really into portion control, you might like that this treat comes in single-serving
pieces, since you get six per package. But you also might wonder why there's canola oil in there,
which just seems like a way to skimp on the rich egg yolks that are meant to form
the base of the custard. There's also a more traditional layered version of this tiramisu,
but either way, we're not so sure an Italian grandmother would ever approve.
Sara Lee is a classic brand that's made many dinners better over the decades by
adding a touch of sweetness. But there's a big difference between their French Style Cheesecake
and a homemade version. In case you don't know, French-style refers to cheesecake that's usually
more dense as a result of the French cheese used in the recipe, and it can also refer to
no-bake cheesecake that doesn't contain eggs and instead uses cream to set the filling.
Sara Lee's version is super processed and gets a 10 out of 10 on the Environmental Working Group's
Food Scores scale, with 10 being the worst. It contains "food additives of higher concern,"
including BHA and ingredients that are "likely derived from antibiotic-treated
animals." By comparison, Sara Lee's New York-style cheesecake gets a merely high 8
on EWG's scale. A serving of the French Style Cheesecake also contains
26 grams of sugar and 26 grams of fat, 15 of which are saturated. It
also packs in some palm oil and overall has an ingredient list longer than a wedding speech.
"It stops right there and continues right here."
Cheesecake is a hard product to sell commercially in grocery stores,
it seems. Just consider Member's Mark mini cheesecakes, which should die a quick death
in the Sam's Club freezer aisle. These minis come in a variety of flavors, which is fun,
but that doesn't make up for the fact that they're high in sugar and saturated fat and
contain corn syrup, along with what's most likely not sustainable palm oil.
The biggest selling point that the marketing team seems to emphasize is that these bites
contain real cream cheese, but shouldn't that already be a given when it comes to cheesecake?
The taste of these minis is actually okay, but it's not even on the same level as The
Cheesecake Factory's frozen products. So it feels like you're really eating
something commercial rather than made with love. Member's Mark's New York Style flavor
seems a bit more "natural" than its other choices, as it is made of 98% cream, milk,
sugar, eggs and wheat flour. But it's still too high in calories and fat to really be worth it.
Magnum Ice Cream is a big brand name when it comes to chocolate and ice cream,
though you might not know that the company also makes pints and not just bars. The pints are a
bit weird, though, as they try to provide that Magnum Ice Cream bar experience in a tub of ice
cream by adding a brittle layer of chocolate on top. It's unique, sure, but also annoying,
as you have to wait for it to thaw a bit before eating it. Otherwise, it won't really break,
and you'll end up with these cracked pieces of frozen topping above your ice cream.
Store-bought ice cream shouldn't demand too much of your patience, which is why we can't
recommend these pints. The ice cream is the same as the bars you'll find at grocery stores and
convenience stores, though, so if you love Magnum ice cream, just get the bars instead. You'll
probably also be less likely to overindulge in the super high-sugar and high-fat frozen dessert.
On the plus side, the at-home version of The Cheesecake Factory's super-indulgent red velvet
cake cheesecake doesn't contain trans fats or high-fructose corn syrup. But that doesn't mean
that you should eat it. Because what it does contain is just as unappetizing: there's refined
corn oil, palm oil, artificial color, and sodium tripolyphosphate. That last one's a cleaning
ingredient that's also a food preservative. Plus, the whole thing packs in 480 calories,
33 grams of sugar, and 33 grams of fat. That includes 70% of your daily saturated fat.
All those ingredients might mean this cheesecake is pretty tasty, but think of your health!
It's one thing to have the occasional slice of cheesecake at your local Cheesecake Factory for
a special occasion. Heck, you can even split it with someone who'll appreciate it with you.
But downing an entire cheesecake like this one at home? You're going to need some serious willpower
or a strong desire to share if you don't feel like eating way more than what's good for you.
There's a really good reason not to buy WonderSlim's low-fat mini cheesecakes,
as there's a warning on their box that the product contains a chemical known to the
state of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. If that's not
enough to convince you to stay away, it also contains sucralose and corn syrup solids.
For those reasons alone, you really, really shouldn't buy this frozen dessert.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
But you should also not buy it because it just doesn't taste good. If you take out the creamy,
dreamy fat of cheesecake and replace it with nonfat milk, konjac, cheddar cheese,
sucralose and artificial flavors, it can hardly be considered cheesecake anymore. Not this one,
anyway, and not even corn syrup solids can save its bland taste. You might even be better off
with a full-fat New York-style version from Sara Lee, which itself is mediocre in terms of health.
A much better option would be to make your own cheesecake and keep the corn syrup out of it.
The Icee Freeze Squeeze Ups that you can find at Sam's Club are a little bit unappealing,
to put it mildly. The mixed package comes with flavors that aren't actually fruit,
like blue raspberry, which is a mix of corn syrup and artificial flavor ending in numbers,
like FD&C Blue #1. We all know that food is more delicious when flavors don't end in numbers,
don't we? There's also enzyme modified soy protein, and if you're thinking that's a
bit weird considering that these are ice pops with zero grams of protein in them,
that's because modified soy protein is often used as a stabilizer and preservative.
On the relative upside, Icee Freeze pops are low-calorie and low-fat,
and the serving size is small enough that each one contains less sugar than most of the frozen
desserts on this list to avoid. But they're still a preservative-laden sugar rush waiting to happen,
and you'd be better off freezing some mango chunks or banana and chucking them in the blender. It
might add several more minutes of prep time, but trust us, you'll feel a lot happier afterwards.
Now that we've covered everything you should avoid,
let's now dig into the frozen desserts that are actually worth it, shall we?
Made with real fruit and no high-fructose corn syrup,
Outshine's fruit bars are light and juicy. They're also GMO-, gluten-, and fat-free,
but you wouldn't know that they're "healthy" by taste alone. The ingredients include fruit and
cane sugar, with additional sweetness and fruit flavor coming from concentrated fruit juice.
So they're a lot more fruit-forward than other fruit-based frozen bars like Popsicles.
While our heart is committed to the strawberry, plenty of people love the other flavors, including
peach, pineapple, grape, and tangerine. If you're thinking you'd prefer something a little creamier,
Outshine has you covered with milk-based bars that come in strawberry, chocolate, coffee, and mango.
"Mango. Mango"
There's a pretty crazy story behind Halo Top, as it involves former lawyers going
into debt producing healthier ice cream and one of them nearly dying from carbon dioxide
poisoning from dry ice. But did that journey lead to ice cream that actually tastes good?
Indeed, it did. Halo Top has a lot of air, which might make some people feel ripped off,
but that air makes it light and gives it a creamy texture,
along with a bunch of stabilizers and emulsifiers, but relatively natural-sounding ones.
The main sweetener is erythritol, a corn-based sugar alcohol. And there's also stevia,
thereby making Halo Top a low-calorie frozen dessert. So you can eat an entire pint of it
without feeling guilty. As for the flavors, the birthday cake is fun, with sprinkles
and a very cake-y taste. But the chocolate chip cookie dough is our personal favorite;
considering the taste and texture, you wouldn't guess that there are 6 grams of fiber
and 6 grams of protein. And there's also a dairy-free line made with coconut milk,
which includes top flavors like birthday cake and peanut butter swirl.
The much-loved Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones from Trader Joe's have a lot
of things going for them. First, they're snack-sized, so you can eat just one, or
several at a time. And how cool is it to be able to eat more than one ice cream cone
in one sitting and feel just fine about it? Second, the ice cream goes all the way down
to the bottom of the cone, which is essential for a satisfying ice cream cone experience.
And finally, the vanilla cones have a chocolate coating, so
they're like your favorite fast food dipped cones. Except that they're mini
and there are a bunch of flavor options, including chocolate, chocolate chip,
vanilla, and coffee, plus seasonal choices like peppermint and pumpkin ginger. in 2021,
these cones were the runner-up for "Favorite Sweet Treat" in Trader Joe's customer choice awards.
"The customer's always right."
Ice cream-filled mochi have been rocking freezer aisle shelves since they became trendy in the
2010s. Mochi is originally from Japan and uses a sweet rice flour coating around a sweet filling,
and the ice cream version likely originated in 1980s Los Angeles.
Traditional mochi flavors include red bean and green tea, but other unique
flavor combinations have exploded along with mochi ice cream's popularity in North America.
The Ripe strawberry from My/Mochi is at the top of the heap. For starters,
the mochi tastes like genuine fruit, thanks to the puree inside being made with real strawberries.
And better yet, they don't taste cloyingly sweet. My/Mochi also makes dairy-free flavors,
including a cashew milk-based strawberry creation, although the original is for purists.
Remember those ice cream sandwiches that you used to eat as a kid? They were rectangular
prisms of rock-hard vanilla ice cream with two soft, chewy chocolate biscuits on the top and
bottom. You probably weren't wondering about the nutritional content as a kid,
but years later, you might be thinking a bit more about the likes of high-fructose corn syrup,
artificial flavors, and preservatives, and what they're doing in your ice cream bars.
The considerate thing about the ice cream makers at vegetarian-friendly Annie's
is that they took all those concerns into consideration when creating their ice cream bars.
Not only are these treats delicious, they're also made with all-natural, organic ingredients.
And better yet, those quality ingredients don't take away from the classic ice cream flavor and
texture of our childhood favorites. And now, there's even a cookies and cream option. The
only downside of Annie's ice cream bars is the small size, but that's why one serving consists
of two sandwiches. And besides, even a little goes a long way with these wholesome frozen desserts.
"Please tell family and friends about Annie's."
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