DoctorOz: The Truth About Low-Calorie Ice Creams

We all scream for ice cream on a hot summer's day and there's nothing like a delicious, creamy treat. And if you're looking for a healthier version, there have never been so many options. So today, we're serving up the scoop. Oh my goodness, on low-calorie ice cream. That's our goal. What's actually in them? And are they really as guilt-free as they seem? Dairy lover and the head of my medical unit, Dr. Michael Rupain is here to help investigate low-calorie ice creams. And to taste, I asked the toughest ice cream critics that I know of, my grandchildren, to weigh in. I filmed it myself at great risk, in peril. Before we find out which ice cream won them over, let's break down how ice cream got a healthy makeover. During the pandemic, ice cream sales have been booming. Think about this. Last year, shoppers spent $1.8 billion more on ice cream. A lot of people are even buying the low-calorie versions. So Dr. Rupain, walk us through this. What are the popular options available in supermarkets right now? Yeah, so the freezers are filled with all kinds of alternative ice creams right now that'll appeal to any lifestyle, from paleo to keto, even vegan. And nobody wants to give up ice cream, right? So they have these low-calorie versions to appeal to people who are on any type of diet, right? And so they can range in calories. They can be as low as 300 calories per pint or less. And there's three to four servings in a pint. You don't wanna eat the whole thing. But regular ice cream can have up to 1,000 calories per pint. So there's a big difference there. And on a bad day, you will eat the whole pint because you add, you know, stop at the bottom. Well, hopefully not, but that can happen. So there's three types we're gonna talk about today. The first is the dairy-based light ice cream. These are made with low-fat dairy and low-calorie sweeteners. And the light term has a specific meaning. It's supposed to mean that there's 33% less calories than sort of your average ice cream. Okay, sure enough. Then there are the mouthful, super low-calorie non-dairy frozen desserts. Oh, gosh. These have no dairy and they have no sugar, so they're really popular with the keto crowd. But they beg the question, what's in them? Yeah, no dairy, no sugar. What makes an ice cream? And then the last category is the dairy-alternative frozen desserts. So these are the alternative dairies, the non-milk milks. Things like soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, can even have avocado in them. And these are for people who are avoiding dairy and the calories aren't as low as the other two categories we talked about. So a little bit different. And they still want the taste. Yeah, they're about the flavor. All right, so you looked at the classic vanilla and the chocolate flavors that we often enjoy, right? And I'm just curious, with all these low-calorie brands, how light are they really? Yeah, so the dairy-based light ice creams we looked at had almost half the calories and sugar as the full-fat kind per serving. Had an average of 105 calories and roughly five grams of sugar. And you can find even some with up to 10 grams of protein. Now they're lighter, they achieve these numbers because they use skim milk instead of full-fat milk and heavy cream, which you usually make ice cream with. They also have a lot of fiber and some use soluble fiber from corn to give texture and milk protein, as well as some other sweeteners like sugar alcohols and other things. Now remember, these need to have 33% fewer calories than the average reasonable brand. But that doesn't mean they all are really low in calories. We looked at some that had almost the same number of calories as regular ice cream. So don't just rely on the word light. Look at the nutrition panel. I think it's great. They add protein and fiber to these, but you actually argue that that's not always a benefit. Yeah, so they add protein, they add fiber, and that's to give them that mouth feel, right? Which it has, by the way. Yeah, and they have also some gums and things in them, which you see in lots of other types of ice creams. But yeah, they're not a health food still, even though they have more fiber and they have more protein than a regular ice cream might, right? They're still ice cream. They're not like eating kale or beans, some of our favorite foods. And also, when you look at the labels, like usually when I'm on the show, I say look at the label, and I say try to find a product with the fewest number of ingredients. But that's pretty hard to do with these particular products. So I say treat them like regular ice cream. Have one serving or less. Fair enough, and you'd look for anything specific on the label that you're worried about? Well, I would make sure there's no trans fats. Try to keep the saturated fat on the lower end. If you are sensitive to lactose, there's some with lactase in them. So that's something to look for. And make sure that they have at least what you would expect the nutritional profile of a milk product to be, so that they have calcium and vitamin D. They're still food. All right, next up, dairy-free ice cream or non-dairy frozen desserts. These are a super low-calorie, no-sugar category. You said earlier, by the way, these pints can have 25 calories a serving. It's 100 calories for the whole pint. So I'm still fascinated by this option because I don't know what's in there. No dairy, no sugar, you said, how do they make it? Yeah, so the first ingredient is often water. So that's where they're getting the liquid from. Water. Water, yeah. And then they add a lot of other things. So there could be fiber, which often comes from cane sugar. Now, it's not the actual sugar, it's the fiber from the sugar cane. There could be a lot of protein powders in there, like pea protein is one source. They have some non-caloric sweeteners, like sugar alcohols, which would be something like erythritol. Sometimes they add some other things, like monk fruit and stevia. And then they have these gums and stabilizers in them to help them give you that texture and mouthfeel. Sort of interesting, there's no cream, right? There's no sugar. It does have a pretty good mouthfeel to it. I'm surprised they could pull it off. Food scientists can do a lot. Now, some people do complain when they have this option that they have stomach pain, why? Well, that has to do with the sugar alcohols. So sugar alcohols are like a food scientist's dream because they give you the sweetness of sugar and no calories. But that means the reason you don't get calories is because when you eat them, they don't get digested. And so if they go into your gut, and you have a lot of them, if you eat the whole pint, that would draw some of the water out of your body, out of your cells by osmosis, and cause diarrhea or GI upset. So again, the reason we wanna try to eat these in moderation. It doesn't have quite the same taste as the low-calorie dairy-based ones. But there's a third option here I wanna get to. This is a category that's become very popular. It's dairy-free ice cream or non-dairy frozen desserts. And they use, instead of water, a dairy alternative, like they use soy, right? Or they use nuts. Coconuts probably become probably popular. And then there are these, the oats versions, which have become super, super popular over the pandemic period. So when you look at these, how do these nutritional elements compare to each other? So these three here, the soy, the almond, and the coconut, they can have pretty similar sugar profile to regular ice creams, but they tend to have a little bit less calories than regular ice cream, 180 calories per serving. But they have a lot more calories than the other two that we talked about. So again, these are sort of more of a alternative to dairy. People who are wanting to not eat dairy and not so much of a low-calorie option. And what about the oats? The oats are really interesting. Those have become pretty popular. So in terms of calories, these could have actually double the calories as some of the other ice creams. And it's not because they've added more sugar. It's because oats have a lot of other carbohydrates in them. So when you're making oat milk, you get more calories. I gotta say, these taste much better than I expected. These also, the oat ones also tend to have less protein than these other dairy alternatives. So I'm having trouble giving a recommendation to all of you about which is the best tasting of these. My hands are full of spoons. So we sent some of the most popular ice creams that use dairy alternatives to the toughest ice cream critics I personally know, my own grandkids. Let's see which one they wanted double scoops of. All right, guys. Grandpa has a very important job for us today. Are you ready to taste some ice cream? Yes. Yeah! And I'll bring over the spoon. This is the first flavor to try. Nika, try it first. You're tasting it, and then you're gonna decide which one you like the best. Yummy! I can't put my finger on what milk this is, but I like it. There's something a little smoky about it. Okay, this is our next one to sample. Now try this flavor. Ted is definitely not gonna eat it. There is a really bitter aftertaste on that one. Okay, third variety. Try that one. That one's really nice, actually. Very smooth. I think I like that one. Okay, try that one. Wow. No, that's good. You like that one? Okay, so the results are in, and by a majority, coconut milk is the winner. Yay! There's no losers. Let's put it that way. It's all ice cream. So that's so cheesy at the end. She wasn't giving any of them up. The one who fought hardest was John. It was a tough decision. I actually got angry at me because he had to choose just one. I gotta commend these companies. These things are surprisingly good at many levels. As you point out, they're not calorie winners necessarily, but they taste fantastic and give you a different option. Of all these, which one would you scoop? Which is your favorite? Well, I mean, you could go with whatever you think tastes the best. The kids like the coconut. For me, I'm a little old-fashioned. I go for the soy. I remember eating that as a kid. Back then, we actually did think it was a health food, but soy has a lot. It's got a high amount of protein in it. Soy is the milk that's most equivalent to dairy milk, nutritionally speaking, and soy protein may help lower your cholesterol a little bit so maybe it helps balance things out. I gotta applaud all these. They're all fantastic options. I think John's right. Up next, how to make an easy dairy-free ice cream that tastes like cake batter. I'm serious here. Plus two healthy toppings that will surprise your taste buds and take your ice cream to the next level. We are back with our low-calorie ice cream investigation. Now we're revealing an easy DIY frozen dessert you can make at home. Plant-based chef and wellness expert, Talia Pollock, joins us from her home kitchen. This is your first job, by the way. You, right, was at an ice cream parlor, so you actually believe, despite that experience, making ice cream at home can be even better than the kind you get from a shop. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's great to smell like waffle cone every day after work, but it's less great to not feel great after all your quality control taste testing you do every day. So I wanted to find a way to make creamy ice cream, but without the stomach aching out all the dairy. All right, show us how to make an easy plant-based cake batter ice cream. Oh, I like the concept even. Yeah. So the name of the game here is banana, ripe bananas. So we're gonna add into the food processor a cup of chopped, ripe, frozen banana. After that, we're gonna add in a tablespoon of coconut sugar. We're going to do a teaspoon of vanilla. And then here's the game changer, a teaspoon of butter extract. And then we're gonna do a tablespoon of almond butter. And that's it. Here we go. Are you all your ingredients in there? I think I got them all in there. All right. I'm pretty sure. And now we're just gonna process it. There you go. And in no time. I might do a little, is it creamy in there? Yeah, it looks pretty, mine looks great actually. Okay, great. And so then you just wanna finish it off with obviously some sprinkles, because how are you gonna have cake batter ice cream without sprinkles to make it feel like a cake? Rainbow, preferably. And go on in. And I often just eat it right from the food processor, but you know, if you wanna be mature about it, you can eat it from a bowl. I'm doing mine in a very special way. Nice. Let's give it a taste here. It's brilliant. Simple, easy. You saw the little time it took. It's fabulous. Thank you very much. Thank you. Don't eat all of that by the way. It's lower. Maybe I will. It's lower calorie, but it's not low calorie. All right, now that we have the ice cream, what about the toppings? Dr. Groupain says there are two healthy guilt-free ingredients that will transform any scoop. Will there be a pantry item that you can shock us with today? Two. That will allow us to eat two. A game changer for vanilla or chocolate ice cream. But these are non-dairy ice creams, right? That's right. All right, so what are you gonna do? Ready? Yeah, it's one of my favorite foods in the whole world. Olive oil. I personally put olive oil on everything. And I think it's a great addition to your ice cream. If you're going to add some calories back to your low calorie ice cream, this is a lot better choice than adding some sugary chocolate syrup. It's filled with healthy fats and with phytonutrients. You can put a little salt on there too. I did, I salted it already. I saw it there. You know, it adds a nice decadence to your low calorie ice cream. I'll tell you, it's silky. The salt helps a lot, pulls out some of the flavors. But the olive oil gives you more of that mouth feel that you lack in a non-dairy ice cream sometimes. It's a perfect way of making up the difference. Yeah, and you get to have more olive oil. Who would have thought? Another excuse for olive oil and salt. All right, now there's a fiery topping that I've been waiting to hear about. I've been hearing the stories about this, but we're going to try it today for the first time. This is it. It's in everyone's pantry. It's become popular on chips. Why not on ice cream? Chili crisps. So this is an Asian ingredient. You can find it in your grocery store, in an Asian store, online. You can pretty much find it just about anywhere. It's made with chilies that have been cooked in oil to make them crispy. And then there's also some garlic and onion in there. So it's a savory topping to pair with a sweet item, which is an awesome combination to mix a little savory and sweet. The crispiness is kind of the equivalent of sprinkles, but with fewer calories per serving. And you get that heat and you get that sweet and you get that crunch, you get it all. And it brings out the flavor of the ice cream ingredient you're eating. It's so brilliant. It tantalizes your taste buds. I don't know why people haven't done this before. Why do we need sweet toppings on a sweet ice cream? I don't know. I think we should have spicy ones. And in Turkey, you have salty, it's a savory rather, and sweet coming together. This is perfect also because it punches up some of the elements that might get forgotten. If you just, for example, in my case, had coconut. Yeah, that's really good, but I don't know if I can talk with my mouth. It's not burning. The cold helps with the burning. All right, Dr. Coupe, as always, thank you very much. Check out Dr. Coupe's new book, The What to Eat When Cookbook. And we're gonna post Talia's ice cream recipe online for you to try at home.