“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!”…and for good reason. Ice cream is a wonderful dessert that cools you down on those hot summer days or a tasty treat any time of the year. The good news is that a half-cup serving provides about 8% of the Daily Value for calcium and some brands are now fortified with vitamin D. Choose low-fat ice cream or low-fat frozen yogurt for a treat that counts toward your 3 servings of dairy a day as recommended by MyPyramid. (link to mypyramid.gov)

You can make your own ice cream or you can buy it by the gallon, half gallon, quart, pint or individual serving. It can be transformed into cakes, sandwiches, cones and novelties. Use it as a filling for crepes or serve fruit pies and brownies “a la mode.” Ice cream goes well with fruits, nuts, chocolate and granola or you can dress it up with sprinkles or mint sprigs.

Watch those serving sizes, though – a half cup of plain vanilla ice cream delivers about 150 calories, 7 grams of fat and 4 grams of saturated fat. If you want to indulge, do so occasionally, but keep in mind that premium ice creams or varieties that have add-ins like cookies, brownies and nuts also add to your calorie and saturated fat tally. Check the Nutrition Facts panel for information on serving size, calories and fat for specific products. Keep in mind that saturated fat intake should be no more than 10% of calories, which translates to 22g of saturated fat for the day from all foods eaten on a 2,000 calorie diet. So choose your discretionary calories wisely! For a tasty combination that is lower in calories and fat, make an upside-down sundae using fresh fruit as the base and just a small scoop of ice cream or other frozen dessert as the topping.

There are various types of frozen desserts, some that are quite similar to ice cream in taste and appearance. Here is a list of these products and their descriptions:

Ice Cream – made with milk, cream and nonfat milk combined with sweeteners, flavorings, fruits, nuts, stabilizers, emulsifiers and other ingredients. Federal standards require that ice cream contain a minimum percentage of milk fat.

• Reduced-fat ice cream - contains 25% less fat than the original product.
  
• Low-fat ice cream - fat content is 3 g or less per serving.
  
• Light ice cream - reduced in fat by at least 50%.
  
• Fat-free ice cream - contains less than 0.5 g fat per serving.

Frozen Custard – same ingredients as ice cream but also contains egg yolks.

Frozen Yogurt – a product made with fermented pasteurized milk with added milk, cream and sugar, plus stabilizers or other ingredients. There are no federal guidelines for frozen yogurt, therefore not all
products labeled "frozen yogurt" actually contain live and active cultures.

Gelato – the Italian version of ice cream. Gelato is made from milk, sugar, flavorings and fruits or nuts. Cream is generally not used so it contains less butterfat than ice cream. It does not freeze as solid as ice cream and it is more dense because no air is added.

Sherbet - a product that is made with fruit or other flavors. Contains milk solids but not as much as ice cream. This product has more sugar than ice cream.

Frozen Soy Dessert – a non-dairy frozen dessert made with soy milk, soy yogurt, tofu or soy protein. Many frozen soy desserts use brown rice syrup, cane juice or fruit concentrates instead of refined sugar and are often free of artificial flavors and colors.

Sorbet – a frozen dessert made with fruit puree which may contain additional sweetener. Tends to be lower in fat because it contains no milk products. Savory sorbets can be made using vegetables and herbs and are usually served in small portions as a palate cleanser between courses of a meal.

Ice Pop – a snack made by freezing juice or colored and flavored water in a mold with a stick inserted for a handle. Usually fat-free but high in sugar.

Snow Cone – shaved ice with a colored and flavored sugary syrup poured over it, served in a paper cone. Usually fat-free but high in sugar.