I took a trip down to Florida with Mr Triathlete and his Mom to be his cheerleader at one of his races. On a hot day we came across what appeared to be a “healthy” frozen yogurt store called D’Lites Emporium. They advertise ice cream that is low in sodium, sugar, fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol free, and a healthier alternative to regular ice cream.
“What harm can it do to try it?”, I thought.
The one on the left is creamsicle; the right is peanut butter brownie.
The advertise that 1/2 Cup (which is what we got) is only 50 calories, 1.5 g fat, 1 g saturated, 6 g carbohydrates, 3 g sugar, 1 g protein.
I asked the store manager what the ice cream was made of, and he said, “only skim milk”. I thought that was strange because skim milk does not have any fat. Where did the fat content come from? I was stumped.
So, we ordered the ice cream, and the texture was like a mousse. It seemed like one of those sugar free mousse products. D’Lites tastes like it contains sugar alcohols, but I found out it does not. It does not have much flavor, and it not very sweet. It is not tart like frozen yogurt.
The Scary and Shocking Real Ingredients:
SKIM MILK, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL OIL, BUTTERMILK SOLIDS, WHEY SOLIDS, ARTIFICIAL VANILLA, MONO AND
DYGLYCERIDES, GUAR GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, POLYSORBATE 80 AND CARRAGEENAN.
Trans fat? Seriously, people? And it is one of the first major, main ingredients! 1/2 cup probably has 0.5 g trans fat. Just great. Most people don’t just get a tiny 1/2 cup. If you eat larger amounts of this on a consistent basis, this “treat” could actually raise your cholesterol and lower your HDL (heart healthy cholesterol).
Everything they advertise is correct, and they never call themselves “healthy” which is a term that is highly regulated. They advertise themselves more a dietary, lab-created product for those with strict dietary needs. Do not be tricked–they are not a health product by any means. I will stick with Yoforia, or some other healthy fro-yo place.
What to learn from this: never believe foods are trans fat free unless they state it, or you read the ingredient label.
Random sunset picture from the trip.
May 13, 2011 at 7:50 am • Permalink •
Fat or no fat the ice cream looks good, i could eat 10 of the peanut butter brownie flavored one, yum. Thanks for telling this story even if it made me want ice cream.
May 14, 2011 at 6:44 am • Permalink •
Hey Nicole,
I hate as well the misleading advertising. It’s sad that we are surrounded by this everywhere….I believe the legislation should be much tougher with the claims companies make…
January 27, 2013 at 7:15 pm • Permalink •
I really hate the taste of d’lites ice cream. I have friends who withstand the horrible chalky taste because they are trying to lose weight. I am happy to be able to tell them to dump this junk.