Does anyone NOT like Halo Top? Can you taste the stevia?

2

Replies

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
    I let it sit out. I even microwaved it 30 seconds like some people here recommended. Nope, still didn't feel like ice cream. I'll save my calories for Ben & Jerry's! But I know I'm in the minority around MFP :smile:
  • brittyn3
    brittyn3 Posts: 481 Member
    It depends on the flavor I think. We had a random 80 degree day here in Chicago. I bought a few pints. By time I got home, after having stopped at the bank first, they were starting to melt. They actually lost volume because of that... ? I'm assuming it's whipped with air? But I thought the flavors I got tasted different after that. I'm almost turned off of it, but I'll give it another shot. Lemon cake - is like my favorite thing in life... I need to love it.
  • MikeD0326
    MikeD0326 Posts: 130 Member
    I dislike Stevia and I didn't detect it in the Halo Top. You need to let it sit and get soft before eating it. I also stir it up really well and try to get it closer to the consistency of a harder soft serve - that helps with the consistency issue. I have only had the Mint Chip, which I love. It's super low in calories (60 per 1/4 container) and has a good amount of protein. Overall, while it's not like real ice cream, it's good and I like it as a substitute.
  • rdmitch
    rdmitch Posts: 278 Member
    Like I mentioned in a different thread, it's not bad for the low calories it contains and in my opinion
    it's better than nothing. I have to add a tablespoon of Hershey's syrup to it to make it seem like REAL
    ice cream. No harm I just take a little smaller serving and the added syrup is surprisingly low in calories
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    edited April 2017
    Wow, I ate mine straight out the freezer and didn't think it was anything special. Maybe I could try again. But I also like icecream with bits and things in it. For instance I like DQ blizzards.

    But man. I thought the directions for icecream were "open container and eat". Only in 2017 :D
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I haven't tried it...don't intend to. I don't eat ice cream all that often so when I do, I want what I want.

    This for me too. Plus it's pricey for fake ice cream.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Wow, I ate mine straight out the freezer and didn't think it was anything special. Maybe I could try again. But I also like icecream with bits and things in it. For instance I like DQ blizzards.

    But man. I thought the directions for icecream were "open container and eat". Only in 2017 :D

    If you like flavors with bits in it the cookie dough, red velvet, and peanut butter cup Halo Top has those. Yummy!
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    I like Halo Top and Enlightened. It's an expensive endeavor to figure out which flavors you will like as everyone is different. Not a fan of Artic Zero at all. It's right on the packaging to let it sit for awhile before you eat it. The price stops me from buying it like I used too. If I can catch it on sale I will.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I don't care for it, but it's not the stevia, nor does it taste chalky or bad to me, or have a bad texture. It's just oddly unsatisfying for reasons I can't quite identify. It's just not worth even its low calories. I tried it a couple of times, and recently threw out the last of a carton that been sitting in my freezer for weeks.

    I'd rather have a smaller amount of something like Edy's slow-churned - it registers more like regular ice cream, to me. Or, even budget for the occasional serving of real gelato.

    But lots of people here on MFP love Halo Top - this thread is the most negative I've read about it.
  • rsb1023
    rsb1023 Posts: 32 Member
    I've tried the lemon, birthday cake, salted caramel & vanilla bean. None of them taste like real ice-cream. I'll just stick to smaller portions of real ice-cream.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't care for it, but it's not the stevia, nor does it taste chalky or bad to me, or have a bad texture. It's just oddly unsatisfying for reasons I can't quite identify. It's just not worth even its low calories. I tried it a couple of times, and recently threw out the last of a carton that been sitting in my freezer for weeks.

    I'd rather have a smaller amount of something like Edy's slow-churned - it registers more like regular ice cream, to me. Or, even budget for the occasional serving of real gelato.

    But lots of people here on MFP love Halo Top - this thread is the most negative I've read about it.

    Thanks that's exactly how I feel.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    edited April 2017
    OP here--thanks for all of your replies! It sounds like something I won't love, but I am curious. Maybe I'll buy one carton and just try it for the heck of it. But I don't like the idea that it has directions, lol.

    I figured there were some quiet Halo Top haters out there :wink: Maybe our Canadian friends who can't get it will feel better reading this?
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    edited April 2017
    I just got a couple more flavors on sale at the supermarket. They went from like 3 or 4 "meh" flavors to a whole case of flavors I had only heard about. I'm strapped for cash so I just got two: red velvet and oatmeal cookie. Red velvet is a tad bland, maybe, but still tasty. Oatmeal cookie is delicious! No, it's not as rich as real good-quality ice cream, but for low cal, it's about as good as you're gonna get.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    I've tried a couple of flavors and it was just okay to me, although the lower cals are great. I couldn't taste the stevia either.

    I prefer to have a little of my favorite ice cream or even make my own rather than to have a lot of the Halo Top.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    The only one I really like that doesn't taste at all artificial to me is the Salted Caramel. I tried 3-4 others and they're fine but I probably wouldn't bother again.
  • redversustheblue
    redversustheblue Posts: 1,216 Member
    karahm78 wrote: »
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Wow, I ate mine straight out the freezer and didn't think it was anything special. Maybe I could try again. But I also like icecream with bits and things in it. For instance I like DQ blizzards.

    But man. I thought the directions for icecream were "open container and eat". Only in 2017 :D

    If you like flavors with bits in it the cookie dough, red velvet, and peanut butter cup Halo Top has those. Yummy!

    Smore's flavor has a ton of chocolate chips and little bits of graham in it too. Just ate a pint of this over the weekend and it's now on my favorite flavors list.
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
    Be cautious about it. Stevia is the last ingredient listed, but erythritol is the third. It is not good stuff. It can cause headaches and gastric distress among other things. The other bad thing about it is that your brain does not register that it has eaten anything, so satiation is never triggered. I was very surprised on the other thread that appeared a few days ago, at how many people said they sat down and ate the entire pint in one sitting or in a very short period. I think this kind of defeats the purpose!
  • tamikanna
    tamikanna Posts: 4 Member
    I taste the stevia right away. It has this bitter sour taste kind of? Hard to explain and the texture is chalky as well. I'd just get almond ice cream or regular. Eating ice cream once in awhile won't hurt your results, enjoy life.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    kavahni wrote: »
    Be cautious about it. Stevia is the last ingredient listed, but erythritol is the third. It is not good stuff. It can cause headaches and gastric distress among other things. The other bad thing about it is that your brain does not register that it has eaten anything, so satiation is never triggered. I was very surprised on the other thread that appeared a few days ago, at how many people said they sat down and ate the entire pint in one sitting or in a very short period. I think this kind of defeats the purpose!

    I'm a 'quantity vs quality' person when it comes to ice cream. I don't really do moderation but I'm not really an ice cream snob either so Halo Top is satisfying enough for me.

    I don't get the 'satiation' point though. I never meet the satiation point eating ice cream... never. Doesn't matter what it's made of. Probably why I always end up eating a pint at a time, whether it's B&J or Halo Top. At least with Halo Top it will be 300 calories and not 900.

    I've never experienced the chalky texture that people are talking about, but again, I let it melt a little, like you're supposed to (the chocolate flavor actually works for my chocolate pudding cravings too).
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    kavahni wrote: »
    Be cautious about it. Stevia is the last ingredient listed, but erythritol is the third. It is not good stuff. It can cause headaches and gastric distress among other things. The other bad thing about it is that your brain does not register that it has eaten anything, so satiation is never triggered. I was very surprised on the other thread that appeared a few days ago, at how many people said they sat down and ate the entire pint in one sitting or in a very short period. I think this kind of defeats the purpose!

    I'm a 'quantity vs quality' person when it comes to ice cream. I don't really do moderation but I'm not really an ice cream snob either so Halo Top is satisfying enough for me.

    I don't get the 'satiation' point though. I never meet the satiation point eating ice cream... never. Doesn't matter what it's made of. Probably why I always end up eating a pint at a time, whether it's B&J or Halo Top. At least with Halo Top it will be 300 calories and not 900.

    I've never experienced the chalky texture that people are talking about, but again, I let it melt a little, like you're supposed to (the chocolate flavor actually works for my chocolate pudding cravings too).

    The truth. I could eat a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's, feel like puking, but still be hungry. It's not nutritious, satisfying food. It's not supposed to make you feel like you've had a good meal. It's a treat. Something tasty. If you can't put the pint back after a few bites, you might as well make sure you're not blowing half your day's calories on it, so long as the product is enjoyable to you.

    And so no, I don't think eating the whole pint of Halo Top defeats the purpose when that pint is between like 250 and 350 calories, while B&J's would be that times 4.