TIP/TRICK How to control ice cream portion sizes

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Replies

  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
    I like the individual ice cream bars too- you just have to look up and try out different brands- there are some for 130-150 calories per bar(and they are nice size).
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    I don't generally have ice cream as "home food". I like to go to the ice cream place and get a scoop, or to the convenience store for an ice cream sandwich.

    Same with chips, Funyons, etc.

    I love synthetic food as much as anyone ;) but I respect its power! And the engineering prowess wielded to create it. So I honor the effort, standing on the shoulders of industry giants, by purchasing and consuming it in single-serving sizes. Freshly-served from the Palaces of Retail. So say we all.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,272 Member
    My tip for eating things like ice cream is to eat it with a teaspoon.

    yes i know that is silly and doesnt really change anything - but makes it seem more and last longer than with a standard size dessert spoon.

    Variation on the small dish mental trick, I suppose
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    maisiba wrote: »
    So, for those of us unable to get Halo Top, does anyone have a reasonable estimate of what 1 serving of normal ice cream weighs? Don't need exact, but ball park. So if a serving is 125 ml, what would a close weight be? Is the 4 oz (converted to grams) mentioned above close?

    This might be a different brand but still helpful: https://www.cartedor.co.uk/products.

    They have all kind of different types and flavours on their website and list 100ml AND 100g for each. So with some math you can calculate how much grams you get per 100ml. Perhaps there is something similar to your ice cream there.

    Eg. classic vanilla ice cream comes out at 50.25g per 100ml

    Or Lemon Sorbet is 64.17g per 100ml

    Or Triple Chocolate Parfait is 61.9g per 100ml

    As I said, your ice cream might be a bit different but perhaps it helps for a rough estimate.

    Ice cream weights by volume will differ significantly depending on the amount of air in the mix. Ultra premium ice creams have much less air and thus will weigh more than a cheaper brand for any given volume.

    Most of the US nutrition labels I've seen have provided weights for their serving sizes.
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    I just recently bought a little bitty bowl and a little bitty spoon just for ice cream! In fact I bought 2 and tried to serve my friend the same little bit and he just went back for the whole container . . . It does the job for me.
  • combsshan
    combsshan Posts: 47 Member
    I find I do better if I buy "frozen desserts" instead of a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream. Ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches etc. Then I go out to the freezer and get just one. It helps that my big freezer is in our detached garage (sometimes I'm just to lazy to walk out there. LOL) . I never keep ice-cream in the freezer in the house.
  • torizia
    torizia Posts: 140 Member
    Apparently Halo Top is coming to the UK in January - I'm so excited! Any tips on flavours?? :)
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    So, I've got Western Family Maple Walnut in the freezer. 1/2 cup is 150 calories.

    If I melt some and pour out a 1/2 cup and weigh it, can I use that weight as a guide? Or maybe go for 100 grams?

    Might need to play later in the day (ice cream at 6 am doesn't appeal to me, want coffee).

    I know this is older, but if you melt it, that will take some of the air out of it, which will change the amount that fits in the 1/2 cup. With ice cream, I took my best guess or tried to find an equivalent US product label on the webz.

    It irritates me that we don't have weights on ice cream. Like mosquito bite irritate, not nail in the forehead irritates, so I can't be bothered to write the companies.
  • beaglady
    beaglady Posts: 1,362 Member
    FWIW 1/2 cup of Friendly’s Black Raspberry lists the weight as 66g per serving. That’s pretty average for mid quality ice cream, like Breyers, Turkey Hill, Edy’s.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    I like to take the family to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. I can eat pretty much all I want for around 200 calories. The tricky part is walking past the sour patch kids topping.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    There's no ice cream currently in my freezer but sometimes I buy these ice cream bon bons from Trader Joe's:

    https://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/1635

    60 cals/piece. I will usually eat 2 (or 120 cals) at a time.

    Most other times, I'll just buy a quart of cheap vanilla ice cream (less than $5/qt) and eat 4-8 tablespoons (1/4-1/2 cup & about 75-150 cals) at a time right out of the container.

    Eating 1 tbsp at a time requires more time and effort and makes me pay attn to how much I'm eating. I can do this because I live alone. ;)

  • janinagoodwin
    janinagoodwin Posts: 4 Member
    When I buy my ice cream, I cut it into the set of servings listed or the set of servings I plan to eat. Tonight I got a container of gelato that had 7 servings in it. I wanted to divide it into 4 servings and obviously adjust my MFP entries. I sliced the gelato in the container into 4ths and when I get my nightly dessert I will know exactly what I can have.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    Lol, so this is REALLY how I eat ice cream. I DON'T eat reduced calorie ice cream.

    If a serving is say 108 grams, I weigh the container with the lid off, then I take a spoonful and reweigh. I keep doing this till the container is 108 grams less, then I cap it and put it back in the freezer.
    That's what works for me and keeps me in line. This way I don't have to wash a bowl. :D:D:D:D:D:D


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I like to take the family to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. I can eat pretty much all I want for around 200 calories. The tricky part is walking past the sour patch kids topping.

    I used to think that frozen yogurt was better for you than ice cream, but really... calories are the same. 200 calories worth is still a measly serving, lol.
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I like to take the family to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. I can eat pretty much all I want for around 200 calories. The tricky part is walking past the sour patch kids topping.

    I used to think that frozen yogurt was better for you than ice cream, but really... calories are the same. 200 calories worth is still a measly serving, lol.

    I agree...trying to figure out how eating all she wants would only be 200 calories??
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I like to take the family to Menchie's for frozen yogurt. I can eat pretty much all I want for around 200 calories. The tricky part is walking past the sour patch kids topping.

    I used to think that frozen yogurt was better for you than ice cream, but really... calories are the same. 200 calories worth is still a measly serving, lol.

    I agree...trying to figure out how eating all she wants would only be 200 calories??

    I didn't say anything about it being better for you. I just said it's often what I eat instead of ice cream and that I can eat all I want for around 200 calories.
  • capwever
    capwever Posts: 10 Member
    I just eat exactly one serving, instead of just putting however much I think I want. Turns out, 1/2 cup of ice cream is actually a lot. And if I had a good workout, I can justify the 130 cals hahaha
  • raymax4
    raymax4 Posts: 6,070 Member
    VeryKatie wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Weigh out 1-2 servings and eat it

    Ice cream sold here doesn't have weight listed. Only volume - which is super hard to measure unless you want to melt the ice cream first.

    I just stick to 1.5 scoops and approximate from there.. but if I eat more I explode so I don't have that problem lol.

    A serving of ice cream here is 4 oz
    I weigh my ice cream and eat it slowly enjoying every bite.
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
    Yep like everything else I consume get a food scale and weigh it out and eat it. Nothing wrong with eating ice cream just not 5 times a day. :p

    In my past I would eat an entire container (1 pint) of Ben and Jerrys Cherry Garcia ice cream. 1 serving when you measure it out makes me angry at Ben and Jerry. :D
  • maybe1pe
    maybe1pe Posts: 529 Member
    I put my ice cream in a 6 oz coffee mug because then it looks like a lot. As opposed to a mostly empty bowl. Also I weigh out or measure out only what fits in my calories and I don't go back from more. I also keep it in the basement freezer so I have to be motivated to go get it bring it up to the kitchen weigh and scoop it and bring it back to the basement and then come back up to eat the cup of ice cream.

    Or I buy ice cream bars and only have one.

    I go through phases where I will have ice cream every night and then I won't have it for 6 months. So it just kind of depends.
  • FAAB_too
    FAAB_too Posts: 67 Member
    I use a Dixie cup or a small cone
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    FAAB_too wrote: »
    I use a Dixie cup or a small cone

    Dixie cup is a great idea. They're pretty small and portion controlled.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    FAAB_too wrote: »
    I use a Dixie cup or a small cone

    Dixie cup is a great idea. They're pretty small and portion controlled.

    Our ice cream cups come in single or double portion sizes, but not larger. They look like custard cups with a stand, something like this. Using custard cups serves the same purpose if you have them, too.
  • shira324
    shira324 Posts: 156 Member
    I like your ice cream trick/tip; it's basically a variant on the "use a smaller bowl or plate for your food" idea, which can work if one's previous approach to serving sizes was fill up the plate/bowl, and eat everything on the plate!

    My shared trick/tip is to leave a plastic measuring cup in the boxes of the breakfast cereals I eat the most, and use them to scoop out the desired portion size into my bowl. I had not realized that by filling my bowl with cereal, I was basically getting 1.5 to 2 times the portion sizes recommended on the cereal box nutritional information.

    You could get a measuring cup out of the cupboard every day and use that, but for whatever reason, I just wasn't doing that, whereas keeping inexpensive measuring cups in my cereal boxes ensures my portion sizes are measurable and consistent.

    Agreed! I eat almost all snack food directly out of my measuring cups. I have tons of measuring cups for both dry and liquid ingredients, and usually once I measure something, I'm too lazy to dirty another dish, so I just eat from that cup.
  • brittaney10811
    brittaney10811 Posts: 588 Member
    I spoon it out into a 1/2 c. serving cup.... level it off, then it eat straight from the measuring cup. No guessing required. I sometimes borrow one of my son's baby food spoons, then just eat small bites, lol. truly savor every bite!

    Halo top ice cream is fantastic too... esp. salted caramel... holy yum!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,973 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Lol, so this is REALLY how I eat ice cream. I DON'T eat reduced calorie ice cream.

    If a serving is say 108 grams, I weigh the container with the lid off, then I take a spoonful and reweigh. I keep doing this till the container is 108 grams less, then I cap it and put it back in the freezer.
    That's what works for me and keeps me in line. This way I don't have to wash a bowl. :D:D:D:D:D:D


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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    That would be great but I am yet to see a serving size as a weight measure. Its all based on volume (ml), this is why people are having problems with it.
    All Ben & Jerry's have it in grams along side of the .5 cup serving. So does Haagen Daz.



    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • Jazznit
    Jazznit Posts: 27 Member
    I struggle with Binge eating. There are a few things I don't bring into my house. Ice cream is one of them. Because I would eat it all. And we don't have Halo where I am. But it's not off limits. I will indulge once in a while but on the really goood stuff. If I am gonna have ice cream, it's gonna be bleeping good stuff. Small cup gelato or stone cold.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    I could never manage portion control with ice cream. So now I buy ice cream sandwiches instead! I prefer the Julie's brand. They're only 160 calories each and they're quite satisfying. The worst case scenario is that I end up eating two, but that's still only 320 calories.