Halo Top. Yay or Nay?

kpoe1981
kpoe1981 Posts: 14 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My store has quite few flavors and I'm thinking about getting a couple to try. The Lemon Cake and the Caramel Macchiato. Do you think they are worth it? What flavors did you like or didn't?
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Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    My wife likes them. I have heard that some flavors are better than others.
  • Marcieb21
    Marcieb21 Posts: 127 Member
    I have enjoyed them. I haven’t tried those specific flavors though.
  • Lynatea
    Lynatea Posts: 311 Member
    I prefer the Outshine frozen yogurt bars. 90 calories.🙂
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Back when I was experimenting with the low cal ice creams I preferred Enlightened. No harm in trying and seeing if you like the Halo Top, however.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited January 2020
    I experimented with various brands and flavors of low cal ice creams and concluded they were not for me, but to each their own.

    I concluded that if I wanted something reminiscent of ice cream, but with less calories, low fat Greek vanilla ice cream with fruit that I add was a better fit for me.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Haven't bought the pints since they revamped the packaging to show 2.5 servings per package; I find it frustrating enough getting a gram weight (many entries in the database and I'm in Canada and find that the calorie information doesn't always line up with the US info) when the label gives me mls. I'm sticking to regular single-serve ice cream treats like bars and sandwiches.

    That being said, I tried some HT strawberry cheesecake bars and found them pretty good.
  • Alexziz
    Alexziz Posts: 12 Member
    The peanut butter lolly is lush
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited January 2020
    Nope. Fat is what makes ice cream, in my opinion. I have tried a few kinds and arrived at that conclusion because it always feels like something's missing. I feel like I'm wasting my calories when I don't spend them well. McFlurry is a good middle ground at only 6% fat (the lower end of full fat variety) if I want something lighter, but not any lighter than that. 5% less enjoyment for fewer calories is worth it, but 50% less enjoyment is not.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Not a fan. I experimented here and there with the low calorie ice cream but decided for the amount of ice cream I eat (maybe once per month) I'd just go with the real deal and what I like. I don't actually keep ice cream in the house very often...it's usually something we go out for or get while we're out doing something fun with the fam.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    It's really good IMHO. I only stopped buying it because I became diabetic.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,234 Member
    edited January 2020
    Many here rave about HT, but I tried several flavors, and found them curiously unsatisfying: Not worth even their low calories. (The didn't taste bad, nor do I react badly to the sugar alcohols. They're just majorly meh.)

    Personally, I'd rather eat regular ice cream less often, have frozen fruit mixed with nonfat plain Greek yogurt and chocolate PB2 (peanut butter powder), or eat a Yasso Greek Yogurt Bar (especially fuge, brownie, or salted caramel).
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I read rave reviews of HT on here. When it finally came to Canada, I took a closer look and found out it's about the same calories per serving as ice cream, but more expensive.

    And yeah, I did originally think the calories were for the WHOLE pint, not per serving.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,234 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    I read rave reviews of HT on here. When it finally came to Canada, I took a closer look and found out it's about the same calories per serving as ice cream, but more expensive.

    And yeah, I did originally think the calories were for the WHOLE pint, not per serving.

    Interesting.

    Here in the US, a whole pint (at 240-360 calories for the pint, most flavors I've seen below 300) is in the ballpark of a 1/2C serving of most premium full-fat real-sugar ice cream (250 and up, usually).

    Still not worth eating the HT, IMO, though. ;)
  • angel7472
    angel7472 Posts: 317 Member
    I tried HT and wasn't thrilled. For 250-300 calories I can have a Drumstick ice cream and enjoy it way more than the HT.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    I haven't tried any because I can't tolerate the ingredients (stevia specifically). If you know all of the ingredients are okay for you, give one a try.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    If what you like about ice cream is mostly the sweet, then Halo Top might hit the spot. If like me what you really enjoy is the luxurious creaminess, it probably won't.

    Also just a heads up- many people love that they can fit the whole pint in their calories. HT uses sugar alcohols, and too much can cause digestive distress for some people. When I tried HT and some of the other low cal ice creams,. I started with half a pint and ended up painfully bloated. And I figured if I could only eat less than half a pint anyway, I might as well just eat the real thing. So the first time you eat it, I'd suggest eating no more than half just in case you're sensitive to it!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    If what you like about ice cream is mostly the sweet, then Halo Top might hit the spot. If like me what you really enjoy is the luxurious creaminess, it probably won't.

    Also just a heads up- many people love that they can fit the whole pint in their calories. HT uses sugar alcohols, and too much can cause digestive distress for some people. When I tried HT and some of the other low cal ice creams,. I started with half a pint and ended up painfully bloated. And I figured if I could only eat less than half a pint anyway, I might as well just eat the real thing. So the first time you eat it, I'd suggest eating no more than half just in case you're sensitive to it!

    Google says it weighs about 250 grams and has ~300 calories. McFlurry is about 400 calories for 250 grams, only 100 calories difference but it actually tastes like ice cream. I'm personally satisfied with a single serving of ice cream, but for those who don't like halo top (or find it expensive) maybe it's worth finding a cheap ice cream they like, budget an extra 100 calories, and go to town. Fat is expensive, so cheap full fat ice creams tend to have less of it.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    muh.......
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    If what you like about ice cream is mostly the sweet, then Halo Top might hit the spot. If like me what you really enjoy is the luxurious creaminess, it probably won't.

    Also just a heads up- many people love that they can fit the whole pint in their calories. HT uses sugar alcohols, and too much can cause digestive distress for some people. When I tried HT and some of the other low cal ice creams,. I started with half a pint and ended up painfully bloated. And I figured if I could only eat less than half a pint anyway, I might as well just eat the real thing. So the first time you eat it, I'd suggest eating no more than half just in case you're sensitive to it!

    Google says it weighs about 250 grams and has ~300 calories. McFlurry is about 400 calories for 250 grams, only 100 calories difference but it actually tastes like ice cream. I'm personally satisfied with a single serving of ice cream, but for those who don't like halo top (or find it expensive) maybe it's worth finding a cheap ice cream they like, budget an extra 100 calories, and go to town. Fat is expensive, so cheap full fat ice creams tend to have less of it.

    Yeah, I'm not a volume eater so I usually don't find it difficult to find creative ways to limit myself to a single serving of ice cream. There are a couple of flavors of "slow churned" ice cream available in the supermarket that I can stock up on sale and a reasonable (to me) serving is under 200 cals and to me much more satisfying than a larger serving of HT.

    Having said that, I've had a few bad days in my time that ended with hoovering down a 1000 calorie pint of Ben & Jerry's :wink:
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    edited January 2020
    I love peach flavor Halo Top but prefer Enlightened Sea Salt Caramel at about the same amount of calories. It's more expensive per pint though.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,087 Member
    I can't stand Halo Top, partially because some flavors are made with coconut milk. ! I love Chilly Cow brown butter caramel bars and the mint is pretty good, Breyer's Deights cookies and cream is good, and I like Enlightened Salted Caramel, Triple Chocolate, Peanut butter chocolate, and Caramel Oatmeal Cookie though I think the latter and triple chocolate are discontinued as I found them at Grocery Outlet.

    Of course regular ice cream is better, I just had Baskin Robbins peanut butter ice cream in an ice cream cake and forgot how good fat is, though it really ate into my calories!
  • robingmurphy
    robingmurphy Posts: 349 Member
    The Lemon Top is yummy. Good substitute for ice cream for lower calories. Isn't as likely to trigger overeating for me.
  • fuzzylop_
    fuzzylop_ Posts: 100 Member
    edited January 2020
    Katmary71 wrote: »
    I can't stand Halo Top, partially because some flavors are made with coconut milk.

    I believe only the specific vegan varieties are made with coconut milk (the rest have skim milk). The easy way to tell the difference is writing on the side of the lid means it's vegan, and a solid colored edge is non-vegan.
  • sulwen314
    sulwen314 Posts: 21 Member
    I love it, personally. I can't eat dairy, so I'm used to coconut milk versions of ice cream anyway, and I think some of the vegan flavors are very good. I particularly like the cookie dough, candy bar, and salted caramel flavors. I actually like that it's not AMAZINGLY delicious. It's good enough that it satisfies my dessert craving, and not SO good that I want to binge on it. A very happy medium for me. I've never had any GI distress after eating it either, even a whole pint.
  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I like Halo Top, but find that I tend to prefer other brands of "light" ice cream. I usually reach for Breyers, or Market Pantry if I'm in Target.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I've had most of the vegan ones. They range from "pretty good" to "pretty terrible." The Candy Bar and the Oatmeal Cookie are probably the best ones, IMO.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited January 2020
    I use HT when I need a hit of protein at the end of the day.

    Flavors I like:
    Peanut Butter and Jelly
    Gingerbread House
    Caramel Macchiato
    Sea Salt Caramel
    Strawberry
    Pumpkin Pie


    Flavors I had to throw in the trash because they were so bad:
    Pancakes and Waffles
    Blueberry Crumble
    Rainbow Swirl (aka Play-doh)
  • kpoe1981
    kpoe1981 Posts: 14 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    I use HT when I need a hit of protein at the end of the day.

    Flavors I like:
    Peanut Butter and Jelly
    Gingerbread House
    Caramel Macchiato
    Sea Salt Caramel
    Strawberry
    Pumpkin Pie


    Flavors I had to throw in the trash because they were so bad:
    Pancakes and Waffles
    Blueberry Crumble
    Rainbow Swirl (aka Play-doh)

    Lol Aka Play-doh! I'll be sure to skip that one

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