5 Healthy Ice Cream Treats

By Dr, Sara Solomon P.T., DMD

Who doesn't love a Dairy Queen Blizzard or Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream? There may be someone, but I haven't met them yet. These treats aren't just popular because they taste good; it's because they're good in so many ways. They're cold, sweet, creamy, and crunchy all at the same time—not fair!—and they the classic texture of frozen dairy with whatever else you're craving at the moment.

What could possibly be wrong with this scenario? Well, I think we can all agree that these delicious treats are far too high in calories, fat, carbs and sugar. So is the answer to live wantingthem but not having them? Not a chance. The answer is to fake them!

You can make these healthy versions of my favorite ice cream concoctions in less than 20 minutes apiece. Each one is big on taste but low in calories, fat, carbs, sugar, and guilt! Don't believe me? Just check the stats! I use a few ingredients you might expect, like protein powders, and a few that might just blow your mind, like ... well, read on!

How to Make Soft Serve Ice Cream

If you're serious about your frozen treats—healthy or otherwise—an ice cream maker is well worth investing in. You can find a decent one for about $50 online, which may sound like a lot, but costs just the same as a dozen Blizzards or pints of Ben & Jerry's. Once you get the hang of making these healthy substitutes, you'll be eating profits in no time. But until then, I've also included the tried-and-true DIY plastic bag method.

Method 1 /// Ice Cream Maker Method

1. Remove your ice cream maker's bowl from the freezer. (You're supposed to keep it in the freezer all the time, and at least for 24 hours before the first time you use it. Yeah, I was pretty angry about waiting 24 hours the first time, too). Set the bowl onto your ice cream stand according to the directions.


2. Pour the ice cream mixture into your ice cream machine for 10-15 minutes, or according to the machine's directions. Keep an eye on it. If you're going for a Blizzard, you want the ice cream to have a soft-serve consistency, not a hard ice cream consistency, so don't leave it in the machine for too long.

Method 2 /// Ziploc Method

This may seem too simple to work, but trust me, it does—as long as you do it right. When you add salt to the ice, it lowers the freezing point, so more energy has to be absorbed from the environment for the ice to melt. This makes the ice colder than it was before, which is how your ice cream freezes.

Be sure to use kosher or rock salt rather than table salt, because their larger crystals are key to ending up with true soft serve texture. Larger crystals take longer to dissolve in water around the ice, which allows for consistent cooling of the ice cream.

1. Stuff a huge Ziploc bag half-full with ice. Add 6 tbsp of kosher salt or rock salt and mix.
2. Add all the ingredients in the desired recipe into a small Ziploc bag and seal it.
3. Bury the small Ziploc bag inside the salty ice in the large Ziploc bag. Seal the large bag.
4. Shake the bags vigorously for 5-15 minutes until ice cream forms. Hold with a towel to prevent frostbite!

1 / Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Shake

This shake takes Dairy Queen's Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard as its flavor inspiration, but strips away the sugar and calories. Quest Nutrition's Strawberry Cheesecake Quest Bar gives you that crucial crust texture, along with GG Bran Sprinkles, which are a flaked form of GG Bran crispbread. Both are low in net carbs and diabetic-friendly.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of frozen strawberries
• 1 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop of Strawberries and Cream MyoFusion Elite Protein
• 2 TBSP Walden Farms Calorie-Free Strawberry Syrup
• 2 TBSP of GG Bran Scandinavian Fiber Sprinkles (Note: these are not gluten-free)
• 1/3-1/2 of a Quest Nutrition Strawberry Cheesecake Quest Bar

Directions

1. Blend all of the ingredients except the Quest bar in a blender, Magic Bullet, or other mixer.
2. Pour this mixture into your ice cream machine for 10-15 minutes.
3. While you are waiting, cut 1/3 of a Strawberry Cheesecake Quest Bar into small pieces using scissors.
4. Once the soft serve is ready, serve in a cup and add your Quest Bar pieces to the top.

 Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Shake PDF (64.6 KB)

Nutrition Facts:
Dr. Sara Solomon's Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Shake

Amount per serving

Calories 275

Total Fat8.3 g

Saturated Fat1 g

Trans Fat0 g

Cholesterol51.7 mg

Sodium425.3 mg

Total Carb22.8 g

Fiber10.7 g

Net Carbs12.1 g

Sugar3.4 g

Protein33.6 g

Nutrition Facts:
Dairy Queen Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard

Amount per serving

Calories 600

Total Fat21 g

Saturated Fat14 g

Trans Fat0.5 g

Cholesterol70 mg

Sodium280 mg

Total Carb92 g

Fiber0 g

Net Carbs92 g

Sugar76 g

Protein12 g

2 / Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Shake

Just say the title of this shake three or four times out loud and try not to start jumping around like a little kid. My healthy chocolate treat is topped with Quest Cravings Protein Peanut Butter Cups and nuggets of Quest's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bars. These gems raise this creamy treat to a whole new level of guilt-free decadence. The peanut butter cups taste just like candy, but because they're not made with sugar and are high in protein, you can have one without compromising your healthy lifestyle.

If you look at the ingredient list, you'll probably notice that my chocolate protein soft serve has another secret ingredient: zucchini! This requires a couple of disclaimers:

• I swear you cannot taste the zucchini
• The zucchini is the reason why the soft serve is so creamy, so use it!

Ingredients

• 3/4 scoop Milk Chocolate MyoFusion Elite Protein
• 1/4 scoop Peanut Butter Cookie Dough MyoFusion Elite Protein
• 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 3/4 cup chopped, peeled raw zucchini
• 1/2 of one Quest Craving Protein Peanut Butter Cup
• 1/4 of a Quest Nutrition Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar
• 2 tbsp Walden Farms Sugar Free/Calorie Free Pancake Syrup (optional)

Directions

1. Blend the protein, almond milk, and zucchini together in a blender, Magic Bullet, or other mixer. Ensure the zucchini is completely pureed.
2. Pour this mixture into your ice cream machine for 10-15 minutes.
3. While you are waiting, cut peanut butter cup and Quest bar into tiny pieces with scissors.
4. Serve in a cup and drizzle with 2 tbsp Walden Farms Sugar Free, Calorie Free Pancake Syrup (this is optional, but delicious) and add your Quest pieces.

 Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Shake PDF (59.2 KB)

Nutrition Facts:
Dr. Sara Solomon's Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Shake

Amount per serving

Calories 308

Total Fat12.4 g

Saturated Fat3.8 g

Trans Fat0 g

Cholesterol52.3 mg

Sodium544.1 mg

Total Carb17.9 g

Fiber7.9 g

Net Carbs10 g

Sugar5.5 g

Protein37.5 g

Nutrition Facts:
Dairy Queen's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard

Amount per serving

Calories 580

Total Fat24 g

Saturated Fat13 g

Trans Fat1 g

Cholesterol50 mg

Sodium300 mg

Total Carb80 g

Fiber1 g

Net Carbs79 g

Sugar68 g

Protein15 g

3 / Muscle Monkey Shake

Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream is one of their oldest and best-selling flavors. Why? Because, for those of us who have a palate for banana ice cream, nothing but banana will do. This recipe is simplicity itself, so you'll come back to it again and again.

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a frozen medium-sized banana (freeze it with the peel off)
• 1 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop of Banana Perfection MyoFusion Probiotic Series
• 2 tsp chopped walnuts
• 1/3 of a Chocolate Brownie Quest Bar

Directions

1. Mix the first three ingredients in a blender, Magic Bullet, or other mixer.
2. Pour this mixture into your ice cream machine for 10-15 minutes. Add chopped walnuts in the final minute.
3. While you are waiting, cut 1/3 of a Chocolate Brownie Quest Bar into small pieces with scissors.
4. Once the soft serve is ready, serve in a cup and add your Quest Bar pieces to the top.

 Muscle Monkey Shake PDF (55.8 KB)

Nutrition Facts:
Dr. Sara Solomon's Muscle Monkey Shake

Amount per serving

Calories 332

Total Fat10.9 g

Saturated Fat1.7 g

Cholesterol51.3 mg

Sodium513.9 mg

Total Carb33.1 g

Fiber10.2 g

Net Carbs10.7 g

Sugar10.7 g

Protein33 g

Nutrition Facts:
Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Amount per serving

Calories 580

Total Fat34 g

Saturated Fat20 g

Cholesterol110 mg

Sodium90 mg

Total Carb60 mg

Fiber2 g

Net Carbs58 g

Sugar54 g

Protein8 g

4 / Pumpkin Pie Shake

Pumpkin scares some people off because it has a high glycemic index of 75. Your immediate reaction may be to boycott it because it could cause a marked increase in your blood sugar, ultimately leading to fat storage. However, pumpkin has a low glycemic load of 3 because of its low carbohydrate content. This means pumpkin has a smaller impact on your blood sugar levels than its GI suggests, so don't hesitate to include this nutrient-dense vegetable into your diet.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp of canned pumpkin
• 1 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 scoop of Cinnamon Roll MyoFusion Probiotic Series
• 2 tbsp Walden Farms Calorie-Free Pancake Syrup
• 2 tbsp of GG Bran Scandinavian Fiber Sprinkles (Note: these are not gluten-free)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender, Magic Bullet, or other mixer.
2. Pour the mixture into your ice cream machine for 10-15 minutes.

 Pumpkin Pie Shake PDF (57.5 KB)

Nutrition Facts:
Dr. Sara Solomon's Pumpkin Pie Shake

Amount per serving

Calories 232

Total Fat5.9 g

Saturated Fat1.1 g

Cholesterol50 mg

Sodium470.2 mg

Total Carb20.4 g

Fiber7.9 g

Net Carbs12.5 g

Sugar5.1 g

Protein26.7 g

Nutrition Facts:
Dairy Queen Pumpkin Pie Blizzard

Amount per serving

Calories 540

Total Fat18 g

Saturated Fat9 g

Cholesterol45 mg

Sodium350 mg

Total Carb85 g

Fiber2 g

Net Carbs83 g

Sugar66 g

Protein10 g

5 / Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Shake

Here's that zucchini again! You'll believe me after you try it, I swear! And because we're including the healthy peel this time, it'll also make your mint shake green.

This decadent shake also uses erythritol, is a naturally-occurring sugar alcohol that is naturally found in trace amounts in various plants, fruits and mushrooms. It's virtually calorie-free, has a low glycemic impact, doesn't contribute to tooth decay, and it tastes just like sugar. What's not to like?

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped raw zucchini. Don't peel it!
• 1 1/4 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tbsp Erythritol
• 1 tsp mint extract
• 1 tsp of cacao nibs
• 1 scoop of Vanilla Platinum Series PROTOGEN
• 1/3 of one Quest Nutrition Chocolate Brownie Bar

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients except for the Quest Bar in a blender, Magic Bullet, or other mixer. Make sure that the zucchini is completely pureed.
2. Pour this mixture into your ice cream machine for 10-15 minute
3. While you are waiting, cut Quest Nutrition Chocolate Brownie Bar into tiny pieces with scissors.
4. Serve in a cup and add your Quest pieces to the top.

 Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Shake PDF (99.8 KB)

Nutrition Facts:
Dr. Sara Solomon's Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Shake

Amount per serving

Calories 315

Total Fat10.6 g

Saturated Fat1.7 g

Trans Fat0 g

Cholesterol11.3 mg

Sodium454.1 mg

Total Carb23.3 g

Fiber10.7 g

Net Carbs12.6 g

Sugar8.2 g

Protein39.9 g

Nutrition Facts:
Dairy Queen Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Blizzard

Amount per serving

Calories 680

Total Fat25 g

Saturated Fat16 g

Trans Fat1 g

Cholesterol65 mg

Sodium330 mg

Total Carb102 g

Fiber19 g

Net Carbs83 g

Sugar82 g

Protein14 g