Ellie Hutchings
When it comes to the best low-calorie ice lollies or ice creams for your health, there's really no one right answer.
By nature, ice lollies and ice creams aren't really the best healthy snack or dessert, as they're often packed with sugar and calories to give us that sweet taste we're looking for when we buy ice cream. And while many of us indulge in these cold treats just once in a while, if you're watching your calorie intake or trying to beat that weight loss plateau, you might be interested in what the healthiest options are.
Registered nutritionist Aliza Marogy, founder of clinical supplement brand Inessa, told us, "Ice lollies and sorbet are generally a healthier choice, as they are low in fat. Though, like ice cream, they contain a significant amount of sugar, so should be enjoyed in moderation. When it comes to making healthy choices, homemade ice lollies made with blended fruit and frozen in trays will always come out as the preferred choice - they’re delicious and packed with vitamins and fibre. But that’s not always possible, especially when you’re out and about." With that in mind, we've broken down the best and the worst low-calorie ice lollies and ice creams you can buy this summer.
Aliza Marogy is the founder and CEO of D2C clinical supplements company Inessa, an award-winning supplement formulator. She is also a registered nutritional therapist, and regular contributor in the media. At 18 Aliza was living with an autoimmune condition which was unresponsive to medication. Facing a life-changing medical procedure, she pursued a combination of diet and nutraceuticals and managed her condition into remission, where she remains over two decades later. Retraining in order to help others with similar challenges, she went on to found a successful clinical practice, and create an award winning industry leading nutritional supplement company.
What is the best low-calorie ice lolly?
The healthiest ice lollies have low calorie, sugar and fat content. Aliza told us: "When choosing an ice lolly or ice cream, look for one with the fewest ingredients - one made with real dairy and other ingredients you’d find in your pantry cupboard, and avoid those containing lots of chemical ingredients and E-numbers."
She added, "Ingredients you really want to avoid are carboxymethylcellulose, polysorbate 80, and carrageenan. These are often used as emulsifiers in commercial ice cream products and have been linked with disturbance of the gut microbiome and increased inflammation in the bowel, even in small doses."
But as any nutritionist, personal trainer or coach will tell you, a standard serving of ice cream once in a while is hardly going to knock you back on your weight loss journey - if that's what your aim is. So while we've ranked these ice creams for you, if you fancy one ice cream over another - go right ahead and indulge in your favourite!
How we tested
We've ranked 17 different ice lollies and ice creams from best to worst in terms of calories, sugar content, fat and saturated fat, so you can make your own decision about which of these cold treats are best for you.
To make our findings fair we have analysed the fat, saturated fat, sugar and calorie content of each ice lolly per 100g, instead of the individual recommended serving size for adults or children.
Healthy ice lollies from best to worst, at a glance
- Healthiest ice cream overall: Mr Freeze Jubbly Strawberry
- Best ice cream for sugar content: Mr Freeze Jubbly Strawberry
- Best ice cream for fat content: R Whites Premium Lemonade Ice Lollies
- Worst ice cream overall: Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream
- Worst ice cream for sugar content: Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream
- Worst ice cream for saturated fat content: Feast
The healthiest ice cream and ice lollies ranked from best to worst:
Verdict: You can't argue that Mr Freeze Jubbly ice lollies are undoubtedly the best in terms of calories. It's essentially just ice with artificial flavouring so it has trace amounts of fat and saturated fats and there are few to no other ice lollies or ice creams out there that match up in terms of calories per serving or sugar content.
However, while Mr Freeze Jubbly Strawberry might be a winner for your diet, it's hardly going to quench that sweet craving that many people look for when they buy an ice cream. For an alternative that's delicious, you're better off going for one of the many other low-calorie ice cream options out there.
Verdict: You can enjoy one of these colourful ice lollies safe in the knowledge that it's pretty much fat-free and contains 25% real fruit juice! If only all lollies were like that... Beware though, they do contain an eye-wateringly sweet 17.3 grams of sugar. This is one of the reasons that you're often better off going for an ice cream that's a little higher in calories - especially if you're on a low sugar diet.
Verdict: With no fat content, R Whites lemonade lollies are a great choice. However, the 16g of sugar is more than 17% of your guideline daily amount. If you love a lemonade ice lolly but want to avoid the massive sugar crash that these ice lollies would inevitably create, make your own! You can even make them healthier by using diet tonic water with a splash of lemon juice and just a sprinkle of sugar instead of lemonade.
Verdict: Del Monte's ice lollies are full of goodness. Made of 100% fruit juice, one lolly is full of vitamin C and 1 of your 5 a day. Whilst the lollies are pretty sugary, this only comes from the sugars found naturally in orange juice, so enjoy to your heart's content.
Verdict: Fruity ice creams tend to contain fewer calories than chocolate as a rule, so if you're watching your calorie intake, always go for the fruit option such as Twisters, which are made from pineapple, lime and strawberry flavours. They've done pretty well on the calorie scale all things considered, even if they are quite high in sugar. The lolly contains ice cream as well as flavoured ice, and the mini version is great if you're watching your diet but still fancy a nice cold treat.
Verdict: We've got to admit we love a Calippo on a sunny day, especially when the juice collects in the bottom! They're a pretty healthy ice lolly option, but they still contain a hefty amount of sugar. Brownie points for the orange flavour though, as it contains 20% real orange juice.
Verdict: Fab's aren't as fab as you may have thought! They're pretty high on the sugar and calorie front, but they do contain real fruit juice and you get to enjoy a bit of chocolate and sprinkles for a relatively low amount of fat and calories.
Verdict: Tropical-flavoured ice lollies on the outside, these actually contain vanilla ice cream on the inside - so the calorie content is naturally a bit higher. They certainly score brownie points for containing real mango and pineapple pieces, but just look at that sugar content!
For something more fruity, go for a Solero Exotic. They're are good middle-of-the-range ice creams that aren't at the bottom of the calorie scale but are far from the top too.
Verdict: These Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches are incredibly popular - almost as much as the biscuits themselves. And much like their confectionary counterparts, they come in very middle-of-the-range when it comes to fat, saturated fat and even sugar. They're surprisingly low in calories and the small, individually wrapped portions mean you'll be less tempted to open another - and then another.
Verdict: All Halo Top flavours are different, but we've taken a look at the vanilla bean flavour because it's the lowest in calories. A whole 473g tub has the calorie equivalent of just one Feast ice lolly, which is one of our worst-ranking ice creams.
But if you're not keen on this flavour, don't stress, Halo Top also comes in other tasty options including Chocolate Brownie, Caramel Chocolate Pretzel and Peanut Butter Chocolate for just 380 calories for the whole tub or 145 calories per serving (100g).
Verdict: If you love a Mars bar then you're in luck, these delicious ice cream versions are surprisingly low in calories compared to the real thing. Made with real dairy ice cream, topped with caramel and covered in smooth Mars milk chocolate, they contain 173 less calories than a standard Mars bar.
So, while these ice creams are certainly the healthier choice out of the two, they're far from the healthiest on the list, with a high sugar and saturated fat content. But at the end of the day, it's not going to make much of a difference on your overall health if you have one (or two) of these tasty treats.
Verdict: For a relatively simple ice cream, it might surprise you to know that a Classic Cornetto is on par calorie-wise with one of the Snickers ice cream bars. The combination of the sugar-laden ice cream and chocolate is what racks up the calorie count of these traditional cold treats, but as a seaside essential, don't be hard on yourself if you fancy one of these classic British treats every now and then.
Verdict: There's a reason that Snickers have remained one of the nation's favourite chocolate bars all these years. The gooey, nutty chocolate bar is just plain delicious, so it's a given that the ice cream version of this famous chocolate bar is equally irresistible. Coming in at 337 calories per 100g, it's a whopping 173 calories less than an ordinary Snickers bar, so another ice cream that's healthier than the real thing.
Verdict: Just like the moreish Maltesers themselves, if you have these ice creams in the freezer then they're sure to not last long. They're certainly not the worst ice cream on this list, but they do contain 75 more calories per 100g than the best ice cream on this list - the Solero - and 6.3g more saturated fat.
But once again, they contain far fewer calories than their traditional snack counterpart, with almost 300 fewer calories per 100g than a normal pack of Maltesers.
Verdict: Magnums are a classic for a reason. They're deliciously simple, containing a smooth vanilla ice cream, coated in a creamy milk chocolate shell. But with 307 calories per stick, it just pips the Feast to the post for the second-highest calorie count on our list. It also is incredibly high in sugar with almost 10g more than our best overall ice cream. So while everyone deserves to indulge once in a while, if you're looking for something sweet on your diet, there are lower calorie options out there for you that are just as delicious.
Verdict: While it's not the worst one on the list, Feasts are very high in calories compared to other ice creams. That's mainly because everything - the flavour centre, biscuits, ice cream and the shell on the outside - is all made of chocolate. It's hard to argue that a Feast is a healthy option for when the 3pm sugar craving hits, but it's undoubtedly going to do the job (if only to leave you with a crash an hour later). This ice cream is for the treat-lovers out there, but unfortunately not for those counting their calories.
Verdict: It should come as no surprise that Ben & Jerry's makes the top of our list for one of the least healthy ice creams. While we've totalled up the nutritional information for Cookie Dough because it's one of their most popular flavours, there are some others (Phish Food, for example) that score even higher on the calorie scale.
When it comes to choosing healthy ice cream and ice lollies, it's everything in moderation. So if you see that elusive Ben & Jerry's discount the next time you go to the supermarket, don't be worried about indulging - just make sure it's not all gone in one sitting!
Are ice lollies bad for you?
Ice lollies and ice creams are certainly not a health food, but this doesn't necessarily make them 'bad' for you. The healthier options are ice lollies made with fruit juice and little else, but health is about moderation, so if you fancy a scoop of Ben and Jerrys every once in a while on a hot summer's day, that's fine!
We spoke to the nutrition experts at The Gut Co to find out more about how to enjoy a cold treat in moderation, and here's what they said: "Finding a balance between indulgence and nutritional value is key. By making mindful choices about your ice lolly, you can indulge in a delicious treat while promoting a healthier gut. Remember that maintaining a diverse and balanced gut microbiota is crucial for overall health, and incorporating nutrient-dense foods into your diet is essential.
"So, go ahead and enjoy your frozen delight while nourishing your taste buds and supporting your gut health!"
If you're looking for more healthy eating tips, check out this list of the healthiest vegetables and this round-up of 6 of the healthiest diets in the world. We've also taken a look at the healthiest cereals and the best and worst biscuits for your diet.
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