Do you eat a lot of ice cream over the summer? I know I do, so I thought it was time to find out the facts.
While I was doing my work placement at safefood I looked at the most popular brands of ice creams to check out the energy (in kilocalories) and sugar (in teaspoons) in each ice cream.
So, deep breath, take a look at the table below and find out the facts on your favourite.
(For both your standard tub of ice cream and your more luxurious ice creams, the energy and sugar displayed in the table is per your typical serving i.e. 75g, while energy and sugar for individual ice cream bars/cones/sticks and ice pops is displayed per serving as sold in shops.)
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Per average serving (75g)
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|
Ice cream tubs
|
Type
|
Energy (kcal)
|
Sugar (g)
|
Sugar (tsp)
|
|
Vanilla
|
Standard
|
130
|
15
|
4
|
|
Luxury
|
142
|
12
|
3
|
|
Chocolate
|
Standard
|
150
|
16
|
4
|
|
Luxury
|
204
|
19
|
5
|
|
Fruit
|
Standard
|
131
|
17
|
4
|
|
Luxury
|
197
|
19
|
5
|
|
Caramel / Toffee / Honeycomb
|
Standard
|
148
|
22
|
5.5
|
|
Luxury
|
181
|
18
|
4.5
|
|
|
Per serving as sold
|
|
Ice cream bars
|
Energy (kcal)
|
Sugar (g)
|
Sugar (tsp)
|
|
Ice Berger
|
187
|
17
|
4
|
|
Oreo sandwich
|
250
|
21
|
5
|
|
Ben and Jerry's sandwich
|
219
|
20
|
5
|
|
Mars
|
140
|
12
|
3
|
|
Snickers
|
179
|
13
|
3
|
|
|
Per serving as sold
|
|
Ice cream sticks
|
Energy (kcal)
|
Sugar (g)
|
Sugar (tsp)
|
|
Magnum (Classic)
|
244
|
21
|
5
|
|
Choc Ice
|
186
|
15
|
4
|
|
Solero (Exotic)
|
74
|
13
|
3
|
|
Maltesers
|
221
|
18
|
4.5
|
|
Brunch
|
170
|
12
|
3
|
|
Feast
|
234
|
18
|
4.5
|
|
Twister
|
76
|
13
|
3
|
|
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Per serving as sold
|
|
Ice pops
|
Energy (kcal)
|
Sugar (g)
|
Sugar (tsp)
|
|
Calippo (Orange)
|
100
|
20
|
5
|
|
Mr. Freeze
|
28
|
3
|
1
|
|
Fab
|
82
|
11
|
3
|
|
Loop the Loop
|
85
|
13
|
3
|
|
Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles
|
53
|
12
|
3
|
|
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Per serving as sold
|
|
Ice cream cones
|
Energy (kcal)
|
Sugar (g)
|
Sugar (tsp)
|
|
Whipped ice-cream, in a cone, with a Cadbury’s Flake
|
264
|
38
|
9.5
|
|
Cornetto (Classic - chocolate and vanilla)
|
187
|
13
|
3
|
|
Cadbury's Flake cone
|
238
|
19
|
5
|
|
Nestle Smarties cone
|
118
|
11
|
3
|
4g is approximately 1 teaspoon. Assessment of ice creams was carried out in May 2017.
Unsurprisingly, I found that the more luxurious ice creams have more energy and sugar than standard ice creams. This is due to them having energy-dense ingredients like sauces and cream. Overall, good news for you vanilla fans, it looks like vanilla is the healthier flavour to choose.
Of the ice cream bars, the ones that are advertised as "sandwiches" have the most energy and sugar.
Of the ice cream sticks, the Magnum Classic has more energy and sugar than the other ice cream sticks I looked at, while an Exotic Solero, a Brunch and a Twister had the least amount. This probably comes down to the fact that they don’t contain chocolate, while a Magnum does.
Of the ice pops, a Calippo was the most energy-dense and contained almost as much sugar as a Magnum. The childhood staple - a Mr Freeze ice pop - contained the lowest amounts of energy and sugar in the entire survey. This is because it’s sweetened with artificial sweeteners.
Of the ice cream cones, (and to my horror!), your typical ’99’ contained the most energy and sugar of all!
When it comes down to it, it seems ice pops are the better option to choose as they have almost half the calorie content of the other ice creams. That said, they still have a similar sugar content so next time you’re in your local store, why not look out for ones that don’t contain as much sugar?
Feeling adventurous? Visit the safefood Pinterest board to find some healthy and delicious ice pop recipes you can make with the kids.