Are you having a diet, but you are still passionate about sweets such as ice creams? If yes, we will bring to you an excellent suggestion, which is Halo Top. Halo Top is one of the top ice cream brands in the U.S. I believe you will like Halo Top flavors, although they almost have no sugar and do not contain artificial sweeteners.
In this article, you can learn about Halo Top and the most favorite flavors from this brand. Now, let’s enjoy the best tastes without being overweight or having excess calories.
What is Halo Top?
Halo Top (or Halo Top Creamery) is an ice cream brand established by former attorney Justin Woolverton of Latham & Watkins LLP in 2011. This company’s target is to help people reduce refined sugar and carbohydrate consumption.
Nowadays, Halo Top is presenting not only in the U.S but also in the U.K, South Korea, UAE, Taiwan, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Austria, Canada, Mexico, etc. This brand’s products are alternative methods for other food with high calories and sugar.
Halo Top is light ice cream, and its taste is similar to ice cream. They have low calo and sugar, high fiber, and protein. Their ingredients include milk, cream, and eggs; there is not much difference compared to other companies. However, Halo uses organic stevia, erythritol – sugar alcohol, and a plant-based sweetener to replace sugar.
Besides, calories per serving are only about 280 – 320; it is less than traditional ice creams, so that you can use it as a perfect side meal.
Halo Top began with 4 flavors. Then they introduced more 3 dairy tastes. Halo Top continued to debut 7 milk flavors and 6 dairy-free ones. Now, Halo Top has 25 different flavors. They also provide customers seasonal tastes, such as Pumpkin Pie, Gingerbread House, and Key Lime Pie.
In 2017, Halo Top became the no.1 selling pint of ice cream in the U.S. and still has thrived now.
What is in Halo Top Ice Cream?
Halo Top brand owns a range of delicious tastes with the same main ingredients. Let’s scroll down to learn about them.
Main Ingredients
The main ingredients in Halo Top ice cream include eggs, skim milk, milk protein concentrate, and cream.
When producing vegan products, Halo Top manufacturer replaces egg and milk by taking a part of coconut cream mixed with the water, which is removed-fat coconut milk.
Sweeteners
The Halo Top ice cream’s sweeteners are plant-based sugar substitutes. There are 3 natural sugar substitutes, including.
The stevia’s extract is taken from the Stevia rebaudiana plant and has no calories.
The organic cane sugar.
The sugar alcohol erythritol almost does not contain calories. The manufacturer fermented the corn starch to create erythritol.
Fiber and Gums
Regular ice cream often does not have natural fiber. Halo Top recovered this disadvantage by adding prebiotic fiber.
Prebiotic fiber can fuel good bacteria’s development in the large intestine.
Organic carob gum and organic guar gum are made from carob seeds and guar beans. They all belong to the legume.
The carob and guar gum are soluble fibers. Their responsibility is to absorb liquid and create a gel. Thus, they can stabilize ice cream and replace fat. Hence, the ice crystal formation will decrease, and the product’s texture will also be smoother.
Thanks to this reason, the Halo Top creamy texture is not like other products. It is often drier when being in your mouth.
Protein Concentrate
Halo Top company used eggs and skim milk to make protein for most products. Besides, milk protein concentrate also passed the filtering processing to get protein.
Alternatively, in the non-dairy ice cream, the manufacturer isolated protein from beans and rice. The protein amounts to only 3 grams per half-cup (64 grams of ice cream). Meanwhile, dairy versions contain 5 grams each half cup.
Additives
Don’t worry so much about additives in Halo Top ice cream. They are all from nature. This brand adds natural colors, flavors, and vegetable glycerin to its products.
Vegetable glycerin is made from vegetable oil. It is responsible for keeping the moisture to improve ice cream’s texture. It can create more natural sweetness.
The natural flavors are commercial secrets, but you can be peaceful because they all originate from animals, plants, and the microbes’ actions.
The fruit and vegetable juice is material to make natural colors-for instance, annatto, golden-colored turmeric, etc.
What Halo Top Flavors Do We Have?
Currently, Halo Top’s products have many rich and unique flavors with various types so that customers can opt comfortably based on their hobbies, including 5 following product lineups.
Dairy Light Ice Cream Flavor Lineup
For this product lineup, we will divide it into some smaller categories based on the main ingredient.
- Chocolate: Chocolate Mocha Chip, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate, Chocolate Caramel Brownie, Chocolate Almond Crunch.
- Fruit and herb: Strawberry, Peach & Cream, Mint Chip, Blueberry Crumble, Pumpkin Pie (Seasonal), Mochi Green-Tea, Chocolate-Covered Banana, Black Cherry.
- Cake flavor: Sea Salt Caramel, Lemon Cake, Cookie & Cream, Pancakes & Waffles, Gingerbread House, Caramel Macchiato, Birthday Cake, Vanilla Caramel Milkshake, Cinnamon Roll.
- Nut: Vanilla Bean, Pistachio, Peanut Butter Cup, Oatmeal Cream, Peanut Butter & Jelly.
- Others: Red Velvet, Candy Bar, Rainbow Swirl, S’mores.
Each dairy light ice cream pint has 280 – 380 calories. It is relatively higher than other product lineups, so you should not eat a whole serving in a day, but divide it into several meals over a few days to avoid loading up a lot of energy into the body at once.
Dairy-Free Flavors Lineup
If you are allergic to milk and dairy food or vegetarian, you can consider choosing this product lineup. Although these ice cream cups do not have milk, you can feel the sweetness and eat freely; the taste is also diverse. Dairy-Free Flavors Lineup includes the following flavors.
- Cake flavor: Birthday Cake, Sea Salt Caramel, Pancakes & Waffles, Cinnamon Roll, Caramel Macchiato, Mint Fudge Cookie.
- Chocolate: Chocolate Almond Crunch, Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
- Fruit: Toasted Coconut, Chocolate-Covered Banana.
- Nut: Peanut Butter Cup, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Oatmeal Cookie.
- Other: Candy Bar, Vanilla Maple.
For this product lineup, you should also separate each serving into a few parts to eat within 2 -3 days because its calories are similar to the dairy ice cream.
As you can see, the dairy and dairy-free Flavor product lineup have some same tastes. Thus, don’t worry if you can’t enjoy your favorite ice cream because it contains sugar. Moreover, the dairy-free ice cream cups also have unique flavors that dairy products do not, such as vanilla maple, toasted coconut, etc.
Keto Series
Keto Series was born to support people who are following the Keto diet (Ketogenic/Keep Eating the Fat Off – reduce tolerating carb and eat benefit fat). This ice cream lineup contains low carbohydrates (5 – 10 grams of net carbs per pint) to help you maintain the feeling of full all day.
Keto Series includes 2 smaller types with a few flavors.
- Keto Pops: Berry Swirl, Chocolate Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Sea Salt Caramel.
- Keto Pint: Peanut Butter Chocolate, Brownie a la mode, Chocolate Caramel Lava Cake, Vanilla Bean, Banana Cream Pie, Caramel Butter Pecan, Chocolate Cheesecake, Macadamia Nut Cookie, Jelly Donut.
It can be said, even when you have to follow a strict diet, you can enjoy the best Halo Top flavors every day.
Halo Top Pops Lineup
If you are busy and not able to divide your daily serving, you can pick Halo Top Pops Lineup. Per pop only has 80 – 110 calories. This lineup includes flavors: Chocolate Fudge, Strawberry Swirl, Sea Salt Caramel, Dark Chocolate Caramel, Mint Chip, Brownie Batter.
Even though there is not much taste compared to other lineups, Halo Top Pops Lineup always keeps this brand’s signature flavor and ensures low calories and sugar.
Halo Top Fruit Pops Lineup
This is an entirely new lineup from Halo Top in spring this year. Fruit Pops Lineup is made from fresh fruits. Its calories are lower than Halo Top Pops Lineup, only 35-90 calories per serving.
This product lineup has 5 flavors, including strawberry, coconut, mango, lime, and pineapple.
Frequent Asked Questions About Halo Top Ice Cream
1. What Does the Manufacturer Use to Make Halo Top Flavors?
If you skim the Halo Top’s ingredient list, you can see no difference because these ice creams are made from eggs, cream, and milk. However, what sets Halo Top apart is its sweetness.
The Halo Top manufacturer uses organic stevia without calories, sugar alcohol erythritol, and organic cane sugar to create their unique sweetness.
Not only that, but Halo Top ice cream also contains significant milk protein concentrate and prebiotic fiber content to provide enough energy for the body.
Alternatively, you can find many delicious flavors from various food, fruits, nuts, and other unique ingredients. All create excellent products (ex. chocolate, hazelnut, pistachio, peanut, strawberry, lime, mango, oatmeal, blueberry, pumpkin, sea salt, etc.)
Besides, you have stomach issues, you should avoid prebiotic fiber and erythritol because they can impact your gastrointestinal tract.
2. What Are the Most Nutritious Halo Top Flavors?
Nowadays, Halo Top provides about 30 – 40 flavors, from classic to unique such as, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla bean, or Candy Bar, Birthday Cake, Sea Salt Caramel, etc.
Additionally, the company also released a dairy-free lineup for people who are lactose intolerant and vegan. Some products have no gluten.
Besides, Halo Top ice cream also contains low calories and sugar. We will list some energy levels in their products.
From 300 calories and more per serving: Dairy Light Ice Cream and Dairy-Free Lineup (except Pistachio, Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Caramel Macchiato, Oatmeal Cookie, Lemon Cake, Black Cherry), and Keto Pint.
From 100 to under 300 calories: Halo Top Pops Lineup (except Strawberry Swirl, Chocolate Fudge), Pistachio, Strawberry, Vanilla Bean, Caramel Macchiato, Oatmeal Cookie, Lemon Cake, Black Cherry of Dairy product lineup, and Keto Pops.
Under 100 calories: Fruit Pops Lineup (35 – 90 calories), Strawberry Swirl, Chocolate Fudge of Pops Lineup.
As you can see, most Dairy and Dairy-free lineup and Keto Pint products have relatively high calories. Otherwise, Keto Pops Halo Top Pops and Fruit Pops Lineup contain low energy levels.
According to our guidelines, you can consider and calculate carefully to pick a suitable product for your health condition.
3. Does Halo Top Ice Cream Have Potential Benefits and Downsides?
Halo Top products have less calo, sugar, and fat compared to traditional ones. They will provide enough protein to satisfy hunger. Hence, you can get full of energy without overeating.
The lower sugar content helps you avoid high blood sugar. Besides, sugar substitutes do not cause tooth decay. They can eliminate bacteria that eat away at tooth enamel.
Additionally, you have to pay attention to potential downsides. First, if you eat Halo Top by the pint, unhealthy portion control habits may form. You can tolerate the immense energy in your body. It isn’t easy to get a successful diet.
Sugar substitutes may enhance blood sugar and cause health risks (ex. Diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc.)
Lastly, you may be gassy if you eat much Halo Top ice cream because the gut bacteria will ferment the prebiotic fiber in products. Allergic reactions can happen because of some ingredients (carob, guar, milk, etc.)
Overall, Halo Top is not a total nutritious replacement, and its taste is not like regular ice cream; you may not like it.
4. What’s The Difference Between Halo Top’s Products And Frozen Yogurt And Regular Ice Cream?
The regular and Halo Top ice cream have the same serving size, which is half of the cup. However, a Halo Top serving only contains 60 – 90 calories, 8 – 14 grams of fat, and about 12 – 20 grams of protein.
In contrast, this figure in traditional ice cream and frozen yogurt goes up to about 200 – 330 calories, over 50 grams of fat, and 16 grams of protein. Not only that, but the Halo Top’s pint has lower cholesterol and saturated fat.
Additionally, the amount of sugar per Halo Top pint is approximately 5 grams thanks to natural sweeteners; meanwhile, typical ice cream may have 22 grams per serving.
The manufacturer utilized milk protein concentrate, egg, and regular milk to produce Halo Top delicious ice cream cups, but its half cup includes 5 grams of protein, which is the same as normal ice cream.
However, the difference here is weight. A Halo Top pint is 256 grams; meanwhile, some other products (Ben & Jerry’s) have 428 grams per serving.
5. Are Halo Top Flavors Good For My Health?
We can’t deny that the Halo Top’s calories are low. It is helpful to reduce weight, although decreasing calorie intake isn’t all of this process.
People, who want to weight loss and maintain snacking habits, often consider Halo Top besides eating nuts and berries. Therefore, they no longer feel empty stomachs and do not want to eat more. Reducing and controlling weight will be easier over time.
Thus, Halo Top is good for your health, and you can add these ice creams to your diet.
However, if you treat Halo Top ice cream as a treat to enjoy every day, it will backfire on you because too much of anything is not good, either medicine or even food.
Generally, you should not overdo Halo Top products. If you only eat half of a cup each serving, Halo Top will provide sufficient calories in case your stomach does not have any issues.
But when you eat freely and can’t stop, you will tolerate more calories than eating traditional ice cream. And you may damage your weight loss process.
6. Is Halo Top Ice Cream Dairy-Free?
The original Halo Top formulation is dairy. In other words, that is the combination of cream, milk protein concentrate, and skim milk. Besides, they also bring almost 20 dairy-free versions to vegan and allergic-to-lactose persons with about 300 calories and 12 grams of protein each pint.
7. Where Can I Buy Halo Top’s Products?
Currently, 65,000 grocery stores around the U.S sell Halo Top’s products. If you live in California, you can go to their Scoop Shops in Los Angeles, including 3 addresses (near Century City, nearby the Grove, and a store in Topanga).
Conclusion: Should I Add Halo Top Products to My Diet?
Halo Top products are excellent choices for your diet because it has low calories, sugar, and fat with high protein and prebiotic fiber content. They are safe due to natural ingredients. You can add them to your daily diet.
However, it would be best not to overeat Halo Top ice cream unless you want to tolerate the same amounts of calories as traditional ice cream and break the diet’s result.
After reading our article, we think you know all about Halo Top flavors, and you can add one more delicious dish to your diet. Halo Top ice cream is not the perfect choice, but it is suitable to help us control freely eating habits to reduce weight, maintain the body, and protect health very well.
