Posted on Mon, Jul. 28, 2003

This ice cream's full of fat, and proud of it

Knight Ridder

link to article

There's a new super-premium ice cream in the freezer case at some local stores that boasts 16 percent butterfat content and a whopping 77 percent of calories from fat (11 grams of fat for a 130-calorie, 4-ounce portion).

But important for diabetics and some dieters, each serving nets only 4 grams of carbohydrates. And it's just what Dr. Atkins ordered.

Endulge is the latest in the Atkins Nutritional Approach of products and supplements aimed at weight loss through a low-carbohydrate diet.

Dr. Robert Atkins died this year from injuries after a fall on a sidewalk. His diet was popular in the 1970s and has been enjoying a resurgence since the late 1990s. Some recent studies have indicated that the high-protein, low-carbohydrate regimen may have some merit.

Eventually, Endulge will be available at supermarkets, but for now, look for it at small, independent health-food stores. Four-ounce servings are sold as a package of four for $4.99. The ice cream is available in vanilla and chocolate.

I've not tried it yet but found a couple of reviews:
The following gives it a thumbs up on taste, regarding it as even better than some regular ice creams:

http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school...d/atkinsic.html

And these folks also give it a thumbs up on taste, but complained about its price and somewhat watery texture:
http://www.epinions.com/content_106325970564

For me, taste is only part of the equation, otherwise I'd be devouring yummy Hershey SF bars: but alas, Hershey unwisely went retro and drenched their now-failing bars (soon to be removed from the market) with lactitol... the worst of the digestion-busted sugar alcohols. Besides also using Maltitol which is almost as hard on the digestion, they had the gall to add transfatty acids - a known carcinogen - quite under whelming considering how much R & D bucks Hershey had to invest in getting it right but belly-flopped instead. Why I mention this is in context with now sharing the ingredient list of Atkins Endulge Ice Cream (according to the same epinions article):

Ingredients: Cream, Nonfat Dry Milk, Whey, Sorbitol, Polydextrose, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Guar Gum, Mono & Diglycerides, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 80, Carrageenan, Vanilla (Natural and Artificial Flavor), Sucralose*

So, we have Splenda, but we also have the sugar alcohol Sorbitol, and notice that the latter is listed sooner, usually suggesting a higher quantity of it (Sorbitol) than Splenda, unfortunately. I don't offhand recall whether Sorbitol is "worse" (digestion/ketosis-busting) than Lactitol/Maltitol, but as usual with Sugar Alcohols, you'll have to endure trial and error (shrugs). Too bad Atkins didn't yet (but hopefully will in the future) empty-out their ice cream (and other Endulge products, for that matter) with Maltitol and go with the easier-on-the-gut sugar alcohol Erythritol like Carbolite's already done with their At Last chocolate bars. To that hopeful end, Atkins customer service dept recently replied to my query confirming they are indeed actively researching whether Erythritol has minimal impact upon the blood sugar.

I don't mind paying higher bucks for ice cream, but look forward to the day when we can get past the lactitol/maltitol/sorbitol syndrome...

I actually splurged and bought a box of Atkins ice cream last week from Trader Joes. I was stressed out and taking a break from my comp exams, so I thought this was the perfect treat. Unfortunately, I really didn't like the taste or the texture (chocolate). It reminds me of those cheap, fake-tasting ice-milk-like treats from 7-11. Just my 2 cents on the Atkins ice cream. I tried the recipe for ziploc baggie ice cream from the recipes board, and it is so much better (and less expensive).

Athena

Question for Gary: I don't see any trans fats in my pack of Hershey's SF chocolates (the plain kind). The peanut butter variety does contain it, but not the other flavors. Or am I overlooking something?

I find this candy really quite useful when I'm having--erm--"digestive" problems. Sad to hear it's going off the market.

Really, why pay so much money for some bad tasting ice-cream with fake (therefore suspect) ingredients.

If you want a great tasting ice-cream treat, put some still-frozen raspberries in a food processor along with some heavy cream and a little sweetener of your choice. Process. The consistency should be that of soft server ice-cream.

voila ! home-made ice cream in seconds.

I also own a manual little ice maker. I put some heavy cream inside, a little sweetner and a touch of vanilla. I turn the crank and a few minutes later, I end up with vanilla ice-cream.

Actually, I love the Atkins Ice Cream. If want to talk watery and skim (low-fat) tasting...you have to look at LeCarb. That stuff tastes like it has no cream (actually, I didn't read the ingredients...so, it might not) and has a watered down texture. The Atkins Ice Cream I got (Vanilla) had a nice hard texture (slightly harder than the normal stuff) and a nice rich (high-fat) taste. The only downside is the price. I just can't afford to keep paying $5/pint for the stuff. The Ice Cream I make myself doesn't taste quite as good as Atkins, but it's sure a hell of alot better than most other Sugar-Free Ice Creams (most of which are too low in fat). The price is definitely better.

We buy the Vanilla flavor and top it off with a tbsp or 2 of peanut butter... yum!!!

On the east coast, BJ's, a wholesale seller, has begun carrying Endulge in an 8 pack for about $8.00. Even though this is a savings of almost $2.00, I can't justify spending $1.00 per cup.

I accidentally made strawberry ice cream last night in the blender (ment to make a shake). It is actually quite tasty & so much cheaper (strawberries = $2.00, cream = $.50 worth, Splenda = $.50 worth)

Well...there are those that are more interested in convenience than in saving money. I give you the whole host of pre-made, ready to heat meals as an example. Sure...you could probably make the same thing yourself a lot cheaper, but it would take you longer so folks are willing to shell out the bucks to spend less time in the kitchen.
As for the sorbitol, the amount in the ice cream is quite a bit less than what you would find in an average low carb chocolate bar and some folks (myself included) don't react to that quantity with the cramping/gas symptoms. Of course, if you are very sensitive to sugar alcohols, any amount will make you miserable so it's up to the buyer to decide if they're willing to risk it or not. Even the Erythritol causes nasty symptoms in several people I know at work who have tried the At Last bars; depends on how sensitive you are to sugar alcohols.

Ice cream, OTOH, is very quick to make if you know what you're doing. You don't even need an expensive ice cream maker...just a blender or food processor along with the basic ingredients; cream, Splenda and flavoring or fruit if you are at a point in the program where you can have it. Put the frozen fruit in the blender, sweeten to taste with Splenda, add enough cream to barely cover and process until the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. Takes less than 5 minutes from beginning to end and costs a lot less than the pre-made stuff. Plus...you know exactly what's in it.

RoseTattoo is quite right in noticing that some but not all of Hershey's new line of "SF" bars also have trans-fatty acids (same issue with Carbolite's dessert bars as well: some do, some don't).
And if one is choosing between those with/without the trans-fatty's, if all other overall ingredients are roughly the same, then you betcha, go for the bars w/out the trans-fats.

I must be right on the borderline of Maltitol-vs.-Erythritol sugar alcohol tolerance levels, as so far I've been able to have an At Last bar without digestion problems, but generally pay the price with the equivalent Lactitol or Maltitol bar. But as was well pointed out by Lisa, some with even less tolerance than I will suffer problems from even the lessor sugar alcohols including Erythritol, which is why I'm in no way calling Erythritol The Next Big Thing, but merely a possible incremental step "forward" at best for certain dessert bars and perhaps other items. I read on a good sugar alcohol reference page how varying sugar alcohol varieties are more compatible in the production of varying dessert items, such as hard candies lend better to one variety of sugar alcohol vs. ice cream for another, and chocolate bars for a certain range of sugar alcohols. Glad to learn there's not as much Sorbitol in the Endulge Ice Cream as there is Maltitol in dessert bars.
Although some of these comments borderline into non-research topics such as low carb dieting tips, I'll mention in closing though my sharing the advice of others that particularly during Induction (for Atkins) or the early kick-start part of many other low carb diet plans, sugar alcohol-sweetened treats are a gamble with your success... because it can interfere with your initial needed breaking free of typical intense carb/sugar addictions/cravings, as well as not giving your body as much a chance to truly envelop itself in nutritious sources of the minimal carbs/sugars we ingest.

I buy Atkins Ice Cream once a week. Like most of you, I prefer the vanilla flavour.

They started selling them at Safeway supermarket here about a month ago. Now they sell very large quantities of them.

One reason I like them, is that their total carbohydrate per serving (which is what I count) is only 6 grams. They contain 2 grams of sugar alcohol per serving. A box contains 4 servings.

Lisa

How do you make homemade choc ice cream?