You know that it is summer when you start hearing more and more people talk about ice cream. When the weather gets warmer, we tend to crave the cooler foods such as ice cream. Ice cream is a wonderful summer treat but the amount and the frequency can quickly pack on the calories and increase total fat consumption. Here are some tips that can help you manage the ice cream cravings:
- When you decide that you want the ice cream, go out for ice cream and choose a place that you can get a single scoop rather than the serve-yourself places with many options. Consider visiting McDonald’s or Chick Fil-A for their low-fat cones that are also portion-controlled.
- Don’t get tricked into the buy one, get one free sales at the store. If you go searching for a good deal, you are more than likely to find a deal at any grocery store on ice cream. Make sure not to start your summer with this habit because the gallons of free ice cream will quickly add up.
- Consider buying the single serving options such as ice cream sandwiches, mini ice cream cones, or small ice cream cups. Most of these single serving options are calorie controlled so a better option than eating out of the carton of ice cream, which often leads to mindless eating and abundant calories.
- Look for the lower-fat options such as the slow-churned ice cream, frozen yogurt, or Greek-yogurt based choices. Some of my personal favorites are the 100-calorie frozen Greek yogurt cups because they are the perfect size for an after-dinner snack.
- Try a fruit smoothie as an alternative to ice cream. Blend together some fresh or frozen fruit, splash of fruit juice or milk, and ice for a refreshing snack that is packed with nutrients.
Lastly, remember that there is a lot more to summer than just ice cream. Enjoy the longer summer days for being outside and active or the access to the variety of fresh, local produce that can be easily incorporated in your meals.
