I - Ice Cream!!!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for…ICE CREAM!!! For real though, who doesn’t love ice cream?? Especially on hot summer days! But who am I kidding, I still eat ice cream in the dead of winter when it plunges into those delightful sub-zero Minnesota temperatures. Just like I don’t understand people who don’t like chocolate, I don’t understand people who don’t like ice cream; it’s sweet, it’s creamy, it’s delicious—what’s there not to like!?

I’ll eat nearly any kind of ice cream, but my all time favorite “ice cream” is Halo Top Creamery, which was actually just named the Most Popular Pint of Ice Cream in America! I’ve gotta be “that person” and say that I was a dedicated Halo Top consumer before they became super ultra popular…ok, it’s out there, moving on. For those of you who are wondering what Halo Top actually is, I will post a brief description taken from their website, www.halotop.com below:

“Finally, health ice cream that actually tastes like ice cream. And we’re not joking. While Halo Top is low-calorie, high-protein, and low-sugar, we use only the best, all-natural ingredients to craft our ice cream so that it tastes just like regular ice cream. We know it sounds too good to be true, so don’t just take our word for it—dig in and see for yourself just how good healthy ice cream can be.”

I know it sounds too good to be true, but I can assure you—it’s true! In honor of the letter “I” and Halo Top becoming super ultra popular, I’m going to do a ranking (and mini review) of all of their flavors! The flavors will be listed with the ones I enjoy and/or buy the most towards the top, and the ones I like the least and/or by the least of towards the bottom. There are currently 17 flavors of Halo Top, each pint ranging from 240 to 360 calories, and they just announced that they’ll be releasing 7 new flavors this month! The new flavors will be posted at the very bottom of the list starting with the flavor I think I’ll like the most and ending with the flavor I think I’ll like the least.

*Disclaimer: Yes, Halo Top is very expensive, ranging from $4.50-$6.00+ per pint depending on where you buy it. I always eat a whole pint in one sitting, and yes, I spend way too much money on it. But hey, there are far worse things I could be addicted to!

Chocolate

I’m a chocolate lover through and through, so it’s no surprise that this would be at the top of my list. This flavor is your classic chocolate—sweet, chocolate-y, creamy, and delicious.

Vanilla Bean

Emphasis on the “bean”! This flavor has a very strong, unique vanilla bean taste, and I think that’s because it’s made with Madagascar vanilla which has a very unique taste. If you don’t like vanilla bean ice cream, then this may not be the pint for you, but I find it to be quite tasty!

*Note: I put plain chocolate and vanilla at the top because I really enjoy these classic flavors and they are perfect for adding your mix-ins or toppings! Now on to the more “exciting” flavors…

Red Velvet

I’ve never been overly jazzed about red velvet flavored things, but red velvet Halo Top? Now that’s a different story! This definitely caters more towards the chocolate side of red velvet—it has a sweet, red velvet base with little chunks of brownie dough throughout the pint. I like the base of this flavor by itself, and when you add in the brownie bits it makes it a top contender!

Peanut Butter Cup

If you think this flavor is going to be like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, it’s not. There is no chocolate in this flavor whatsoever. But! If you like peanut butter, you will LOVE this flavor. It’s peanut butter ice cream with a peanut butter swirl throughout—it basically tastes like you’re eating peanut butter in ice cream form; a PB lover’s dream, and one of my personal favorites.

Oatmeal Cookie

Are you one of those people who eyes up the oatmeal cookies at parties but are hesitant to grab one because you can’t tell if the little brown things are raisins or chocolate? Well lucky for you, this pint has neither! What this flavor brings to the table is that it tastes like a plain old oatmeal cookie, and a delicious one at that! The base is a sweet, creamy vanilla flavor with a hint of cinnamon, and there are little bits of oatmeal in the ice cream! With this flavor, you can have your cookie and lick it, too!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

A classic flavor that doesn’t disappoint! It has a sweet vanilla base with little chunks of cookie dough throughout. If you like the classic chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, this is the flavor for you!

S’mores

I can’t say that this flavor tastes like a real s’more, but it doesn’t taste bad by any means! I would say the dominant flavor is graham cracker followed by a sweet, subtle marshmallow flavor. The only chocolate in this pint are the teeny tiny chocolate chips which don’t bring a whole lot of chocolate flavor to the taste buds, but I still enjoy the flavor overall. I just add my own chocolate syrup on top and call it good!

Sea Salt Caramel

Very sweet, and very caramel-y. If you like caramel and overly sweet things this is the pint for you! It has a caramel ice cream base with a delicious gooey caramel swirl throughout. This is a delicious flavor, but when I say it’s overly sweet, I mean it!

Mint Chip

This is not your classic green mint chocolate chip ice cream, but it’s still pretty good if you’re a fan of mint ice cream. It’s a white, mint flavored ice cream with little chocolate chips throughout. It’s minty, refreshing, and satisfying!

Chocolate Almond Crunch

Not very chocolate-y, but it is very almond-y! If you like the taste of almond imitation/extract flavoring then this will be a hit for you! The “crunch” they are talking about in the name of this flavor are little bits of almonds in the batter. A very yummy flavor, but the almond flavor can be a bit overwhelming.

Cookies & Cream

Halo Top kinda missed the mark with this flavor, but they just released this flavor again using a new recipe. I’ve tried the new recipe, and while it improved slightly, it didn’t change its ranking among the other flavors (for me anyways). The new recipe does have a better cookies and cream flavor (still pretty lacking in the cookie department), but I’d say it would do a fair job of satisfying your cookies and cream craving!

*Note: You might notice that all of the fruit flavors are towards the bottom of my list. The fruit flavors aren’t at the bottom of the list because they are bad, they are at the bottom of the list because I’ve never been a huge fan of fruit flavored ice cream.

Strawberry

My favorite fruit flavor! This pint has a true strawberry flavor and is perfectly sweet!

Lemon Cake

This has a soft, lemon flavor that is cushioned by the cake flavor. It’s not a tart or sour lemon, it’s a sweet, creamy lemon.

Black Cherry

This flavor tastes just like it sounds—like black cherry!

Chocolate Mocha Chip

The coffee flavor takes away from the sweetness of the chocolate which I didn’t like. The little chocolate chips didn’t do much for me at all. I love coffee and I love chocolate, but I didn’t love them together in this ice cream. Your taste buds may disagree though!

Pistachio

I’ve only tried this flavor once, but I just remember not liking it very much, if at all. Its taste is reminiscent of pistachio, but not exactly like pistachio or other pistachio ice creams that I’ve tried. Worth trying once, but it’s not a flavor I’ll buy again.

Birthday Cake

Don’t let the sprinkles fool you—this flavor doesn’t taste anything like birthday cake. It doesn’t really taste like much of anything except sweet ice cream with the tiniest hint of butter extract. I was very excited for this flavor and very sad about the final product. This is another pint that I don’t buy on the regular, if at all.  

7 New Flavors (Mid-August Release)

Candy Bar

Cinnamon Roll

Pancakes & Waffles

Chocolate Covered Banana

Caramel Macchiato

Rainbow Swirl

Mochi Green Tea

Keep in mind that everyone’s taste buds are different and everyone likes different things. You may love Halo Top, you may not. My least favorite flavor may end up being your favorite flavor or vice versa. The only way to know for sure is by trying it yourself! 

Check out Halo Top’s website www.halotop.com for more information on all of their flavors, the story behind the company, recently added merch, and more!