2018 seems to be the heart of the era of alternative low-cal ice creams.  As someone who has always dreamed (literally) of the day it would be acceptable to have the whole pint in one sitting, I’m not complaining at all.  I love eating cold foods (even ones that are typically served hot), and I’m a sucker for sweets, so ice cream is obviously something that’s dangerous for me to keep stocked in my freezer.  I actually rarely have it, because I can’t be trusted around a pint of ice cream.  Until now!  I had the opportunity to try Enlightened’s newly released low-cal ice cream flavors, and I was not disappointed!

None of the photos in this post are edited to hold the integrity of the product.

TLDR: I was really impressed by these new Enlightened flavors, in both taste and texture.  I liked some better than others (and if you don’t feel like reading, I ordered my review from least favorite to most favorite, so just scroll down for my personal fave).  The pints contain sugar alcohols, but, when had in moderation, they don’t bother my stomach like some other low calorie ice creams do, and I am not sure why to be honest.  The ingredients are pretty clean, and overall this is a great product that I definitely recommend.  

Movie Night

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 servings per pint) – 90 calories P7/C18/F2.5.  Note that Enlightened (and many other brands) calculate their calories based on NET carbs, rather than total carbs.  If you calculate your calories based on total carbs, it comes out to 122.5 calories per serving.

This pint has a buttery popcorn ice cream base with chocolate chips and a caramel swirl.  I have to say, Enlightened totally nailed the swirls in every single pint that has them (which should be all of them, in my humble opinion).  The swirl is even and consistent throughout the whole pint, and gets melty and gooey and has a lot of really good flavor.  The ice cream really does taste like buttered popcorn, but the taste is a little bit artificial for my personal liking.  The texture of the ice cream is really good and creamy, and the chocolate pieces and caramel swirl add different layers of texture that make this pint really really good.  This one also thaws pretty quickly.

French Toast

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 servings per pint) – 70 calories P7/C17/F1.5.  Calories calculated based on total carbs is 105.5.

This pint has a french toast ice cream base with a maple syrup swirl.  Similar to the movie night flavor, the swirl is probably my favorite part.  It’s pretty sweet but has a nice maple flavor, and goes really well with the french toast ice cream base, which really does taste like french toast.  The ice cream itself is rich and creamy, but doesn’t have any additional elements of texture asides from the swirl.  Overall, I enjoyed this flavor more than the movie night one.  This one also thaws pretty quickly.

S’mores

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 servings per pint) – 100 calories P6/C22/F2.5.  Calories calculated based on total carbs is 134.5.

This pint blew me away.  the toasted marshmallow ice cream base was so true to what marshmallows taste like without any artificial after-taste.  The graham cracker pieces in the ice cream base added texture and that full bodied flavor of a graham cracker that’s so comforting.  The chocolate swirl was the icing on the cake, and you know by now how I feel about Enlightened swirls.  This pint tastes like the best camping trip you’ll ever have.  Unfortunately, though I’m not surprised, it has the most calories of all of the pints.  This one thaws quickly.  I think it might have something to do with the swirl.

Cookies and Cream

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 servings per pint) – 80 calories P6/C17/F2.5.  Calories calculated based on total carbs is 114.5.

Throw away all of your other cookies and cream flavored ice creams and replace them with this.  The ice cream is extremely creamy, and you can hardly tell that the base is just a plain vanilla because there are so many “chocolate sandwich cookie” pieces in it.  Aka this pint is straight crushed oreos with some vanilla ice cream mixed in.  This one’s easily my favorite of all of the new flavors, even though there’s no swirl.  I think cookies and cream is such a classic that it’s easy to mess up by trying to do too much.  Enlightened didn’t make this mistake – they made a vanilla ice cream with crushed up cookie pieces, and I’m completely sold on it.  This one takes a bit longer to thaw, but it’s oh so worth it.  Don’t waste even one bite of this if it’s rock solid from the freezer.

These aren’t new flavors, but are definitely worth an honorable mention:

Chocolate

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 servings per pint) – 60 calories P6/C14/F1.5.  Calories calculated based on total carbs is 93.5.

There’s really nothing to write home about here, chocolate is simply a classic.  The chocolate flavor is rich and the ice cream is creamy.  There’s no additional elements of texture in this pint, but it’s still very good.  I would recommend adding this to smoothies/protein shakes instead of ice to get that ice cold factor and make it more like a milkshake.  I’m also thinking about how great this would be blended up with some PB2 and a frozen banana….

Cold Brew

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 cups per pint) – 60 calories P6/C14/F1.5.  Calories calculated based on total carbs is 93.5.

This pint has a really good coffee flavor.  It doesn’t taste artificial at all (not surprising, since coffee is the 5th ingredient), and is not too sweet.  There’s no texture asides from the creaminess of the ice cream, but it’s still good.  This is another good one to add to smoothies/shakes.  Give this one some extra time to thaw as well.

Snickerdoodle

Stats: Per 1/2 cup serving (4 servings per pint) – 60 calories P6/C14/F1.5.  Calories calculated based on total carbs is 93.5.

This is my favorite of the older flavors.  It’s very creamy, and the yummy cinnamon spice is sprinkled throughout the whole entire pint.  I really wish this had a cinnamon sugar swirl… but in any event, the sugar cookie base is very distinguished from the standard vanilla and is delicious.

Good work, Enlightened!  These ice creams far exceeded my expectations and, dare I say, are overall my favorite of the low calorie ice creams currently on the market!  (Though each brand out there has its flavor[s] that it does the best).  Which one is your favorite?

Stay fit and full of [healthy] ice cream, all!