A cardiac patient of mine recently shared she’s been frequenting Dairy Queen this summer. Hmmm. I have not been there for eons, but who doesn’t remember (and love!) those churns and swirls of yumminess dripping down the cone on a hot summer night? But, how healthy is it for you? And how does it differ from the ice cream that gets scooped out of the barrels?
To start with, it’s the amount of fat in both of them. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has standards of identity, which are mandatory ingredient requirements that a product must contain to be marketed under a certain name. To be called ice cream, the product must contain at least 10 percent milk (aka butter) fat. Soft serve contains half that amount, or about 5%. That’s why Dairy Queen’s website does not use the words "ice cream" anywhere in their marketing. Rather, per FDA regulations, soft serve qualifies as “reduced-fat" ice cream. Also, soft serve contains approximately 40% air; giving it a more whipped and fluffier texture than its ice cream cousin. Theoretically, soft serve may cost less since there’s less butterfat in it. But I’m not sure if that holds true in this economy as everything is more expensive!
Soft serve was invented in 1938 by J.F. McCullough and was sold in his friend’s ice cream store in Illinois. It was such a success, the two ventured into business together and opened the first Dairy Queen shop in 1940. Since then, the company has expanded its menu to offer a full selection of fast food options. For this article, I'm going to stick with comparing the calories and fat content of some of their ice treats. As a reminder, the American Heart Association recommends no more than 20 grams of saturated fat/day to maintain a heart healthy diet. It was pretty challenging navigating the nutrition panel of their product line but I encourage you to spend some time on their website if you frequent their establishment.
First up—the Blizzards. The Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard comes in with a whopping 1330 calories and 33 grams of saturated fat. The mini version has 420 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat.
Next up—The Shakes. A large Strawberry Shake has 800 calories with 19 grams of saturated fat, while the small shake option has 490 calories and 14 grams of saturated fat.
Who doesn’t love a sundae cup?
The large hot fudge sundae has 610 calories and 16 grams of saturated fat while the small hot fudge sundae option has 300 calories and 8 grams of saturated fat.
The large strawberry sundae has 490 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat while the small strawberry sundae option has 240 calories and 4.5 grams of saturated fat.
Now, the good ole’ cones!
The vanilla small cone has 220 calories and 4.5 grams of saturated fat while the kids cone option has 160 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat.
The chocolate small cone has 240 calories and 4.5 grams of saturated fat while the chocolate kids cone option has 160 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat.
The chocolate-dipped small cone has 320 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat while the chocolate-dipped kids cone option has 200 calories and 7 grams of saturated fat.
Personally, I would stick with the plain cones or a small sundae if you want a treat or you need to cool off. My best advice is to review their nutritional panels before you walk into the store. And don’t walk in hungry!
In Good Health,
Sophie
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