The best thing about summer as a kid is the endless supply
of sumptuous ice cream.
Each lick tantalises your tastebuds and is more satisfying
than the last. As adults, we know that it’s a rare treat, not to be consumed every
day, right?
But kids don’t see the logic in that. They want ice cream all the
time, especially when it’s hot. They don’t want to eat anything else. They don’t
understand about good and bad nutrition. They think that if something tastes good
and they love it, then it should be breastfast, lunch and dinner.
At least that’s how my kids think. And that’s the constant
battle I’m having with them right now.
They won’t eat anything else during this unseasonal heatwave
we’re having in Ireland.
Should I be worried? Is ice cream really that bad for kids? My
battles are becoming weary – can I resist my kids screaming demands for the smooth, beautifully
cool nectar?
The main ingredients are supposed to be milk and cream, which has calcium which makes their bones and
bodies grow strong and tall, does it not? Surely there is some nutritional
value in an ice cream? After researching my question, I realized how naïve I've been.
Nutritionists will tell you ice cream is allowed in moderation, so long as you aren't
eating it every day (yikes!) and to choose products that have real
ingredients, ie dairy rather than milk powder and fruit extracts rather than
flavours made in a lab.
But
an article I read recently [link here] says that a lot of the ice cream we buy
is nothing more than processed junk that hasn’t even had a sniff of dairy near
it, therefore it contains no nutritional value at all.
Soft scoop is always bad news, says the article, because it’s
basically just water, sugar and oil held together by starches.
Most cheap ice creams are made up of vegetable oils, lab-produced
flavourings, milk-derived powders and artificial sweeteners. Not something that
sounds good for our kids on a regular basis.
In my research, I discovered that the amount of minimum dairy
an ice cream must contain in order to legally call itself ‘ice cream’ is ridiculously
low – just 2.5 per cent of milk protein and an additional 5 per cent of dairy
fat.
There I was thinking that if I gave my kids ice cream, it
might have something like 50% dairy in it. I am but delusional!
I’d love to hear from other mums what the best ice creams to
give your kids are and which ones have the best dairy content?
In future, I’m going to inspect the labels of ice creams –
not that they tell you much – and try to choose ice creams that have whole
foods ingredients, such as milk, eggs, sugar, strawberries etc. And try to steer
my kids away from those that have a long list of chemicals, preservatives, and
dyes.
I might even try to make my own from fruits and yogurt.
Another interesting nugget I picked up whilst researching this article.... ever wonder why your kids grow so much during summer? Well it’s the vitamin D from the sun, which if combined with calcium (milk, cheese) and protein (meat, eggs), helps to give the body a much needed kickstart in the growth stakes. So another good reason to give them proper dairy ice cream rather than processed junk.
Here's a few ingredient lists I found on the web:
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