So, if you haven’t heard – March 16 – was Free Cone Day. To celebrate its 75 anniversary, Dairy Queen gave out free vanilla soft serve ice cream cones to eager customers. While this may seem extremely generous, it’s not doing any favors for our nation’s health.
DQ doesn’t plan to stop the giveaways either. Barry Westrum, the company’s executive vice president of marketing, stated in a press release, “we’re extending the celebration beyond Free Cone Day because it’s about more than just one day.” This may mean more days of free sugary concoctions.
However tempting this sounds, remember that good health is about more than just one day, too. It’s about the good nutrition and lifestyle habits that we keep all year round, no matter the temptations that surround us. If you look at the ingredients of Dairy Queen’s soft serve, you will find that they in no way support health.
Dairy Queen’s Vanilla Soft Serve ingredients are listed as:
“Milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar, corn syrup, whey, mono and diglycerides, artificial flavor, guar gum, polysorbate 80, carrageenan, and vitamin A palmitate.”
First of all, some of these are hard to pronounce, and don’t sound like foods, do they? That’s because they’re not, they’re emulsifiers, stabilizers, and synthetic flavors made from industrial chemicals. Secondly, that sugar content… a ½ cup serving of Vanilla Soft Serve contains 22 grams of sugar. Yikes.
Thirdly, the corn syrup on the list is likely made from GMO corn (much of the corn syrup sold in the United States is), and is just adding to your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay, liver disease, cancers and more. Would we like a Free Cone? No, thanks.
Don’t worry, we’re not trying to rain on your springtime fun. The following is a great healthy ice cream recipe you can easily whip up at home in your ice cream maker!
Vanilla Ice Cream with a Tropical Twist
Ingredients:
- 26 ounces of organic coconut milk
- 1 banana
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 pinch of unrefined sea salt
Directions:
- Scoop out the inside of the vanilla bean and add to the coconut milk.
- Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Turn on ice cream maker, then pour in blended mixture. Remove when it reaches desired thickness.
- Serve in a parfait glass with your favorite fresh fruits and raw nuts. For a bit of yummy nutty flavor without the chunky texture, sprinkle your ice cream with some ground flax seeds. Enjoy!
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.idq.com/NCPublic/ChoiceCalcResult.aspx?IdMenuItem=39&IdMenuGroup=21
http://calorielab.com/restaurants/dairy-queen/16
