Ice Cream for Gestational Diabetes: I Reviewed 6 Popular Brands

If you have gestational diabetes or are watching your blood sugars in pregnancy, you may be convinced you can no longer enjoy many of your favorite foods. Maybe you’ve believed sweets are completely off limits for the rest of your pregnancy (a nightmare!), or you’re convinced that you have to swear off all carbs and say goodbye to your favorite dessert: ice cream. If this is you, I have some good news. You CAN enjoy ice cream, even with gestational diabetes.

As an intuitive eating gestational diabetes dietitian, I understand the importance of maintaining blood sugar levels while savoring all the delicious flavors that life has to offer. If ice cream is one of your favorite treats or one of the ways you like to celebrate life events, I want you to be able to do so, even if we have to get a little creative with the way you approach this food. 

My goal is always to help my clients and all people with gestational diabetes create or maintain a healthy relationship with food throughout their pregnancy. This means removing labels like “good vs bad”, helping them understand that no food has moral value, and that diet culture sucks! If you’re interested in learning more about my approach to gestational diabetes click here. 

Now, let’s get into it. I don’t want you to waste your time (or money) on ice cream for gestational diabetes that isn’t going to hit the spot, so I sat down to write my review of 6 popular “low carb, low sugar” ice cream for gestational diabetes.

A disclaimer:

There is a lot of nuance when it comes to managing gestational diabetes and practicing intuitive eating. Just because a food works for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you. You may not like the flavor, the texture, it may not work for your blood sugar, etc. It’s also helpful to note that so many factors play into your numbers (read about them here) so it’s important to find what works best for you. 

Remember, just because an ice cream is labeled as “low carb” or “low sugar” doesn’t automatically mean it’s a “healthier” or “better” choice. Food doesn’t have moral value, and around here we care more about supporting blood sugars holistically rather than trying to follow a “diet” or “plan”.

If you’re having a hard time removing the labels and rules around food and want to know what peaceful eating could look like, check out this blog post.

Yasso Bars 

I’ve been hearing about Yasso bars a lot lately, so I was excited to try them. I will say initially I didn’t love them, but after I tried them a second time ( a different flavor) it started to grow on me, so you may have to try a couple to see which flavor is best for you. They aren’t super creamy and fall a little more on the icy side, so if you’re into that you may love them!

• Taste: 6/10
• Texture: 6/10
• Price: $4.98/4 pack
• Overall rating and notes: 7/10, I didn’t mind these and would probably eat them even if I didn’t have gestational diabetes. The price is also pretty fair. I would definitely consider giving these a try, especially if you enjoy ice cream on a stick!

Enlightened Ice Cream 

I had high hopes for this one because I had never heard of this brand (I was also excited because I grabbed a chocolate and caramel flavor, one of my favorites). I followed the instructions on wait time (instructions said to let it sit out 5-10 mins) but it still felt super icy, not creamy. It also had a super grainy texture and left a residual on my mouth which I am not a fan of. I also got a little stomach ache after this one, which could be due to the high fiber content. Overall this one felt very much like a diet food and I’ll likely just throw it away.

• Taste: 4/10
• Texture: 2/10
• Price: $9/pint!!!!! I did see this is cheaper at Walmart, but where I bought it this was the price lol
• Overall rating and notes: 2/10, To me this is a total miss. Poor texture, left a residual, and so overpriced (at least where I bought it). I wouldn’t recommend this one or buy it again.

Halo Top

So I’ve known about this brand for a while, and honestly the brand itself isn’t my favorite due to its “diet-y” messaging and the language they use around food (here’s a podcast episode I love that’s actually about the brand Halo Top if you’re interested in learning more). 

But, in order to give an accurate review, I decided to try Halo Top’s ice cream again (it had been a few years). I was actually surprised to see that it was a little bit better than what I remember, but overall I still don’t really like it. It has a lot of air and isn’t super creamy. I got the basic vanilla and the flavor was good, but the texture is not not for me and wouldn’t really satisfy that ice cream craving.

• Taste: 7/10
• Texture: 4/10
• Price: $4.48/pint
• Overall rating and notes: 5/10, overall not the worst but also not my favorite. Probably not something I would reach for based on the texture alone.

Rebel 

I was excited to try this one since it was another one I’d never had, and they had a triple chocolate flavor (I’m a chocolate lover). I was impatient and didn’t let this one sit for 5-10 minutes as this was suggested on the packaging and I paid the price. The texture was off! Grainy, icy, no bueno. I heard from a few followers on Instagram that said they loved this brand so I gave it another try. This time I waited at least 10 minutes for it to soften up and it was better. The texture was more like traditional ice cream. It still had a bit of an aftertaste that comes with the territory of alternative sweeteners and I do think this contributed to some tummy troubles.

• Taste: 6/10
• Texture: 4/10 then 7/10
• Price: $5.49/pint
• Overall rating and notes: 6/10, another one that just wasn’t that great and and would recommend cautiously  

Johnny Pop Popsicles

I have to say this was a brand I’ve never seen before but I found it in the store and I was very excited to try it. These bars don’t shy away from the fat and actually include heavy cream, so I had a feeling it may be better than some of the others I try. You may be thinking “oh no, heavy cream is bad”, but that’s diet culture talking! We actually want to look to add fat and protein to carbs to support blood sugars, so I liked to see that there was fat in these. These are by far my favorite ice cream I tried and would probably be my favorite ice cream for gestational diabetes. They’re creamy and taste like “regular” ice cream to me! I should point out that this brand does have a small amount of cane sugar and no alternative sweeteners. 

• Taste: 9/10
• Texture: 10/10
• Price: $4.79/4 pack
• Overall rating and notes: 9.5/10 I LOVED these and would definitely eat them again, even without gestational diabetes. If you love fudge pops you need to try these!

N!ck’s 

I’ve heard a lot about this ice cream so I was excited to try it. Overall, the texture was good and there wasn’t really an aftertaste which is great. But the flavor I tried (cookies and cream) tasted super artificial. If you don’t mind that this could definitely be an option for you, but I didn’t enjoy it and it probably wouldn’t be my go-to ice cream for gestational diabetes

• Taste: 5/10
• Texture: 8/10
• Price: $4.47/pint
• Overall rating and notes:  6.5/10, This one isn’t bad but isn’t my favorite. I would be interested to see if other flavors were any better, but I have a feeling they may all have that artificial taste.

Final thoughts: Ice Cream for Gestational Diabetes

I will note that as I was trying these ice creams I wasn’t testing my blood sugar and I don’t currently have gestational diabetes, so keep in mind that you may have to experiment and see what works best for you and your body.

I’d also encourage you to practice mindfulness when possible as you enjoy ice cream for gestational diabetes (or any other time). Whether you enjoy ice cream on a stick, in a bowl, in a cone or anything else, take some time to reflect on your mindset surrounding this food. What thoughts come up? What feelings arise? This can clue you in to what’s going on in your overall relationship with food.

So the big take home message here is don’t write off ice cream all together, even if you have gestational diabetes. There might be some ice cream for gestational diabetes options listed here that work for you, or maybe you want to just add to your “regular” ice cream to make it more blood sugar friendly (more on making desserts gestational diabetes friendly here).

And if you’re ready to make peace with all foods through the power of intuitive eating while also supporting your blood sugars and pregnancy, apply for 1:1 coaching with me here.