Snacking, Noshing, Tasting

Ice Cream Or Gelato? What’s The Difference? What About Calories?

June 24, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

What says summer more than strolling down the street, ice cream cone in hand – trying to lick up every last melting drip before it hits the sidewalk?

The cold deliciousness of ice cream, gelato, or sorbet is hard to beat. There are an astounding number of choices with varying degrees of fat, calorie, sugar, and dairy content. The sad truth is that no matter how innovative food scientists and savvy marketers have become, a three-scoop sundae with hot fudge, whipped cream, and other assorted toppings still isn’t going to rank at the top of the health-o-meter.

The Difference Between Ice Cream And Gelato

In the US, the government regulates what can be called ice cream, but in some other countries ice cream can mean all frozen desserts.

Ice cream and gelato are usually dairy-based but differ in texture, fat and air content, and ingredients. Because gelato is made and stored at a higher temperature than ice cream, it’s softer, smoother, and quicker to melt.

Both are usually made from sugar, milk, eggs, and flavorings — although gelato is often made from fresh fruit. Gelato has less butterfat than ice cream, usually about 4 to 8% compared to ice cream’s 10 to 20%.

Gelato has a higher sugar content than ice cream, and the sugar/water combination acts like anti-freeze — preventing the gelato from freezing solid. Most US commercial ice creams are frozen in an assembly line freezing process while gelato is frozen very quickly in small batches.

Both ice cream and gelato are churned during the freezing process, which incorporates air. Most commercial ice cream contains about 50% air while gelato contains much less, generally 20-35%, producing a denser product with more intense flavor.

Ice cream is sold by weight, not by size, so a pint of cheaper ice cream which is fluffed up with more air than premium or artisanal ice creams will feel lighter than better brands which are pumped up with just enough air to make the ice cream nice and smooth. Compare pints of different levels of quality when they’re fresh out of the freezer case. Which one is heavier in your hand? Not suprisingly, the premium brands will also be higher in calories, probably have more intense flavor, and be higher in price.

Ice cream, with its higher fat content, can be stored frozen for months. High-quality artisan gelato, when stored carefully at consistent, low temperatures, only keeps its peak flavor and smooth texture for several days.

What’s In The Frozen Desserts?

According to US federal standards, a frozen dessert must have a minimum of 10% milk fat to be called ice cream. Economy brands usually have the least amount of fat and super premium brands have more. Milk fat content of less than 10% makes the product ice milk or light ice cream.

Premium ice cream has between 11% and 15% butterfat, which makes it richer, denser, higher in calories. It often comes in gourmet flavors.
Regular ice cream – what you usually find in the larger containers in the market — is somewhat less dense and contains 10% to 11% butterfat (perfect for milkshakes).
Economy ice cream, by law, has 10% butterfat.
Light ice cream has either 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than the producer’s regular ice cream. Here’s the hitch: because of the starting point of fat content, light versions of premium ice cream can have more fat and calories than the regular version of other brands.
Reduced fat ice cream must, by law, have 25% less fat than the regular ice cream produced by the same vendor.
Soft serve ice cream is the same as regular ice cream but is served at a higher temperature.
French Style Ice Cream also called glace, has a custard base that includes eggs, which makes it silky and rich.
Gelato (plural, gelati) has more milk than cream (if any) so its fat content is significantly lower. It doesn’t saturate your taste buds as much as ice cream so the flavor seems more intense. It’s often flavored with fresh fruit, nuts, chocolate, and other natural flavors. Gelato is served at a higher temperature than ice cream making it look more like frozen yogurt or whipped cream than ice cream.
Sorbet, which means water ice, is made from fruit, wine, or liqueur, but not milk, is sometimes flavored with herbs and spices and then whipped to lighten its texture. It’s sometimes used as a palate cleanser.
Sherbet, like sorbet, is traditionally fruit flavored but with milk added for creaminess. By law it contains between 1 and 2% butterfat – which makes it lighter in flavor and texture.
Granita is similar to sorbet but not whipped. Ice crystals give it a granular appearance and a crunchy texture.

How Many Calories?

There’s a huge variation in nutrition so it’s best to check labels if you’re counting calories, fats, and/or carbs. These are the general caloric ranges for “naked” ice cream and gelato (without sauce, toppings, nuts, and whipped cream):

3.5 oz of milk-based gelato has between 120 and 160 calories, 4g to 8 g of fat, and 30 g to 45 g of carbs.
Milk and soy-based gelato has between 3g and 5g of protein. Sorbet, with no dairy, has no protein.
3.5 oz of American ice cream (not churned, light, or reduced fat) averages 240 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 24g carbs.
3.5 oz of light ice cream can vary between 100 to close to 200 calories depending upon whether it is just light or if it is slow churned light. The flavor and the add-ins for the flavor can significantly raise the calorie count.
Frozen yogurt also has a wide range of calories depending on fat content. Frozen yogurt can be as caloric, if not more caloric, than other frozen desserts.

Tip: Order a small serving of ice cream or gelato instead of a medium or large. You’ll probably be just as satisfied. Even if you indulge in your favorite full-fat flavor, you’ll save as many as 550 calories with a 5-ounce size of ice cream instead of a 12-ounce size.

It’s Summertime: Are You Raiding The Cabinets And Fridge More Than Usual?

June 20, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It’s summertime. School’s out. You’re on vacation. Maybe you have a beach or lake house or maybe you’re just home – but so are the kids – all day long. Vacation and kids: most likely you’ve let down your eating guard.

There’s food in the house that might not usually be there. It’s singing a siren song. It’s almost preordained that you’ll find yourself in your kitchen opening and closing cabinet doors or with cold air from the open fridge door in your face as you shove around containers full of ice cream, sugared cereal, chips, yesterday’s cake, and slices of cold pizza.

Once you’ve opened the first door – whether it’s the fridge or a cabinet, chances are you’re a goner unless someone interrupts you midstream (even that might not stop the rolling freight train). The notion of (sweet/salty/fatty/caloric food has embedded itself in your brain and has firmly taken root.

Calorie Savers:

The easiest thing to do is to not bring the food into the house. Most of us follow, whether we like it or not, a See It = Eat It pattern. If the food is right in front of your nose whether it’s on the counter or on the shelf in the fridge or in a cabinet, you will eat the food. If it’s sugary, salty, fatty food you will want more.

If you’re going to eat, use a plate and utensils. Always put your food on a plate or in a bowl — the smaller the better. The size of the plate – or bowl – or container can often determine how much you ultimately eat. Make it a smaller dessert bowl or plate, not a monster size cereal bowl or dinner plate. If you stand there with fork or spoon in hand and just attack the container, in the blink of an eye it’s possible to polish off an entire pint of ice cream, a double piece of cake or half (or maybe a whole) bag of cookies.

Eat with a teaspoon or small fork not with a tablespoon or a large fork or with your fingers. Large amounts of food disappear much more quickly with fingers or large utensils as shovels. The food disappears down the hatch so quickly that your brain doesn’t have time to register that you’ve eaten something – until you’ve probably overeaten way too much food and way too many calories.

Don’t bring home leftovers. Don’t let them invade your space. Don’t bring back the leftover pizza or the leftover cake from the picnic.

If you just can’t bring yourself to leave your leftovers in the hands of the restaurant: hide the stuff that tempts you. Out of sight, out of mind is really true. We all tend to eat more when it’s right in front of us. Food we like – especially higher calorie sugary, fatty, and salty foods — trigger cravings and eating.

How To Keep Your Food Safe In The Sun And Heat

June 11, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

It’s hot outside. When you open your car door after it’s been sitting in the parking lot you’re hit with a blast of heat that seems hotter than an oven.

The Temperature Rises Quickly Inside A Car

The temperature rises quickly inside a closed car — even when it’s only moderately warm outside.

A study found that at 9AM (in some very hot place!) when the outside temperature was 82 degrees, the temperature inside a closed car was 109 degrees. At 1:30PM, it was 112 degrees outside and 124 degrees inside a closed car.

Cracking the windows helped, but only a little. At 10AM, with four windows cracked, it was 88 degrees outside but 103 degrees inside the car. At 2PM at 110 degrees outside it was 123 degrees inside.

None of these are safe conditions for living creatures, and not for keeping fresh and prepared food in your car, either.

What About The Food You’re Taking To A Picnic?

Pity the poor picnic fixins’ you just bought – or the take-out food you just picked up — sitting in extremely hot temperatures in the back of your car. Boxed food might be fine, but meat, dairy, cut food like fresh fruit, salads, and prepared foods — not so good.

Most bacteria don’t go crazy below 40°F or above 140°F. But the temperature range in between, known as the “Danger Zone,” is where they multiply rapidly and can reach harmful levels. A single bacterium that divides every half hour can result in 17 million offspring in 12 hours!

Raw meat and poultry may contain bacteria that can cause food borne illnesses, and sitting in the temperature danger zone can cause those bad guys to multiply dramatically. Meat and poultry have to be cooked to destroy bacteria and should be kept at temperatures that are either too hot or too cold for these bacteria to grow.

Picnic Food And Temperature Control

To prevent bacteria in food from rapidly multiplying which leads to food borne illness, food has to be kept at certain temperatures to prevent the growth of food borne bacteria. The key: don’t let your picnic food stay in the “Danger Zone” (between 40° F and 140° F) for more than 2 hours, or only for one hour if the outdoor temperature is higher than 90° F.

Perishable food can stay safely unrefrigerated for two hours if the air temperature is less than 90 degrees – and only for one hour if the temperature is 90 degrees or higher.

Keep hot foods hot: above 140°F. Keep cold foods cold: below 40°F.

Remember to include preparation, storage, and serving time in determining how long food has been out of the fridge or off the heat.

Transporting, Preparing, And Serving

To prevent food borne diseases, food safety is crucial both when you transport your food and when you prepare and serve it.

Transporting Your Food

Think about the type of food you’re buying. If you have perishable items do what you have to do to keep hot food hot and cold food cold.

Think about your route and how many errands you have to do. Stop to buy beer and paper plates before you pick up the food — not afterward while it’s baking in the car.

To be on the safe side, keep a cooler, cold packs, or insulated bags in your car for perishable items. Make sure the cooler hasn’t turned into a portable oven because it’s been sitting in the car for so long.

Be certain that raw meat and poultry are wrapped securely to prevent their juices from cross-contaminating other foods and dripping on fruit and veggies that you’ve already washed.

Buy a bag of ice if you need to for keeping cold stuff cold and frozen stuff frozen or bring some frozen gel packs with you.

At The Picnic Site

Food spoilage and cross-contamination are major issues when preparing and eating food outdoors in warm weather — especially when you’re at a remote site (like a camp or park) without a kitchen.

How will you keep things clean – not just the food, but the platters, utensils, and your hands? Is there a source of potable (drinking) water that you can use for cooking and cleaning? You don’t want to use water that’s not safe to drink to wash your food or utensils. If there isn’t, bring water or pack clean, wet cloths, moist towelettes, or paper towels for cleaning your hands and surfaces. Cross-contamination during preparation, grilling, and serving food is a prime cause of food borne illness.

Wash your hands before and after handling food, and don’t use the same platter and utensils for both raw and cooked meat and poultry.

Keep hot food hot and cold food cold the entire picnic – keeping food at unsafe temperatures is a major cause of food borne illness. The temperature spikes in direct sunlight so keep coolers in the shade.

Food shouldn’t be out of the cooler or off the grill for more than 2 hours (one hour when the temperature is above 90°F).

Perishable and cooked foods like meat, chicken, and mayonnaise-based salads have to be kept cold, too. Keep cold food in the fridge and don’t stock the cooler until right before you leave home. Keep the cooler in the coolest part of the car while you’re traveling. (FYI: don’t stuff the refrigerator because cool air has to circulate to keep food safe.)

If you have a long trip consider freezing the food and putting it into the cooler frozen and allowing it to defrost (to a cold temperature, not warm) in transit.

If you bring hot take-out food like ribs or chicken, it should be eaten within two hours of when it was plucked from the store’s steam table. If you buy it ahead of time, first chill the food in your refrigerator and then before pack it in an insulated cooler.

Pack beverages in one cooler and perishable foods in another so the perishable foods won’t be repeatedly exposed to warm outdoor air temperatures as people keep opening the cooler for drinks. A full cooler will hold its cold temperature longer than one that’s partly full so pack plenty of extra ice or freezer packs to maintain a constant cold temperature.

Throw out any perishable foods from picnics or barbecues that have been kept out too long or not adequately chilled or heated. “If in doubt, throw it out.”

10 Ways To Save Calories At Summer Parties, Picnics, And Barbecues

June 6, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Before you grab some tasty morsel, ask yourself if you really want it. Are you hungry? Is it worth the calories? Odds are, the tempting display of food in front of you is visually seductive – and may smell great, too — but you’re reaching out to eat what’s in front of you for reasons not dictated by your stomach but by your eyes.
Do you really need to stand in front of the picnic table, kitchen table, or barbecue? The further away from the food you are the less likely you are to eat it. Don’t sit or stand where you can see the food that’s calling your name. Keep your back to it if you can’t keep distant. There’s just so much control you can exercise before “see it = eat it.”
Don’t show up absolutely starving. How can you resist all the tempting food when your blood sugar is in the basement and your stomach is singing a chorus?
If you know that the barbecued ribs, the blueberry pie, or your cousin’s potato salad is your downfall, acknowledge that you’re going to have it or steer clear. For most of us, swearing that you’ll only take a taste is a promise that is doomed to fail and you end up with second or third helpings heaped on your plate.
If you’re asked to bring something to a party, picnic, or barbecue, bring food you can eat with abandon – fruit, salad with dressing on the side, maybe berries and angel food cake for dessert (there’s no fat in angel food cake and moderate calories). Bring something that’s a treat but not over the top. That way you know you’ll always have some “go to” food.
Really eyeball the food choices so you know what’s available. Then make a calculated decision about what you‘re going to eat. Taking some of everything means that you’ll eat some of everything. Is that what you want to do?
Take the food you’ve decided to eat, sit down, enjoy it without guilt, and be done with it. No going back for seconds.
If you’re full, stop eating and clear your plate right away. If it hangs around in front of you, you’ll keep picking at it until there’s nothing left. An exception – a study has found that looking at the “carnage” – the leftover bones from barbecued ribs or even the number of empty beer bottles – serves as a visual reminder of how much you’ve already had to eat or drink.
Give yourself permission to eat – and enjoy — the special dessert or a burger or ribs. If you don’t, you’ll probably be miserable. Then when you get home you end up gobbling down everything in sight because you made yourself miserable by not eating the stuff that you wanted in the first place! But no seconds and no first portions that are the equivalent of firsts, seconds and thirds built into one.
If hanging around the food gets to be too much, go for a walk, a swim, or engage someone in an animated conversation. It’s pretty hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re busy talking.

Nine Easy Calorie Saving Tips

June 4, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Are you worried about gaining weight over vacation or from eating too much at the weddings and parties you’re planning to attend?

Have a plan — It could be your saving grace. Think about how you want to handle yourself in the face of family picnics, barbecues, fresh strawberry shortcake, and ice cream cones with sprinkles.

Your plan doesn’t have to be engraved in stone but if you have an idea about how and when you’re going to eat you’ll be far less likely to nibble and nosh all day and night. You’re in charge of what goes into your mouth.

1. Make simple swaps in the food you prepare and the food you choose at parties, picnics, and restaurants. Reduce the amount of fat and calories by doing things like using skim milk instead of whole milk, applesauce in place of oil, or two-thirds or one-half of the sugar called for in a recipe. Look online for plenty of tips about swaps and substitutions. Make a horse trade or a deal with yourself that might have you avoiding the breadbasket or a pre-dinner drink if you’re going to have dessert or an ice cream cone instead of a muffin.

2. Beware of food landmines. It’s so easy to be fooled by fatty sauces and dressings on innocent looking vegetables. Vegetables are great. Veggies smothered with butter, cheese, croutons, and/or bacon are loaded with calories. Liquid calories really add up, too, and they don’t fill you up. Plan ahead of time about how many drinks you’ll have – and adjust your menu choices accordingly.

3. Let this be your mantra: no seconds. Choose your food, fill your plate, and that’s it. Keep a running account in your head of how many hors d’ oeuvre you’ve eaten or how many cookies. Keep away from food spreads at home, the beach, or at the hotel’s breakfast buffet to help limit nibbling, noshing, and replenishing.

4. Stop eating when before you’re full. If you keep eating until your stomach finally feels full you’ll likely end up feeling stuffed when you do stop eating. It takes a little time (around 20 minutes) for your brain to catch up and realize your stomach is full. A lot of eating is done with your eyes and your eyes love to tell you to try this and to try that.

5. Use a fork and knife instead of your fingers, a teaspoon rather that a tablespoon. Chopsticks slow you down even more. Chew your food instead of wolfing it down. If you have to work at eating your food – cutting with a knife for instance – you’ll eat more mindfully than if you pick food up with your fingers and pop it into your mouth. Before you eat drink some water, a no- or low-calorie beverage, or some clear soup. The liquids fill up your stomach and leave less room for the high calorie stuff. If you know you’re going to eat treats, pick one portion controlled treat to eat each day. Pick it ahead of time and commit to your choice so you don’t find yourself wavering in the face of temptation.

6. Plan ahead, commit to your plan, and don’t go to a party or event feeling ravenous. Before you go eat a small healthy snack that‘s around 150 calories with some protein and fiber: fat free yogurt and fruit, a portion controlled serving of nuts, a small piece of cheese and fruit, or a spoonful of peanut butter with a couple of whole grain crackers. Have a no-cal or low-cal drink like water, tea, or coffee, too. When you get to the party or dinner you won’t be as likely to attack the hors d’oeuvres or the breadbasket.

7. Choose your food wisely. If you can, pick lean proteins like fish, poultry, and the least fatty cuts of pork, beef, and lamb that are grilled or broiled, not fried or sautéed. Consider beans or eggs as your protein source. Load up on vegetables – preferably ones that are not smothered in cheese or dripping with oil. Eat your turkey without the skin. You can save around 200 calories at dessert by leaving the piecrust sitting on the plate. The same thing is true for ice cream toppings like hot fudge sauce and whipped cream.

8. Leave the breadbasket at the other end of the table. If you absolutely must have bread, go easy or without butter or oil. One teeny pat of butter has 36 calories, a tablespoon has 102 and 99% of them is from fat. A tablespoon of oil has about 120 calories. Would you rather have the oil or butter or a cookie for dessert or another glass of wine? Which calories will be more satisfying?

9. Keep the number of drinks under control and watch the mixers. Certain drinks are much higher in calories than others. There’s a couple of hundred calories difference between a glass of wine or beer and a good-sized margarita. Calorie free drinks would be better yet – even if you alternate you’re your alcoholic beverages you still cut your alcohol calories in half. Calories from alcohol do not fill you up.