Monday, December 3, 2012

Review: Arctic Zero Vanilla Maple Frozen Dessert


To say my last Arctic Zero review was underwhelming would be an accurate statement.  I think these hyper low calorie frozen desserts are an awesome idea, but they can get a little pricey.  If the product has good flavor though, that price is worth it in order to save some calories (some of the Walden Farms products, for example).  Since I picked up a couple of pints on my trip, it's time to take a look at this Arctic Zero Vanilla Maple Frozen Dessert that I picked up on the same trip to Kroger for $4.99 (sale price).  It's 150 calories per pint and like most pints of ice cream, it contains four half-cup servings.



Opening this up, there's not a whole lot to look at it.  It's white frozen dessert and if you let it melt a bit (per the instructions), it is moderately creamy for something that contains no dairy.  The dessert does smell a bit like maple syrup, so in terms of delivering on part of the flavor promise, Arctic Zero at least succeeds on the smell test.

They succeed on the taste test too as I found this point to be genuinely enjoyable.  The maple flavor wasn't necessarily strong, but it did provide a nice accent to a moderate vanilla flavor.  One could almost make the argument that I was eating a vanilla butter on top of a pancake and being that pancakes (and syrup) are on my list of favorite foods, anything that at least resembles a re-creation of that is a good thing in my book.  Texturally, this was a bit creamy after I let it melt a bit and it did have some sort of "creaminess" to it, which was quite nice.  Still, it was a bit icy, but considering what it could have been, I was willing to put up with that iciness in order to get a solid tasting product.

Buy It or Fly By It?  Unlike the last pint that I tried out, I give this a BUY IT rating.  It's a genuinely enjoyable pint of frozen dessert and while it's not going to knock your socks off with its flavor, it does have a solid taste and makes a nice way to make your way through a pint of dessert with a relatively guilt free mindset after you realize that it's only 150 calories for the whole container.  In this case, the extra price is worth it because the flavor delivers.

BUY IT!!

4 comments:

  1. Hey Man, I am surprised you did not like the PB flavor. I really am sorry to hear that. We seem to enjoy most of the same foods.
    I personally like all the flavors except I find the strawberry boring. The mint flavor reminds me of 'thin-mint' cookies, and the coffee is enjoyable too (and I don't even drink coffee normally). The pumpkin is a nice holiday treat, but after a pint of the stuff, I usually don't want any more until next year, and instead reach for the other flavors.

    This maple-vanilla is real good though. Especially with some honey, cinnamon, and crushed corn flakes on top!

    I wrote about the various flavors and my personal FAVORITE Arctic Zero 'topping' over on Fed Up:
    http://fedupfood.com/2012/04/24/it-is-ok-to-eat-the-entire-pint/

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  2. I've tried them all aside from the mint, coffee, and pumpkin, and found the maple-vanilla reminiscent of canned frosting. At first it was good, but after a few spoons it was too much. The strawberry is like blah fruit sorbet, and the chocolate tastes too watered down.. I personally enjoyed the PB best, but I saw a special on NBC that proved companies touting these low-calorie foods are lying. They tested a handful and Arctic Zero was the biggest culprit, nearly doubling the actual amount of calories stated on the label… Truly upsetting, so you might as well eat the real stuff.

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    Replies
    1. After that NBC special, Arctic Zero retested their products and the results are published on their website, though I don't think NBC bothered mentioning those findings.
      I personally like the cookies and cream flavor. It doesn't taste like cookies and cream, but it tastes good, whatever it is! I agree that the strawberry is rather disappointing though.

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  3. the lid says 150 calories per pint not serving and the texture/ingredients/sweetness are good but the peanut butter one had an after taste that I can't describe. you smell it but its just not there for the price of $5.29 at Smith's. I tried again with the vanilla maple; same thing, where's the flavor? I guess I could add some blueberries...

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