Ice cream is one of the top guilty pleasures of all dieters! Thanks to the ever-increasing popularity of the Keto diet, more and more brands are coming up with low carb ice creams! Today we’ll find out: Is Enlightened Ice Cream Keto?
Who doesn’t crave ice cream on a keto diet?
In fact, you’ll be amazed to know that more than 70% of people cheat on their diets with ice creams and pizzas!
Enlightened is a brand that sells “healthy” ice cream in pints, bars, and dairy-free options. It recently came out with their Keto Ice Cream which has a very low number of net carbs!
And Enlightened isn’t the first one to offer keto ice creams. We have many more players in the market such as Halo Top and Rebel Ice Cream.
The key difference between keto ice creams and other “healthy” ice creams is that keto ones simply focus on the net carbs and not the calories!
Our beloved keto diet is all about low-carb and high-fat foods!
It pays little attention to calories, which means we can eat to the point of fullness, unlike other diets where you literally starve yourself to death!
Having said that, there are still a lot of factors to consider while judging if an item is Keto approved.
Just because the label says “keto” doesn’t mean you can easily get away with it!
For example, some food items like the Sugar-Free Jell-O contain Maltodextrin, which can potentially kick you out of ketosis when consumed in large amounts!
In this article, we’ll see whether the Enlightened Ice Cream is really keto-friendly and how to make the most out of it.
Is Enlightened Ice Cream Really Keto?
The Keto Collection from Enlightened is very keto-friendly and has just 1g net carbs per serving. They are flavored with sugar-free sweeteners like Monk Fruit and Erythritol which won’t impact ketosis.
One serving (half cup) of their Red Velvet Keto Ice Cream has 180 calories, 16g fat, 1g protein, and just 1g net carbs.
Back in August 2019, Enlightened realized the massive popularity of keto and launched a whole new range of low carb ice cream!
They maintain the keto standards by using high-fat dairy and carb-free sweeteners!
However, you should completely avoid all other variants outside their Keto Collection!
The keto range from Enlightened includes ice cream bars and ice cream pints.
Here are all the flavors of Keto Ice Cream pints from Enlightened:
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- P.B. Cookie & Brownie Dough
- Peppermint Brownie
- Caramel Chocolate Double Dough
- Butter Pecan
- Chocolate Glazed Donut
- Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Coffee & Cream
- Mint Chocolate Chunk
- Peanut Butter Fudge
- Red Velvet (My favorite!)
Enlightened’s Keto game simply doesn’t end with their low carb pints! They also offer insanely delicious ice cream bars for us keto-ers!
- Caramel Dark Chocolate Peanut Bars
- Dark Chocolate Bars
- Marshmallow Peanut Bars
- Mint Chocolate Chip Bars
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
The huge symbol on the box saying “1g net carbs” can be very misleading! In fact, when I first saw the ad, I thought the whole pint has just 1g carbs!
My binge-eating dreams were shattered as soon as I realized that it is a half-cup serving!
Either way, it’s still a pretty good deal for satisfying those midnight ice cream cravings on keto!
Thanks to the high-fat diet, we can actually enjoy the cream in ice cream as there’s no fuss about calories!
Other “healthy” versions of ice cream in the market can’t even afford heavy cream as it adds a lot of calories.
So if you’re wondering “is Enlightened Ice Cream Ok for Keto?”, the answer is Yes, but it applies only to their Keto Collection.
All other variants are filthy rich in carbs and might throw you out of ketosis!
Enlightened Ice Cream Flavor with LEAST Net Carbs
Every variant of Enlightened’s Keto Collection has just 1g net carbs per serving.
However, if you go outside the keto collection, even the one with the least carbs contains a whopping 4g net carbs per serving!
Enlightened Keto Ice Cream Review
Enlightened Ice Cream has gathered its own sweet spot in the eyes of fitness enthusiasts!
An ice cream with just 60 calories per serving? It’s a dream come true for every fitness geek!
This ice cream is a combination of skimmed milk, milk protein isolate, erythritol, and non-GMO-soluble corn fiber, along with other ingredients.
They also contain 8g of protein and as low as 5g sugar per serving, which is highly contrasting with regular ice-creams in the market!
Now let’s talk about what we are here for: Keto!
Keto is a very low-carb diet where the average daily limit is 25g of carbs. There are only a limited number of items we can eat within that allowance!
As more and more people are hopping onto the keto wagon, each brand is trying to push a low-carb keto-friendly version of popular “unhealthy” snacks.
For example, check out:
- Keto-Friendly Peanut Butter Cups
- Low Carb Cookies
- Keto-Friendly Protein Chips
- Sugar Free Soda with Zero Carbs
Similarly, Enlightened launched a whole range of keto ice cream pints and ice cream bars for low carb enthusiasts like us!
It has just 1g net carbs per serving which is quite a dream come true!
Let me walk you through different ice creams offered by Enlightened and how they score in the keto-meter!
Keto Collection Pints
Originally famous for their low-calorie ice creams, Enlightened is gaining all the love for their low-carb ice creams as well!
It’s the brand’s answer to the highly trending Keto diet.
They launched it back in August 2019 and it’s still a fairly new range of ice cream.
A single serving (half a cup) of Enlightened’s Keto Ice Cream has just 1g net carbs, making it very suitable for the keto diet!
Even though they have a whopping variety of 11 flavors, your local stores might store only a few. My personal favorite is the Red Velvet which is really rich and creamy and sweetened to perfection!
If the store fails you, no worries! You can simply order online from their official website and receive your package with dry ice!
You welcome the ice cream in a rock-solid texture and it won’t melt down even in the summer heat, thanks to the dry ice.
Caution: Enlightened Keto Ice cream also contains soluble corn fiber which is a source of hidden carbs in the keto diet.
It is a type of fiber that may impact your insulin levels and affect your levels of ketosis!
However, they do not mention the exact amount of fiber present. It’s probably a very tiny amount which shouldn’t bother us.
But knowing the different types of fiber can be very beneficial for a keto-er in the long term!
Keto Collection Bars
Honestly, I’m a big fan of ice cream bars rather than the scoops!
They are so much convenient and easy to serve and there’s no portion control required!
You can easily overeat when you have a whole pint sitting right in front of you. On the other hand, a bar is just.. a bar!
And no matter how low-carb an ice-cream is, it’s only good if you consume it in a limited quantity!
Enlightened has come out with Keto-Friendly ice cream bars with a wide range of exotic flavors!
They dropped these low carb bars just a month after the launch of their keto-friendly ice cream pints!
- Caramel Dark Chocolate Peanut Bars: 230 calories, 21g fat, and 1g net carbs
- Dark Chocolate Bars: 180 calories, 16g fat, and 1g net carbs
- Marshmallow Peanut Bars: 190 calories, 17g fat, and 1g net carbs
- Mint Chocolate Chip Bars: 180 calories, 16g fat, and 1g net carbs
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars: 190 calories, 17g fat, and 1g net carbs
How come an ice cream has such a low number of carbs? Are they even sweet?
Hell yes! They are sweetened with Erythritol and Monk Fruit, both of which are sugar-free alternatives with zero calories!
You can spot these lovelies at Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Publix, Shaws, Wegmans, Kroger, and even at your local stores!
A single serving of Enlightened Keto Ice Cream Bars has less than 1g net carbs which makes them really keto.
Sometimes I feel that their Keto bars taste like a less sweet version of Cool Whip!
You may also feel a weird after-taste if you are new to the world of keto sweeteners.
Check Out: EVERYTHING Keto at Publix
Healthy Ice Cream & Bars
Enlightened ice cream as an alternative to the much “unhealthy” ice creams out there!
You can enjoy a scoop or two without feeling guilty and cheating on your diet.
In fact, Enlightened is one of the few brands that originally came out with healthy ice creams.
Low-Calorie Ice Cream from Enlightened is not at all keto-friendly as it has an average of 6g net carbs per serving!
It is specially made for people on calorie-restricted diets and is a very low-fat, low-calorie substitute to the regular ice cream.
Similarly, their regular ice cream bars are also NOT keto-friendly as they are high in carbs.
Dairy-Free Ice Cream & Bars
Are you a Vegan who REALLY digs ice cream? Well, Enlightened heard you a long time back!
Dairy shouldn’t be an obstacle in your love for ice creams!
Enlightened offers dairy-free ice cream bars and ice cream pints that are low-fat, low-sugar, and fortified with dietary fiber.
It’s a vegan-friendly option to help you manage that sweet tooth!
And it does that within a budget of 100 calories, which is why it’s hugely popular with fitness enthusiasts!
However, the dairy-free ice cream has 13g net carbs per serving which is not at all keto-friendly!
Enlightened Ice Cream Ingredients
Enlightened’s keto collection has the following ingredients:
- Cream
- Water
- Erythritol
- Egg yolks
- Non-GMO soluble corn fiber
- Dutch cocoa
- Natural flavor
- Milk protein concentrate
- Skim milk
- Butter
- Buttermilk
- Cream cheese
- Coconut oil
- Monk fruit extract
You should make it a habbit to always scan nutrition labels while grocery shopping!
Only then you can truly judge whether a food is keto-approved.
Out of all the ingredients in Enlightened Keto ice cream, the only questionable item is the soluble corn fiber!
All brands deduct the soluble fiber while calculating net carbs.
However, experts now believe that they can impact ketosis and should also form a part of net carbs!
The label says that it contains 2g of dietary fiber per serving. Now we don’t know what portion is the soluble fiber!
Either way, I don’t think its a significant amount to trouble our keto. So ENJOY!
Their keto collection is NOT vegan as it contains milk and eggs.
Will Keto Ice Cream Kick You Out of Ketosis?
A single serving of Enlightened’s keto ice cream has just 1g net carbs.
It is flavored with sugar-free sweeteners which won’t spike your blood sugar.
So the keto ice cream will not throw you out of keto mode unless you are eating several pints a day!
Rebel Creamery: A Good Alternative?
Well, Enlightened isn’t the only keto-ice cream that you are stuck with!
Whether Enlightened is out of stock at your local store, or you simply want to try another brand, Rebel Ice Cream can be a great bet!
The keto world is bombarded with brands right and left! This has its own set of advantages and disadvantages.
One of the major advantages is that you now have tons of options to choose from!
Rebel is one of the early manufacturers of keto-centered ice creams!
One serving of Rebel’s Vanilla ice cream has 10g of carbs, 2g of fiber, 0 sugars, and 7g erythritol, giving you just 1g of net carbs per serving!
To be honest, Rebel is by far the tastiest keto ice cream I’ve ever tasted!
I’m a very picky eater and Rebel is the only brand that gets a “pass” from me on all its flavors. Chocolate and Butter Pecan are among my top favorites!
Conclusion
Is Enlightened Ice Cream Keto?
Enlightened foods have launched a whole range of low carb ice cream pints and bars. They have 1g net carb and 17g of fat per serving, which makes it very keto-friendly ice cream.
However, all of their other collections are filthy rich in carbs and you must completely avoid them!