Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Monday, September 24, 2012

Now that summer is over...

...it's time to get my butt back in shape! Too many margaritas, hot dogs, cookouts, and of course ice cream cones for me. Funny I was talking to a friend recently who said summer is her season to get in shape. You can be outdoors all the time, go for a quick run, do a triathalon (well not me!) and so much more than you can do any other time of the year. For me it's the opposite. Our weekends are so overbooked in the summer and we try to get in every ounce of sun with the kids that no time is left for me. So now I am kicking myself into gear and at bootcamp class at 6am three days a week. Problem though is...ice cream. Who knew that would be a problem!

So this week when I went to the grocery store I was strategic about my choices....portion control and sugar free. Seriously there are actually good options out there without having to suck on flavored ice!

I ended up bringing home two different options to see which I preferred and also know if I don't eat them my ice cream loving child will. Girl after my own heart! My strategy.... one option that was premium ice cream but in a small portion controlled size or go for quantity and choose a larger bar but one that is sugar free. My daughter and I had differing opinions of which would be our favorite. More on that later.

Here is is the ongoing question.....quality over quantity VS quantity over quality!? I always pick one way. And here is what I ended up bringing home....

Magnum Mini Classic
(1.85 oz bar - Box says serving size is 2 bars so I cut nutritional facts in half)
150 calories
10 gram fat
25 grams sugar
















(4 oz ice cream bar)
170 calories
10 gram fat
7 grams sugar 



Once again....drum roll please...my favorite hands down but doesn't mean I didn't like the other is the Magnum Mini. I take quality over quantity all day long on most things. The chocolate is thick and rich and totally satisfies my sweet tooth and the ice cream is super creamy. All I need is that little bit of something really good. On the other hand my daughter argued with me about Klondike being the better option. She loved the Krunch in the chocolate coating and for her the mini just seemed too small. She agreed the serving size is two. And what did she do...had another!


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Cruisin' New Hampshire's Rte 16 for Ice Cream


It's been a long week since the family trip to NH in the outdoors of New England with Scott and Holly and Chace just enjoying each other and all that is great about New England in the summer….Storyland, outdoors, and ice cream. I had intended to upload some ice cream pics as we enjoyed it but wherever we were service was spotty so now i get to showcase it all and more.


So we were on our way to North Conway, NH for a family vacation, described in tourism magazines as the shopping mecca of NH which makes me snicker quite a bit. Many of you know that it's a quick ride up there but with two kids in tow it's never that way but we somehow managed to get up there rather quickly and only stopped for ice cream once along the way. It was a good old rest stop novelty item had by Holly. Anyways, on our way up Rt 16 heading towards Conway we saw the cutest shop, The Dam Ice Cream Shop,  located amazingly on a dam. We took a mental note and continued on.

Well our first night didn't consist of ice cream but it did entail stopping at the local grocer to stock up on a half gallon for the week(great thing about renting a condo instead of a hotel…a fridge for cocktails and ice cream!) which my daughter chose the Hannaford's store brand, Overloaded Peanut Butter Cup Infusion. It was actually not so bad. Day one….called for clouds so the hubby took the kids to an indoor water park and well I shopped at the "mecca" with my BFF and the highlight of the day was our last stop to Molly B's Ice Cream. Located on Rt 16 just past the center of town in what seemed to be an old storefront. And when I say old probably 1800s old. Upon walking in it was sort of cute and really bright pink but definitely needs some TLC in the decor department. There are a couple small tables inside and some picnic tables outside. Regardless I was there for ice cream and I immediately saw a flavor I had to have….Peanut Butter Caramel Cookie Dough. Seriously what else could be in this. It was exactly what it sounds like…vanilla base with mini peanut butter cups, swirls of caramel and chunks of cookie dough. Yes it was very sweet but awesome and then because I always have to try two flavors, I chose Maine Wild Blueberry. Some fruit to balance out the sweetness. Both were awesome and I would take seconds any day. The ice cream isn't homemade but made by Gifford's which is a great New England brand. Portion sizes were quite good too. I ordered a small with two flavors and it was more than enough.


Next stop and one we also had our eye on when we drove in was Lickety Splitz, this too located on Rt 16 in North Conway but before the main part of town. I think it was the playground that did it for me knowing i could enjoy my ice cream while the kids played. This is more of your typical ice cream shop but pretty neat decor with all vintage decor and lots of seating. They had these old phones lined up against the wall and my son who is just starting to talk found it amusing to pick up every phone and scream "heeewwwwwooooooo!" which entertained the whole place. Too cute! So ice cream time…my choices of the evening were Cake batter and Mint Chocolate chip. My daughter chose Chocolate Lovers (or something like that) which I was quite jealous of after the fact and Scott's Strawberry looked suuper refreshing.. The Mint was what I expected nothing special but still good and the cake batter was the traditional yellow cake batter and was really good and nice and smooth. Always a favorite. They also had a sundae bar with tons of toppings which Holly of course had to get and smothered her ice cream with homemade whipped cream and sprinkles. It was late but we had plenty of time for the kids to enjoy the small playground as we enjoyed our ice cream. Oh and my guess is they too serve Gifford's ice cream.

Next day, next stop…back to Molly B's and only because it was closer to the condo and late and my daughter was growing many heads at the thought of not getting ice cream before bedtime so we made a quick stop. I had to go back for seconds of that Peanut Butter Caramel Cookie Dough and it was as good this time as it was the first. But three days in a row of ice cream was getting excessive so one flavor in a very small dish did it. The family…they had Rum Raisin (Scott's all-time favorite) and the kids had Oreo Cookie and Vanilla. Poor Chace gets vanilla wherever we go..less to stain!

And then we saved the best for last on our drive home, the Dam Ice Cream shop. This is the true New England ice cream shop on a charming little dam serving homemade Bobby-Sue's ice cream. And it was right on our way home on Rt 16 in Chocorua, NH about 20 minutes south of Conway NH. It has two little take out windows on a deck with some seating and and cute little eat in area but also picnic tables and seating by the dam. They also have a little gift shop but it was all way too little trinkety country things for me so we just enjoyed the ice cream. I have a laundry list of flavors we all tried. I had Kahlua Brownie and Black Raspberry and the rest tried Cappuccino Crunch, Peanut Butter, Cookie Dough and Vanilla. I have to say I was impressed by them all. I loved the Kahlua Brownie. Just the right touch of Kahlua flavoring to not be too strong and the brownie pieces were sweet and just the right amount distributed throughout. The Black Raspberry was quite good but again nothing too out of the ordinary. It was the Peanut Butter that stood out to me. It was just a smooth peanut butter flavor with no mixins. You might have thought it was vanilla had you seen it but it was super smooth and creamy. Scott is lucky I only had one bite. I didn't try his Cappuccino Crunch but he said he really liked it and said it wasn't strong at all which is what his concern was when ordering it. I loved the atmosphere, the service and the ice cream and the serving sizes were very good too. Apparently Bobby-Sue's has been a local homemade ice cream for 29 years and is located in Freedom, NH serving local restaurants and shops. I had never heard of them before but glad I had the chance to try it. I know we will definitely be back.



And finally….home where I finished off the Ciao Bella Fat Free Mango Sorbet! No guilt since the days prior did enough damage!

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