I love ice cream! It doesn’t matter if it’s freezing outside, I’m still down for a bowl of ice cream.
The only downside is that ice cream can be notoriously hard on your blood sugar when you live with diabetes. The high fat, high carbohydrate combination makes it extra challenging.
So when all the low fat, low carb ice creams started to hit the shelves in my local grocery store, I was excited! And then, quickly disappointed, for most of the low-carb ice creams available don’t even deserve the label ice cream.
But you know me, I never give up 😉, and after trying pretty much every low-carb ice cream brand available, I finally found Re:THINK Ice Cream, and it blew my mind.
So let me walk you through why I love Re:THINK Ice Cream, how my blood sugars react after eating it, and where you can get yours.
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY RE:THINK ICE CREAM. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN
What makes Re:THINK Ice Cream different
What really makes Re:THINK Ice Cream different from the other low-carb ice cream options available is that while most low-carb ice creams are heavy on fat and artificial sweeteners, Re:THINK Ice Cream chose a different route.
Their ice cream is protein-infused and made with lactose-free A2/A2 dairy (so great for those who can’t digest regular cow’s milk). And it’s not just any protein they use, it’s collagen protein which has been one of my favorite blood sugar friendly protein supplements since 2017.
Their ice cream is based on whole milk and agave, and if it’s flavored with low-sugar, all-natural extracts and flavoring ingredients. This means that it has a small impact on blood sugars, but it also means that you avoid the bloating and discomfort many people (me included) get from eating artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols.
According to Re:THINK, their ice cream tests at 17-19 (out of 100) on the Glycemic Index and has an overall glycemic load of 1.7 (very low).
A serving is a ½ cup or ~83 grams and most flavors have 10 grams of carbs or less and 140-160 calories per serving. That makes this ice cream a lower-calorie, low in carb option, as a serving of Vanilla Supreme ice cream has 140 calories and 8 grams of carbs.
And this ice cream is definitely not vanilla! Nothing wrong with a good vanilla ice cream but I enjoy more potent flavors and Re:THINK Ice Cream really delivers on that.
I tried 7 different flavors (I told you told I’m dedicated) and I’m impressed. My favorites are Black Cherry Vanilla, Strawberry with Chia Seeds, and Chocolate Majesty. But then again the Coffee Hazelnut and Lemon with Poppy Seed quickly grew on me as well.
Now we just need to put in a petition for them to do a cookie dough (my childhood favorite) and I think I’ll be eating Re:THINK Ice Cream daily.
How it impacts my blood sugar
From a diabetes perspective, I’m excited about how gentle the ice cream is on my blood sugar. It’s not carb-less, but the 10 grams of carbs and the amount of protein means that the ice cream won’t make my blood sugars skyrocket.
Furthermore, the relatively low amount of fat means that my blood sugars won’t start rising in the hours after I’ve enjoyed my ice cream. Remember, high-fat foods can slow down the release of glucose into the bloodstream, which is why regular ice cream can mess with your blood sugars for hours after you have polished off your bowl.
So let me show you what happened in the 3 hours after I enjoyed a bowl of ice cream. Below is my Dexcom graph for those hours. As you can see, there was a minimal blood sugar impact about an hour after I finished my ice cream and it wasn’t more than a 20 mg/dl (1.1 mmol/l) increase.
I did inject (bolus) fast-acting insulin for my ice cream, as even a small amount of carbohydrates (and protein) will make my blood sugar rise. Usually, I’ll try to remember to pre-bolus (inject my insulin 10-15 minutes before I eat), but I forgot that this day, so what you see is the blood sugar impact without a pre-bolus. I hardly see that an increase and I’m very happy with that, but had I pre-bolused, you would have seen an even flatter blood sugar graph.
How to enjoy Re:THINK Ice Cream
I’ve found that for the best tasting ice cream and blood sugar management, I bolus for the 10 grams of carbs and then grab the ice cream out of the freezer and leave it on the counter for 10-15 minutes.
Generally, most ice cream should be left out for a while for the flavors to really shine. I even tried one other low-carb ice cream brand that recommended that you microwave it first (and no, that didn’t taste good).
By leaving the ice cream out for 10-15 minutes, the flavors pop, the ice cream is perfectly scoopable, and my blood sugars behave perfectly. Win-win.
Where to get it and pricing
Re:THINK Ice Cream can be bought in stores across the US west coast (store finder here) and you can also order it online and get it sent directly to your doorstep (packed in dry ice so it keeps cool).
Prices online are $5.99 per pint plus shipping.
I’ve tried tons of low carb and low sugar icecreams (not this one yet). My issue with them is the texture. I have a thing for texture in all foods. For example, I won’t eat pulled pork or anything with that texture. For ice cream, I won’t touch soft ice cream from a machine due to the texture. I can only eat ice cream that is solid and hard. I find that most of the low carb ones are not dense enough 🙂 Nikki