Skinny Cow makes a variety of lower-calorie, low-fat frozen treats, including ice cream and chocolates. Since I love ice cream and chocolate, and was on a mandatory low-fat diet a few years ago, I tried a bunch of their products. I don't have notes from then, but I do remember thinking the ice cream wasn't that bad (then again, it had been ages since I'd had real ice cream by point).
I forgot all about Skinny Cow once I could eat fat again, but recently re-discovered them when a friend was looking for ~100 calorie snacks that were more interesting than little bags of pretzels. Skinny Cow fits the bill nicely, although they certainly aren't diet products.
"Low fat pink velvet ice cream topped with a cream cheese flavored drizzle."
I was surprised when I read the nutrition information. Seriously, only 100 calories? 2.5 grams of fat? I wasn't sure how it was possible.
The first clue came when I opened a wrapper, and saw how petite they were. Still large enough to satisfy, but certainly on the smaller side. Portion control.
The second clue came when I realized that the "cream cheese flavored drizzle" really was just the thin white drizzle visible here. There was far too little of it to taste cream cheese. It added to the look, but certainly not to the taste, which is too bad, as the cream cheese icing is a rather essential aspect of red velvet. It did add a bit of crunch which I liked.
And finally, there was the ice cream itself. It wasn't creamy, at all. My bars had a bit freezer burn due to an unfortunate incident where the freezer was unplugged, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the full cause of the consistency issues. It did sorta taste like red velvet.
I wouldn't get these again, 100 calories or not, they just weren't very good.
Update: I had a second one at a later date. I was still disappointed by the cream cheese drizzle, but the ice cream itself was better. I ate it in the sun on a hot day, it got a bit melty and a bit more creamy. But, still no real flavor, and no reason to get these again.
I forgot all about Skinny Cow once I could eat fat again, but recently re-discovered them when a friend was looking for ~100 calorie snacks that were more interesting than little bags of pretzels. Skinny Cow fits the bill nicely, although they certainly aren't diet products.
Chocolates
Skinny Cow's line of chocolates all fall within the 110 to 130 calories range. They offer three chocolate lines: Divine Filled Chocolates (2 flavors), Heavenly Crisps (wafer bars, in 3 flavors), and Dreamy Clusters (2 flavors), all of which look like any other chocolate candies you'd find in the candy aisle. Although I guess a bit healthier?
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| Peanut Butter Creme Devine Filled Chocolates. |
"Velvety milk chocolate on the outside. Delicious peanut butter crème on the inside."
The Devine Filled Chocolates are available in two flavors: peanut butter or caramel. I think chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven, so, this was an easy choice. Each package contains 3 pieces, totaling 130 calories, so, 43 calories each, which ... yes, is significantly less than the 110 calories in a single Reese's peanut butter cup.
The milk chocolate coating was better than your standard Hershey, for sure. But, the peanut butter "crème" left something to be desired. There was far too little of it to really taste. I guess that is what keeps the calorie counts down, but, meh. Being able to taste the peanut butter is a core feature of a peanut butter based item. Half a Reese's pb cup is more satisfying than a full one of these.
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| Milk Chocolate Dreamy Clusters. |
"Unbelievably rich, bite-sized chewy clusters of creamy caramel and crispy pieces, covered in dreamy milk chocolate."
The Dreamy Clusters come in two varieties, dark or milk chocolate. Ojan picked these up for some reason, and went for the milk chocolate. The clusters are small and come in a portion controlled 120 calorie bag.
The clusters were highly unremarkable. Basic mediocre milk chocolate. Standard mediocre caramel, certainly not runny as shown in the photo. The crispies were a nice crunch, but otherwise boring. Nothing really interesting here. Not dreamy.
Frozen Snacks
Most of Skinny Cow's products are frozen, including ice cream sandwiches (7 varieties, 150 calories), cones (3 varieties, 160 calories), frozen candy bars (2 varieties, 160 calories), and the most modest offering, simple bars (4 varieties, 100-110 calories). All made with low-fat ice cream. Not diet food for sure, but, compared to full fat products, they are a better choice.
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| Limited Edition Pretty in Pink Velvet Truffle Bars. |
I was surprised when I read the nutrition information. Seriously, only 100 calories? 2.5 grams of fat? I wasn't sure how it was possible.
The first clue came when I opened a wrapper, and saw how petite they were. Still large enough to satisfy, but certainly on the smaller side. Portion control.
The second clue came when I realized that the "cream cheese flavored drizzle" really was just the thin white drizzle visible here. There was far too little of it to taste cream cheese. It added to the look, but certainly not to the taste, which is too bad, as the cream cheese icing is a rather essential aspect of red velvet. It did add a bit of crunch which I liked.
And finally, there was the ice cream itself. It wasn't creamy, at all. My bars had a bit freezer burn due to an unfortunate incident where the freezer was unplugged, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the full cause of the consistency issues. It did sorta taste like red velvet.
I wouldn't get these again, 100 calories or not, they just weren't very good.
Update: I had a second one at a later date. I was still disappointed by the cream cheese drizzle, but the ice cream itself was better. I ate it in the sun on a hot day, it got a bit melty and a bit more creamy. But, still no real flavor, and no reason to get these again.
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