Celebrate National Diabetes Month with Blue Bunny’s Lighter Options frozen treats

November is American Diabetes Month, a time to bring even greater awareness and attention to the seriousness of diabetes, its deadly complications, and the importance of proper diabetes control. As I learned at the Quaker Oats Living Proof event, having diabetes can lead to heart disease as well as stroke, kidney disease, blindness and amputations.

Blue Bunny ice cream is aware of how difficult it is to eat mindfully as a Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic and still indulge with some favorite sweet treats. So, they developed some ice cream products that have no sugar added, reduced fat and fat free versions. These include Black Raspberry Bars and Health Smart® Fudge & Vanilla Fudge Bars. There are also FrozFruit® bars, which were chosen as one of the best bars by Women’s Health and Fitness magazines.

The Blue Bunny website has a section devoted to diabetes awareness. It features diabetic recipes using their sugar free ice cream products. You can get a coupon for a dollar off a Blue Bunny No Sugar Added frozen treat. The site also has links to diabetes websites, diabetes recipe sites, and some diabetes blogs. Check out Blue Bunny’s Lighter Options to see their full line of light, diet, no fat, and no sugar frozen treats.

My family’s review of Blue Bunny lighter options frozen treats

As a blogger, I get free goodies to try all the time, but I haven’t seen the kids so happy to try a review sample since we got the Vtech V-Motion.

So far we’ve tried the Sweet Freedom Black Raspberry Bars and the 100 Calorie Butter Pecan Ice Cream Bars. My husband thought the pecan ice cream bars had no taste. So much for giving an honest opinion when your nose is all stuffed up and you can’t smell anything. Just, ignore the man, o.k.?

I thought the Butter Pecan Ice Cream Bars were delicious. The white chocolate with pecans coating reminded me of Lindt white chocolate bars – yum! My son, Nathan liked them, too. (Lucie didn’t try them due to her nut allergy.) The Black Raspberry Bars were very popular with the kids, and I thought the dark chocolate and raspberry flavors were more grownup than most frozen treats.

However, reviewing the ingredient list and nutritional information, all I can say is YUCK! They’re not very wholesome, and while sugar free, most of the calories are from fat. Also, I love this warning from ice creams containing sucralose, “NOTE: Excessive consumption may have a laxative effect in sensitive persons.” Ick. As an occasional treat, they’re fine and if you have diabetes it’s a delicious and affordable alternative to regular ice cream.

I’m more impressed with the FrozFruit Superfruit® Pomegranate Cherry bars. These bars are made with real fruits like elderberry and pomegranate, which are natural sources of antioxidants. Each bar is 80 calories, zero from fat. However, there is High Fructose Corn Syrup on the ingredient list. The FrozFruit Chunky Strawberry has 70 calories, zero from fat and has both sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. I don’t understand why companies can’t use pear juice or even cane sugar to sweeten their frozen treats. An alternative is making your own popsicles like these recipes for pumpkin popsicles and grape pops. Still, as an occasional convenient treat, they’re fine.