Watching the videos of my favorite fitness YouTubers has its perks, but one of the worst parts about doing so is watching them dig into their all-hailed pints of Halo Top Creamery, Arctic Zero, and Enlightened, three extremely macro-friendly and delicious ice cream brands. I’ve already reviewed Arctic Zero and Enlightened Ice Cream on my blog prior to eliminating dairy from my diet, but for anyone who wants to try these ice cream brands, I highly recommend both! I heard that Halo Top actually trumps the two, but I’ve never tried it, so you’ll have to discover for yourself!
Anyhow, I had to search far and wide for a dairy-free alternative to these macro-friendly ice cream brands. Sometimes, you’re just not in a good state to eat an entire pint of So Delicious or Almond Dream, as amazing as it sounds. Plus, the sugar and fat overload is never worth it! So, I did some research, and discovered Wink Frozen Desserts. I’ve heard of Wink far long ago, but I only read very extreme reviews of the product line. One friend of mine absolutely adored every pint she could get her hands on, and another would have rather consumed dog food than this “abominable watery pea protein shake of an ice cream pint”. After a year when Wink reformulated their products, I gave it a chance and purchased two 100-calorie pints–Cake Batter and Dark Chocolate–and two 240-calorie pints, which were Peanut Butter & Jelly and Caramel Candy Apple.
After unveiling these bad boys from the dry ice pack (wear gloves!), I stored all but the dark chocolate pint in the freezer, because I wanted to try that particular flavor right away! I ended up reviewing each pint throughout the week, but I was able to compare them pretty well to each other as if trying them side-by-side at once.
DARK CHOCOLATE
I kept things pretty basic by whizzing up another bowl of my simple chocolate oatmeal and scooping a serving of dark chocolate ice cream on top. The warmth of the oats melted the ice cream so perfectly that it tasted almost like an ice cream cake! It was absolutely wonderful!
TASTE: By itself, the dark chocolate flavor is not nearly as rich or strong as any chocolate ice cream. Think about a banana smoothie with probably two or three teaspoons of cocoa powder, and you’ll know what this tastes like. However, I actually liked the taste since it wasn’t too sweet or too bitter! Plus, its slightly dilute flavor serves better versatility for pairing with other foods.
TEXTURE: As expected, the ice cream is not nearly as creamy, fluffy, and soft as the conventional So Delicious, Nada Moo or Coconut Bliss ice cream pints, let alone banana ice cream or a well-done smoothie bowl. The general consistency is definitely somewhat thick with an icy structure. Personally, I don’t mind it at all, but I know that people are very picky when it comes to ice cream, so it’s not for everybody. If you do want to thicken up the texture, however, you can easily blend it with some frozen fruit such as bananas, berries, mangoes, pineapple, or even frozen cauliflower and cashews!
OVERALL: Definitely started my thoughts on Wink with a high note! I didn’t expect to enjoy this pint as much as I did, and the dark chocolate ice cream still tasted wonderful on its own with a little granola and peanut butter garnished on top. I most certainly will purchase it again!
CAKE BATTER
Upon seeing a bottle of kombucha in my fridge, I had the spontaneous idea to create a mini ice cream soda float by combining some kombucha and a couple spoonfuls of cake batter ice cream. To my surprise, they worked perfectly together and tasted amazingly! I was blown away, as well as devastated when I finished the glass.
TASTE: This flavor is actually pretty mild, but you can definitely taste the vanilla, sweet, and slightly buttery “cake” sensation in every spoonful. The amount of sweetness is perfect–not too sugary, not too diluted–and it complements everything you combine with it!
TEXTURE: Pretty much identical to that of the dark chocolate flavor. Soft with an icy finish–not nearly as thick and creamy as the average vegan ice cream pint, but it still does the job for me.
OVERALL: Again, I absolutely adored this flavor, and it is definitely one of my favorites along with the dark chocolate pint. Will most certainly purchase this again and experiment with it more often, such as making a smoothie with it or creating an ice cream sandwich!
CARAMEL CANDY APPLE
Alrighty, onto the more calorically dense pints! Being one of the more popular flavors, I settled on trying the caramel candy apple flavor first. For my breakfast, I created a banana split by halving a ripe banana, scooping a generous amount of the caramel candy apple pint, and garnishing everything with strawberries, vanilla Orgain protein “syrup”, Nature’s Path pumpkin flax granola, cinnamon, 365 Crunchy Cinnamon Squares, and Lakanto Monkfruit Maple Syrup!
TASTE: Okay, so I don’t hate this flavor at all. However, there wasn’t too much caramel in this ice cream, which I found quite disappointing. I enjoyed the chewy apple chunks that were probably sprinkled with some cinnamon, which I found more of than the actual caramel!
TEXTURE: The texture is slightly creamier and thicker than those of the 100-calorie ice cream pints, but the difference isn’t so dramatic that the extra calories are worth it.
OVERALL: Even though I really loved this pint, I didn’t love it so much that I would purchase it a second time anytime soon. I would probably buy it if it were on sale, but I would rather use something a bit more basic like the cake batter flavor and add my own flair to it.
PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY
My neighbor and I whipped up a peanut butter oat blondie batch that tasted more like a cake, so that’s how we consumed it! I added a generous scoop of the peanut butter and jelly ice cream on top, and ended up consuming the rest later that evening.
TASTE: If there’s one word to describe this flavor, it’s UNDERWHELMING (ironically, I say this with caps). No peanut taste whatsoever–the ice cream just tastes like vanilla ice cream with raspberry jelly swirls that taste a little bit too sweet and artificial.
TEXTURE: Pretty much the exact same as that of the caramel candy apple–creamy, thick, and sort of bouncy from the raspberry jelly, but almost negligibly better than that of the 100-calorie pints.
OVERALL: I was almost deeply disappointed with tasting this pint merely because I had high expectations for it. It sort of figures though, because it’s not nearly as hyped up on social media as the other flavors.
PROS
Diet-friendly, pretty tasty, allergen-friendly, and diverse in flavors are the main strengths of Wink. You can choose from a pretty wide selection of types of ice cream pints that are high in fiber, relatively high in protein, and pretty low in calories, net carbs, and free of sugar and cholesterol. With the variety, there’s a favorite for everyone, and I find that the ice cream pints are quite delicious for being macro-friendly!
CONS
Each pint is quite expensive at eight dollars and not suitable for everyone’s palette. Like I said before, some of the reviews I’ve seen from Wink are viciously negative. If you are used to something like Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen Dazs, or McConnell’s, then this line of ice cream is NOT for you. In that case, I’d stick to So Delicious, Coconut Bliss, or Nada Moo, which I haven’t tried, but I heard is very delicious.
OVERALL
Wink has its prominent ups and downs. The ice cream pints are quite pricey, but the quality of ingredients, nutrition, and care that goes into each product is worth the investment (maybe not the peanut butter and jelly pint, though). Personally, I would love to try some new flavors, and I would definitely take advantage of sales! Would I recommend Wink to other people? Yes, but with caution.
Some people I know would love this ice cream, and others would despise it. I recommend trying one pint from a local retailer first rather than ordering at least four all at once along with paying a shipping rate and not having the whole purchase be worth it. However, Wink gets my thumbs up. I loved most of the pints I tried for very awesome nutrient profiles, whether with other foods or on their own!
superfitbabe 
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