"There's always room for Ice Cream."

July is National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of every July is National Ice Cream Day, but truthfully Ice Cream is good any day of the year. 

If I’m going for a sweet treat out to eat, it is likely going to be an ice cream cone. I sometimes forget how much I love ice cream because I don’t have it too often anymore. Every time I do order ice cream I remember how much I love this classic sweet treat. 

While some may deem it as unhealthy, it is a food good for the soul, good for socialization, and good for that calcium. We need strong bones here! Plus, it can provide some healthy fats & protein pending on the brand/source.

You can also easily find ice cream brands with more natural ingredients. And it comes as a highly recommended food for those who need to eat more/put on muscle/weight, struggle with appetitite or have specific dietary needs due to medical challenges.

Growing up I often used to have ice cream as my afternoon snack from school. I strongly remember making ice cream bowls with chocolate chips and sprinkles or dipping pretzels into vanilla ice cream for that salt and sweet combination. We almost always had Breyers ice cream in the house growing up. They also have a lactaid free line which is key for my dad since he is lactose intolerant. We both are awaiting for them to expand with more flavors. The day a coffee lactose free Breyers ice cream comes out will be a day worth celebrating for sure.

Now, before I moved to Connecticut and before my brother was born, we used to venture over to the local Carvel in Mamaroneck, NY.

As I previously mentioned, Ice Cream was always in our freezer stock, but after moving to Connecticut I discovered a love for soft serve. We really only ever got soft serve out because it was safe for my brother’s severe nut allergy whereas almost all creameries or hard scoop shops have significant cross contamination. 

We quickly discovered a favorite though with Stew Leonard’s. Not only did we get free small cones for our grocery shopping trips, but it is definitely the best soft serve Ice Cream I’ve ever tried and is an absolute must if you find yourself in the tri-state area. (They also make really good fresh smoothies with fresh fruit, nonfat frozen yogurt & nonfat milk.) 

Stew Leonard’s has definitely expanded their soft serve flavor offerings over the years and I recently noticed they have dole whip for a non-dairy option along with a sugar free flavor. I certainly miss being near one now that I'm in Georgia. I did get a pumpkin soft serve when I was home for a visit last October and that was definitely top notch. 

If you were to ask me what the best hard scoop Ice Cream I’ve ever had was. It is HANDS DOWN the creamery at Penn State. I got WPSU Coffee Break Cone (coffee ice cream with chocolate chips) from the Penn State Berkey Creamery during an accepted students visiting day when I toured for undergraduate and it was certainly the best ice cream ever. Yes, it was freezing outside, but it’s never too cold for ice cream as my grandfather would say. 

Athens has a ton of ice cream locations alongside custard, but I truthfully haven’t made my way to all of them yet. We unfortunately don’t have any great variety in soft serve flavors or a creamery location though. I would love some variety in soft serve cone flavors like both Carvel & Stew Leonard's have up north.

However, I discovered I love a Chick-fil-a Ice Cream Dream cone. The only thing is that it only comes in vanilla, but it is super affordable and 9/10 times I order one with a free reward!

Andy’s Frozen Custard has become a popular choice amongst my friends and me. I typically opt for a simple cake cone. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I much prefer cake cones over waffle cones and sugar cones. 

We do have a Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop in walking distance that I tried once on a solo date for dinner last summer and it was definitely much needed on a super-hot day. I, of course got the coffee flavor, because I love coffee ice cream and anything coffee flavored to be perfectly honest with you.

I’ll have to make my way to Bruster’s, Jeni’s, Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins and a new ice cream location that opened this week called Kilwin’s this upcoming year. Both Kilwin's and Jeni's are in walking distance so I really shall have no execuses for that.

More ice cream dates, more afternoon cones, and more flavor tries are near in my future.

Now, I do love to keep those Trader Joe's hold the cone ice creams in my freezer particularly the peppermint ones in the winter or sometimes will make a fun dessert at home such as protein waffles topped with coffee ice cream. However, since I started moving out on my own I often don't let myself spend money on those things, but that is a mindset I need to switch this upcoming year.

One thing to note is that ice cream or your favorite treat should always make its way into your diet. All foods have a place, all foods provide nutrition, and all foods are fuel for the body.

As my grandfather says, “There’s always room for ice cream.” 

Comment your favorite ice cream places and favorite flavors below!