One summer activity I thought was lost after my 2006 heart attack was the enjoyment of ice cream on a sultry summer evening. The fat, I was told – as if I had to be warned – in ice cream is enough to send the recovering cardiac patient down the wrong path. Frozen yogurt may better for you – one must watch the fat in some editions of that product as well – but it’s not ice cream.

And what is more American than a tasty bit of ice cream in the summer. Many of the fat-heavy brands remain off-limits, but we really don’t miss them in our house thanks to a line of fat-free ice cream Breyers introduced several months ago. I have tasted other fat-free ice creams before, but this is the real deal.

Breyers has been able to eliminate fat by what the company claims is a unique double-mixing process, proprietary, of course, that allows the product to be rich and creamy so "you won’t believe it is fat free." They have succeeded and, I’m certainly willing to admit, put a smile on this ever-recovering cardiac patient’s face. Certainly some ice cream  "snob" might downgrade this, but it doesn’t get any better for someone on a cardiac diet.

First came the flavor "Creamy Vanilla." My wife and I, seeing this last fall, were certainly more than willing to try it. We were amazed at the texture and flavor. It was real ice cream, without all the unwanted fat. A serving of Creamy Vanilla is 90 calories with no fat, 45 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of sugars and three grams of protein. And, believe it or not, three grams –  12 percent of one’s daily requirement – of fiber. The statistics are for a half-cup serving. Not only is this ice cream devoid of fat, it also provides a bit of fiber.

A few months later, we noticed French Chocolate with similar statistics. It was as good as the Creamy Vanilla. This was followed by Chocolate Brownie and a few other flavors, including another of my warm-weather favorites, Strawberry, which also provides three grams of fiber. Not only has my palate been served, it has been served in healthy fashion.

The rree line outdistances the Double-Churn Light product Breyers also produces. A half-cup serving of either vanilla or chocolate in this line is worth 100 calories, with three grams of fat for vanilla and 3.5 for chocolate, two grams of which are saturated fats. That is still way below the Breyers All-Natural Vanilla and Chocolate, which is 140 calories per half-cup serving with seven grams of fat, 4.5 of which are saturated.
 
Once again, I have been able to enjoy ice cream without worrying about excess fat, which is not what I want in my diet. Most others who partake of this ice cream cannot believe it is fat-free. An ice cream that is heart-healthy and tasty. This is as close as it gets.