NORTHLANDZ Freeze Dried ICE CREAM - 10 Bags

This is a nice yummy treat. It’s sugar-free, which is really great.

Taste isn't quite there. It's not bad by any means but not worth going out the way for either.

I love freeze dried products. As a child, I'd only be able to get freeze dried ice cream when visiting a space or science museum. This item comes with three flavors (mango, strawberry, and vanilla). However, unlike the kids you are probably used to seeing in a single bar, these flavors come in a pouch as bite-sized shards that you can chew or let melt in your mouth. Do be warned, they will stick to your teeth but that's the nature of the product.

If you've ever been to a science museum, you might have come across those "astronaut" freeze dried pouches of ice cream, supposedly developed for astronauts who wanted to sample ice cream during their long voyages but couldn't keep real ice cream in a freezer. And if you've ever had them, they're kind of a novelty, dried and crunchy, reminiscent of ice cream, but not a great substitute for the real thing. Well if you ever reminisce for those treats and want a modern version, these Northlandz treats might be for you.

The Northlandz freeze dried ice cream comes in a box of 10 pouches, each one weighing 1 oz, so enough for a single serving. There are maybe 20-30 pieces of freeze dried treats in each bag, with three flavors: strawberry, mango, and vanilla. Each one is very light, a little crumbly, and when you smell it you get a hint of coconut, which is the predominant dairy substitute used, so it's safe for those who are dairy allergic, as well as kosher and halal. There are only a few ingredients, mango or strawberry puree, coconut and rice milk, margarine, and trehalose - it's this last ingredient I had to look up. Turns out trehalose is a naturally occurring but also commercially produced sugar. The mango and strawberry were my favorites, they do have a hint of fruity flavor, though not really strong. Vanilla was just okay.

I did notice that I kept snacking on them and everyone in the family agreed they were pretty good. I doubt these would replace regular fruit as a healthy snack in our household but I could seeing munching on these if I wanted something a little different, which is why I ordered them in the first place. BTW, they are manufactured in PRC, in case that matters to you.

I am used to freeze dried ice cream that tastes like astronaut ice cream where it is very sweet. This is similar in texture, but not as sweet as astronaut ice cream. Each color has different flavors as stated in the description. The box comes with 10 individual packets which is nice from a freshness perspective. One good thing about this is that it is very low calories (less than 100 a packet) so you can eat without feeling guilty.