Why I Gave Sparky Ice Cream For Breakfast

All through the cooler months, Sparky would wake up famished in the morning and wolf down whatever I made for her. Her favorite was a scrambled egg, two pieces of toast and some chocolate milk.

Lately, though, she hasn't wanted much for breakfast. I don't know if it's the warmer weather or if her appetite has changed, but some mornings it's a struggle to get her to eat anything at all.

This morning she asked if she could have ice cream. At first I told her no and offered her other things, all of which were refused. Then I mentally compared a small bowl of ice cream with a donut and decided it couldn't be any worse for her nutritionally. I was right. Here's how a bowl of ice cream compares to some other, more traditional, breakfast foods.

FYI, the information for the donut was just a generic Google search. The rest of the figures came straight from the product packaging or website. The ice cream we had was homemade from a mix and probably nutritionally a little different than store bought. I threw in a couple of tablespoons of dry roasted peanuts for a little protein, but those aren't counted in the information (much like the syrup isn't counted with the waffle).


1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Calories - 120
Fat - 3 g
Carbs - 21 g
Protein - 3 g
Cholesterol - 10 mg
Sodium - 40 mg
Calcium - 10%

1 glazed donut
Calories - 180
Fat - 8 g
Carbs - 25 g
Protein - 3 g
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 250 mg
Calcium - 0%

1 Eggo waffle (before adding syrup)
Calories - 180
Fat - 6 g
Carbs - 26 g
Protein - 5 g
Cholesterol - 15 mg
Sodium - 4 mg
Calcium - 10%

1 oz. Honey Nut Cheerios (before adding milk)
Calories - 110
Fat - 2 g
Carbs - 20 g
Protein - 4 g
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 2000 mg
Calcium - 8%

1 Pop-Tart (frosted strawberry)
Calories - 200
Fat - 8 g
Carbs - 38 g
Protein - 2 g
Cholesterol - 0 mg
Sodium - 170 mg
Calcium - 0%


While I don't really consider any of these to be an ideal breakfast, they're foods most of us probably give our kids (or eat ourselves) from time to time. I don't think the ice cream is any worse a choice than any of the others.

I think eating anything for breakfast is better than eating nothing, so I'm not going to worry about a bowl of ice cream now and then.