Reader Tim sent us this seemingly oxymoronic photo from his local Kroger in Grayson, GA. It reads, “Buy any 4 Healthy Choice meals and get 1 free Breyers Ice Cream.” Be warned, if you follow this diet you will probably notice that your ice cream is shrinking more rapidly than your waistline.
More From Consumerist
-
Evil Ice Cream Truck Stalks Competition, Offers Customers Free Treats, Gets Arrested
-
New Breyers Recipes: When Ice Cream Is 'Frozen Dairy Dessert'
-
Delicious Ice Cream Gollum Creature Eats Itself, Creeps Us Out
-
I Want My Trans Fats Back: Consumerist Readers Speak Out About Recipe Changes
-
Latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich Update Makes My Phone Melt Like… Well, You Know
“Well, no wonder you’re fat! You can’t even handle indulgent treats responsibly!”
Full disclosure: My own comment is probably the reason for my own state of being.
—
Seems like an okay deal to me.
Well, they have Marie Callander there too, so its more like, “Buy dinner and get dessert free.”
Besides, if you’re trying to cut back with a low cal meal, that doesn’t mean you have to give up ice cream, too. Small Steps, as the gubmint likes to say.
I’m not sure why it’s bewildering. The fact that you grab a carton doesn’t mean you’re going to scarf it down in three seconds, and honestly, allowing yourself to indulge every now and then helps most people’s diets on track. And there are plenty of people who buy healthy choice for themselves but shop for other people. Also, Marie Callenders is offered alongside healthy choice. So
Hell Breyer’s icecream is awesome stuff, and usually pretty expensive relatively. And it’s not like the Marie Callander meals are ‘low fat’ by any stretch of the imagination.
On a totally separate note, for all the ice cream lovers, avoid all those new ‘whipped’ or ‘double churned’ ice creams. These are fancy words for ‘full of god damn air’. You can tell these by the fact they usually list their quantity by volume, not weight. In any case, if you need air in your ice cream, take a deep breath before you eat a bite and that’ll compensate
At least they’re showing the “light” version of the icecream.
Well they’re showing “Healthy Choice” dinners and “Marie Callander” dinners, and for the ice cream, they’re showing the light Bryer’s and the regular Bryer’s.
Not sure what’s so oxymoronic about it. They’re showing three “healthy” items and three normal items.
You guys here at the consumerist do realize that people on diets can still eat ice cream, don’t you? It’s not salad three times a day.
Also, it’s “Kroger.” You remind me of my boss who adds an ‘S’ to everything.
“So I was at Blockbusters the other day renting a video…”
The way it is suppose to work is you buy eight diet dinners to eat for lunch at work, leave the two cartons ice cream in the work freezer and chunk-up your office nemesis.
*is seriously considering taking Kroger up on this*
I think overall this is an epic failure on behalf of consumerist. I think they should take this post down.
It is clearly buy four frozen dinners, health or unhealthy, and receive free ice cream, health or unhealthy.
Look carefully at the sign: it’s 4 Healthy Choice dinners OR 4 Marie Callender’s dinners. Marie Callender’s is notorious for having high-fat, unhealthy food. But it tastes good.
I can definitely see someone going for the ice cream after they bought some Marie Callender’s dinners.
@joemono: HATE HATE HATE HATE people that do that. I don’t want to get a cherry lime-aid Sonics, I don’t want to get a bagel at Paneras, and I CERTAINLY don’t want to get the two tacos for a dollar at Jack in the Boxes.
Sorry, gotta vent.
@satoru: I love Edy’s Slow churned light ice cream. The cals and fat are way low and the strawberry is pretty damn tasty.
I actually like my ice cream with a decent air content. If you like yours hard as a rock then good for you.
Whipped and double churn are not expletive-defined problems (a bit of intelligence please), but are actually a way that lowfat ice creams are tastier than the “ice milk” of the 80s. #2, SERIOUSLY! I eat a lowfat diet–frozen dinners when I can’t cook–and dessert is Bryers low fat ice cream (120 cal. 4.5 g fat) I put a serving in a cone. To me it’s a lovely deal.
I scooped ice cream for a summer job in high school. I never got over how many REALLY obese people who would come in and get a huge three-scoop cone or sundae, and a diet soda. I mean, why bother? You’ve got a cone with over a thousand calories, you’re worried about 160 calories in a regular soda?
@EBone: They sought zhong huo.
@EBone:
I have drank Diet Soda so long that I can no longer drink regular soda. Regular soda is like drinking syrup to me, really thick and really sweet. Regular soda makes me nauseous. So, even when I’m being bad & having the Super-sized meal, I still get a diet soda. I’m not saving calories, I just want a soda.
—
And about the original post… That’s actually a good deal. Those Marie Callender meals are usually 3-4 bucks a piece.
And though the text of this entry reads ” It reads, “Buy any 4 Healthy Choice meals and get 1 free Breyers Ice Cream.”".
The only problem with that statement is that Consumerist readers with eyes will note the sign reads “Buy any 4 Healthy Choice Complete Selections or Marie Callender’s Entrees or Dinners”.
@EBone: Believe it or not, some people actually prefer the taste of Diet; I know I do.
@trturnerjr: THANK YOU. I know when I buy something like a frozen dinner, it’s mostly for the convenience factor (pop it in a microwave and have your meal in 3 minutes), not necessarily to lose weight or to save on calories.
Hey the 80/20 strikes again!
I noted the same thing last year under a similar ad from Smith’s, Kroger’s western brand: [www.coolestfamilyever.com]
My, the level of hyperlogical scrutiny in this thread. It’s just an ad, right? It’s kinda funny. It’s not a cryptology exercise. Some of you would be useful as lace-makers, and identifiers of pebbles and weevils in sacks of grain.
@elforesto: I’m saddened by the comparison between the 6 for $10 of last year and the 4 for $10 now. That’s, what, a 50% increase in price? I was looking at the frozen convenience food discs at the grocery recently and noticed they were much more expensive than just a couple months ago, pretty much no longer worth the expense. I blame Canada, as many of these frozen things are made there, and their dollar is no longer cheap and useful.
@EBone: In addition to previous explanations, if the diet soda doesn’t have caffeine and the regular does then that might be why they order diet.
@joemono: You see a lot of that on the internets.
As for the Healthy Choice deal, no thanks. I’d rather collect some more for a free tip to Hawaii to see some random chick who walked into my novelty toilet plunger warehouse.
I don’t really see the problem with this. No one should see TV dinners as a good way to really diet anyhow (instead of cooking with fresh veggies) and ice cream as this all-out bad product. Don’t overindulge on the ice cream, eat the TV dinners on those days when you’re in a rush, and it’s not really harmful. Lame, consumerist.
Comment on Kroger Supports Your Ice Cream Diet EBone wrote:
::I scooped ice cream for a summer job in high school. I never got over how
many REALLY obese people who would come in and get a huge
three-scoop cone or sundae, and a diet soda. I mean, why bother? You’ve got
a cone with over a thousand calories, you’re worried about 160 calories in a
regular soda?::
I don’t think calories are the point. Pairing a sweet dessert with a
less-sweet beverage is more traditional than not . . . think milk and
cookies . . . cake and coffee . . . scones and tea. The big exception is
wedding cake and punch.
The human body can only tolerate so much sugar at a time, after all. (If
you don’t believe me, clear it with your doctor, then try to drink a juice
glass of honey).
Just curious: Did your average-weight customers do this as well, or were
you selectively noticing the obese? (Happens to us a lot, alas).
I wouldn’t call the Healthy choice frozen dinners bad for you. How good they are for you is up for debate I guess. But I keep my freezer stocked with them for lunch. They’re cheaper than a burger and fries and they’re probably the best frozen dinners in the freezer case. Alot of other frozen dinners I would say aren’t even fit to give to a mangey coyote.
This is a good deal. I wish my local Ralphs,yes the name has an ‘s’ in it, was running this. Right now it’s 12~14 for 4 tv dinners on sale.
Tv dinners are a good deal if your workplace has a microwave. I can spend $15 for a weeks worth of lunch.
@mgy: I agree, drives me nuts also.
@Techguy1138: Do they still call them TV Dinners? I haven’t heard that in 25 years.