Ice-cream unplugged. Sounds kind of dangerous, doesn't it? But that is the tagline for Haagen-Dazs' new five-ingredient ice-cream, titled five.

When Mom Central told me about five, I seriously could not contain my excitement. You see, Haagen-Dazs and I go way back...

As many loyal readers know, I was on the Feingold Diet when I was younger. It helped with impulse-control. Since my oldest son has similar impulse-control problems with hyperactivity, we put him on Feingold and have seen success.

Haagen-Dazs is one of the few widely-available ice-cream brands that is Feingold-safe. Certainly people can make their own, but the convenience of being able to pop over to the local grocery store is truly priceless. Haagen-Dazs is at the corner market, not only sold in high-end specialty stores. Their product, however, tastes as though it would be in only exclusive upscale markets.

One of the number one concerns people admit when they question me about hyperactivity elimination diets is the worry that with the "elimination" all the convenience and fun will be taken out of eating. Fortunately, there are plenty of all-natural brands that are completely fine. Haagen-Dazs is one of these brands, and with the addition of the five line, the number of acceptable ice-creams has gotten larger.

Let's face it: the "creative" ice-cream flavors typically aren't the ones that are all-natural. To obtain those exotic flavors, most companies use artificial flavoring (along with artificial coloring.)

five is plenty creative, but maintains its purity.

The concept behind Haggen-Dazs five, is that it has only five ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, eggs, and then one "hero" ingredient. These flavors are: vanilla bean, milk chocolate, mint, ginger, coffee, passion fruit, and brown sugar.

My first motivation for trying five was that it is all-natural, as I was eager to give my son some additional dessert options. But I soon learned that using just five pure and simple ingredients naturally lends itself to an ice cream with one-third less fat. Less fat is certainly something I can get behind. And then the flavors themselves are not common. I would have thought "strawberry" would be a shoo-in, but instead the five fruit is passion fruit. Flavors like brown sugar and ginger are quite unique, and exceptionally tasty.

I was very excited when the package arrived = dry ice!

I was even more excited when my boys and I got to sit down to taste the ice-cream contained within. I am not a food blogger, so forgive the clumsy language, but here are my impressions of the four flavors I received:

Passion Fruit: This reminds me of a dragonfruit soda that I really enjoy. It is definitely a unique flavor, both spicy and fruity at the same time. It is smooth, as all of the five flavors are, and the passion fruit is subtle enough so that it doesn't overwhelm. This sort of exotic flavor is great to entice kids to try new foods. Haagen-Dazs recommends serving this flavor with pieces of tropical fruit on top - yum! [clicking link downloads a PDF]

Ginger: Of course this reminded me of Chinese food, so no doubt this ice-cream would be great paired with a fortune cookie or other vanilla-orange type cookie or cake. Ginger typically is associated with heat, but this ice-cream is refreshing. It is spicy and soothing all in one.

Mint: Most people think "mint chocolate chip" when they hear "mint ice-cream" and of course most people picture that neon green color. Haagen-Dazs is definitely not green: instead it is a natural white. The texture is completely smooth without chunks of chocolate. Although chocolate is certainly a great pair for mint (so this ice-cream would be fabulous over a rich chocolate cake) the mint on its own is so pure and subtly sweet that it doesn't need a companion. This is a sweet mint, not the biting mint of a mojito. Haagen-Dazs recommends pairing the ginger ice-cream with cardamom-honey roasted peaches. [clicking link downloads a PDF] I think pear would also work well.

Brown Sugar: My sons love milkshakes. Traditionally they have vanilla or mint chocolate-chip, but they have since had several brown sugar shakes. This flavor was absolutely my favorite. It calls to mind gingerbread men and a cozy gathering. I suppose now we can have our holiday memories during the summer, thanks to this spicy-yet-cool ice-cream. Recipe: Häagen-Dazs Five™ Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Warm Apple Cinnamon Blossoms [downloads a PDF]

I will definitely be purchasing five for my family in the future - tastes good, less fat, all natural. It is truly a fantastic five.

Fittingly, I have FIVE coupons for free ice-cream to give away to you loyal readers. Simply post a comment telling me what flavor five you are most interested in trying. (Check out the Haagen-Dazs five website to find all the five flavors - and yes, there are more than 5 flavors...) I'll give you until April 30th to enter. Good Luck! If you don't win, consider picking up five at your local store: you won't regret it.

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Wooo! You all won! Send me your mailing address to karianna at this domain name (see my header) and I'll get the coupons out to you!