Root Beer Floats

Summer means ice cream, yes? Well, actually ANY time of the year means ice cream time to me, I really do love ice cream but it doesn't love me. I shouldn't be eating ice cream period but it calls to me when I pass through the frozen foods aisle at the grocery store, both Ben and Jerry saying EAT SOME ICE CREAM!

For part of Keith's birthday we went over to Dreyer's Ice Cream Fountain, a real old fashioned ice cream parlor but not at old fashioned prices. I got a black and white sundae and he got a root beer float and including a tip it was over $15.00. The ice cream is served by a friendly waitress and comes in real glass ice cream parlor dishes, but still, that's a lot of money for ice cream.

I decided to make some root beer floats at home for a lot less money even if they don't come in frosty mugs, and also for a lot less sugar and carbs by using diet root beer and no sugar added ice cream. The no sugar added ice cream can't actually be called ice cream but rather dairy dessert because legally it is not ice cream, and it doesn't taste all that good by itself, but mixed with diet root beer it was pretty darn good. I had a hard time finding diet root beer in anything other than a huge box of cans, but finally found a bottle of the new 10 calorie soda for 88c. I don't usually drink soda so certainly didn't want a 12 pack of cans taking up space in my fridge or cupboard.

The floats were good except for the part where it fizzes all up when you pour the root beer over the ice cream, fizzes all up and spills over onto the counter and then won't stop fizzing and spilling and you've got to stick a straw in it and suck some of it down. And then you don't have enough root beer in your float after sucking some of it down so you add more and the cycle starts all over again. Fizz, suck, fill, fizz, suck, fill.

But it tasted pretty darn good for a diet type dessert.