By Dawn Smith-Pfeifer, life-long ice cream eater
I was today years old when I found out the first Saturday of every February is Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. So this Saturday, February 5, is the day I will do my civic duty and eat ice cream for breakfast.
Now I'm wondering, however, how I got to be as old as I am (never you mind) and not know about this day. After all, it has been around since the 1960s. You would think that once in over 50 years I would have noticed that eating ice cream for breakfast was a sanctioned event!
To say I love ice cream is an understatement. In fact, when I was a kid, the first thing I would do when I got home from school was head to the freezer, get out the pail of ice cream, fill a bowl, and plop myself down in front of the television to watch a program that I have since forgotten the name of, but was often creepy. Guess the ice cream was a comfort!
But it turns out ice cream has some health benefits too! According to the Catholic Health Services website (and why would they lie?), ice cream is a source of vitamins (A, B-6, B-12, C, D, E and K) and minerals (calcium and phosphorous), provides energy through carbs, fats and protein and is a mood enhancer because, ice cream stimulates, "thrombotonin, which is a hormone of happiness and helps in reducing the levels of stress in the body."
Of course the site also says to not go crazy eating ice cream, and that everything should be eaten in moderation, but if it can help reduce stress, give me copious amounts of vitamins and minerals, and there's a day once a year I can eat ice cream for breakfast and not feel guilty, hey, I'm in!
Learn more about dairy and its benefits by visiting MyPlate