One of the first foods that come to mind warm season is ice cream. It is cold, it is creamy and it is fun. But then we remember other things about ice cream, such as the high-cholesterol content, its refined cane sugar, and its additives, we are not so sure we want to eat it after all.

Fortunately, we have a delicious alternative to conventional ice creams; an alternative that not only tastes good but is good. It is soy ice cream, and there are many brands on the market to choose from. And as the name implies, the soy ice cream are based on soybeans instead of dairy products, and there are lots of good reasons to choose soy ice cream over conventional ice cream.

First, there is the cholesterol content. Although high-butterfat content may enhance flavor in some specialty or gourmet ice cream, it is something our bodies are better off without.

Regular ice cream has about 53 milligrams of cholesterol per cup. Another reason to choose soy ice cream is to avoid sugar. If you are trying to cut down on refined cane sugar or avoid it altogether, soy ice cream is a good choice. Check the label and you will see that it is sweetened with honey, maple syrup, natural fruit sugars, or fructose corn sweeteners.

If you are lactose intolerant, allergic to milk or milk products, or just want to cut down on your consumption of dairy products, soy ice creams are perfect for you, too. They are made with out dairy products.

If you are dieting, you will want to check the calorie count on the brands and flavors you choose. There is a difference not just among brands, but also among flavors within the same brand. Some have as few as 120 calories per serving, while others have as many as 210.

They come in a side variety of flavors, too, including vanilla, strawberry, wild berry supreme, carob, toasted almond, vanilla almond, banana pecan, and chocolate supreme. They also come in ice cream sandwiches.

You can serve soy ice cream in the same way you would other ice creams. You might like to try them as a topping for fruit crisps, pies, and cobblers; packed into a whole grain pie shell and topped with a fruit sauce or home made pudding, and topped with chopped nuts or shredded, grated, or flaked coconut; in dessert glasses accompanied by whole-grain cookies; in sundaes; in shakes; in floats made with natural soda; as snowballs or nut balls made by shaping the ice cream into balls, rolling them in coconut or chopped nuts, and then returning them to the freezer to harden; or as a smoothie made by blending ice cream and fruit juice in the blender.

Soy ice cream are widely available, more so than you might suspect. You can find them, as you would expect, in health food stores and gourmet food shops. You can also find them in many supermarkets.