Buy ice cream, help promote literacy

A (mock) tub of ice cream just crossed my desk today: a new flavour from Ben & Jerry’s called "If I had 1,000,000 flavours." And yes, it’s a reference to the classic Barenaked Ladies song "If I had 1,000,000 dollars." The flavour’the first Canadian one for the company’was developed in conjunction with the Barenaked Ladies, and is a blend of vanilla and chocolate ice cream packed with peanut butter cups, chocolate-coated toffee chunks, white chocolate chunks and chocolate-coated almonds.

But the best part (yes, even better than chocolate-covered almonds) is that the Barenaked Ladies are donating their share of the proceeds to the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation, which supports adult and family literacy across the country. (You can donate to them directly, too, in addition to trying the new ice cream.)

Plus, visit www.benjerry.ca for a free Barenaked Ladies download ("Raisins," "Wind It Up" or a live version of "If I had 1,000,000 dollars") and to enter for your chance to win a year’s supply of ice cream, Barenaked Ladies merchandise or even a trip for four to the Barenaked Ladies concert (in Canada) of your choice.

At 300 calories per 1/2-cup serving (that’s 1,200 calories a tub), this is definitely a special-occasion ice cream (or divvy it up among a large group of friends as a side to a healthy dessert). But the cause is good, and the flavour looks pretty yummy, so I might pick it up once in a while.

What about you? How often do you splurge on ice cream?

Don’t miss a single Best Health Blog post’subscribe today via RSS or email!