Cake Batter - I tend to keep my freezer stocked with skinny cows and slim-a-bears, I like an occasional ice cream snack and DH craves it a lot. If there isn't a good alternative in the freezer he will get in the car and drive to Sonic when the craving hits. This weekend I bought Edy's Light Samoa ice cream, and realized I still have trouble when it is an entire tub... I'm going to portion it out into 1/2 cup servings like you did, great idea! I'm big on not telling myself I can't have certain foods - when I can't have something is when I tend to go way over the top with it...I just need to set up where what I have available is the better of the options!
On the question of when do you feel okay to splurge now and again? It depends on the person I guess. I still feel guilty when I splurge on things sometimes, sometimes I don't. Like you, even if I keep within my calorie limits for the day and have been doing great with exercise, I often beat myself up for what I consider a bad choice. What I've discovered is that if I plan in the indulgence at the beginning of the day I don't feel bad, or if I look at my calories and have room and make a conscious decision to indulge I'm okay. If it is something I feel like I'm giving in to at the end of the day for some external reason I feel like I have 'sinned' somehow. Yesterday I went 150 calories over my target with nonsense food and have been pretty critical about it to myself. As I read your post I thought about it and realized I really didn't go over my calorie redline for the day, only my calorie comfort zone, and still I beat myself up. A mallomar and a fun size pack of skittles isn't going to make me gain ten pounds, but giving in to the stress influence and eating whatever comes to hand might. That is what I need to work on - the stress reaction. And, I need to remember that I'm only human and sometimes I'm going to go overboard.
In your case, you are doing great with diet and exercise. A little monitored ice cream consumption isn't going to hurt you at all. You may even find that planning it in every so often makes it easier for you not to eat it other times, you may not. Moral of the long story here, don't feel bad about the ice cream. It looks like you handled it very well, better than I would have if I had the cravings without something already in the freezer. I would have been in the drive thru at Sonic...