*SWEET BERRY ICE CREAM* [Sugar and Dairy Free, that is!]

I scream! You scream! We ALL scream for ICE CREAM! (I mean, who doesn't love the stuff?)

This has got to be one of the most coveted/begged for foods in our household.

  

And it’s probably because I don’t buy it (because then I will eat ALL of it). Therefore it’s taboo in my house … which, in turn, makes my kids become sort of deranged, feral children. They become obsessed with things they cannot have!

I love - and loathe - ice cream. The ‘love’ party is easy: childhood memories of licking lollies on the beach, or a creamy bowl with hardened chocolate ‘Ice Cap’ after supper on a Sunday night.

The ‘loathing’ part comes in when I realized how much sugar goes into the stuff. When preparing frozen food, you have to up the sugar because the freezing has a numbing effect on our taste buds. Oh, and the dairy is barely tolerated by any of us. And then I saw that most of the ice creams they sell are not even called ice cream anymore, its frozen dessert….hmmmm what does that mean? It means that there is a whole bunch of other less-savoury ingredients in there, with little resemblance to real eggs and cream found in real ice cream. I don’t want to give my kids that rubbish.

So I’ve done what I always do, you see, I tell myself, “I can make this! And I can make it healthier!”

Now I avoid the frozen foods isle (except for frozen peas, that is) and that scary ‘melodic’ ice cream truck at the beach (scary? remember those 80’s movies where it was always the bellbottom-wearing ice cream van driver that kidnapped the children at the park? That music they play is STILL the same, and it gives me the shivers!) Instead I head down the canned goods isle and pick up two tins of coconut milk.

And so started a healthy, renewed love affair with ice cream. ‘Healthified’, dairy free and sugar free / low carb ice cream now has pride of place in my freezer.

I have used my new Fancy Ice Cream Machine (got it for Christmas, yay!) but it’s not necessary, you can mix all the ingredients together and bang it in the freezer and when you remember (I used to set the egg timer two hourly) yank it out and give it a mix, and throw it back in for another hour or so.

The beauty of this recipe is that it does't go rock hard. It can be (and is) eaten straight out of the tub, with the freezer door still open…at 3am!

I must say that I use coconut milk so much now, as a dairy replacement, (and I cook with coconut oil) that I can barely notice the flavour. My picky husband, however, says he can taste the ‘coconutty’! Super, I say, more for me! My kids don’t complain though, that’s the main thing, they love it - it’s sweet, creamy and ice cold - what more could you ask for on a summer’s day? (ok maybe a G&T and a hammock…?)

Anywaaayyyyy… Here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS

2 Cans                     Coconut Milk, full fat (chill them in the freezer to get as cold as possible, 30 minutes or so should do it, not frozen solid though)

½ Cup                         Sugar/sweetner of your choice, powdered (I used Xylitol and quickly gave it a whirl in my coffee grinder so it comes out like castor sugar)

30 approx                   Drops of Stevia (to taste)

Pinch                          Himalayan Salt

1                                  Egg yolk (optional nutrition boost, if you are concerned about consuming raw egg, leave it out)

Citrus Berry Flavour:

1                                  Orange; juice and zest

1                                  Lemon; juice and zest

1 Cup approx             Blueberries and Raspberries, mixed

2 Tbsp                        Xylitol             

or

1                                  Vanilla Bean, scraped (for plain vanilla ice cream)

METHOD

• Place all your Citrus Berry Flavour ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil on high for about five minutes until the berries have burst and the sauce becomes syrupy. Remove and allow to cool.
• In a blender (or large bowl with stick blender) place both tins of coconut milk, sweetners and salt (and vanilla seeds if using) and blend (not too maniacally because we don’t want too much froth - we are not making a cappuccino here) until sugar has dissolved, approximately a minute or two.
• Place creamy mixture in your Fancy Ice Cream Maker and churn accordingly, adding in cooled berry mixture half way through.

Or, place in a container and freeze for two hours before adding berry mixture, mix again and freeze. Repeat two or three times until you can’t bear it any longer and devour!

Id love to hear what you think of it? Is it too ‘coconutty’ for you? Keep me posted.

Much love and gratitude...oh, and happy nibbling!

xox