Last week I introduced you to my Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream but I realize that not all of you are chocolate lovers out there. Take for example my own nephew. He actually HATES chocolate! Is that weird? Willfully hating chocolate... Seems strange to me! ha ha. 

If you haven't heard it before coconut milk makes THE BEST ice cream. It's so creamy and smooth. It seriously hits the spot when you can't have the real thing. This next recipe is so simple and you can choose what type of sweetener you prefer. We served ours with my Gluten Free Apple Crisp! It was so yummy my dad had to have 2nds! :)

Don't forget, our Free Gluten Free Class is tomorrow (Tuesday night: Jan. 8th). To RSVP please visit HERE. 

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Created by jalene

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar or you can use 2 & 1/2 Tbsp honey instead
• 1 can coconut milk (not lite)
• 1 & 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla

Directions: 

1. Put all the ingredients into a blender and combine for 30 seconds, scraping sides if unnecessary. 
2. Pour into your prepared ice cream maker and process for at least 30 minutes. The ice cream will harden more as you freeze it. 

Time for a treat!!!

Usually I'm a strawberry kind of gal but the other day I was craving some good ol' chocolate ice cream. Audrey has been asking me to add chocolate chips into everything lately but this time I finally agreed! If you don't have chocolate chips you can simply leave them out or try broken pieces of candy canes or some other gluten free add-in.

If you haven't tried coconut ice cream before you're in for a REAL TREAT! The coconut milk adds such a great creamy flavor- you'll think you're eating the real thing! 

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene

Ingredients: 

• 1 can of coconut milk (I don't recommend using lite)
• 2 & 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used organic)
• 1/3 cup sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar
• 2 Tbsp dairy free mini-chocolate chips (optional)

Directions: 

1. In a blender mix all the ingredients EXCEPT for the chocolate chips. Pour into your ice cream maker and process for about 25-30 minutes. Add the chocolate chips in the last 5 minutes of processing (if your ice cream maker allows it) or stir in the chocolate chips at the end. If your ice cream is softer than you like, don't worry, it will harden more as you freeze it. 

Store the ice cream in a covered container in the freezer. 

Craving one of these? Try my strawberry-banana smoothie instead! No, McDonald's smoothie does not contain gluten but it does contain dairy from the "low-fat yogurt." Not only is my smoothie recipe Dairy Free it's Sugar Free too! (That is besides the sugar found naturally in the strawberries and bananas.) 

The best part of this recipe- it's SO versatile. It can be a smoothie, frozen into ice cream or even popsicles! 

PS-If you want a good read sometime you should browse through the nutrition facts of McDonalds. It's crazy what they put in things. Take French Fries for instance...

"French Fries: Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to
preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.
CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK. *(Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients)"

YIKES! 

At least with this next recipe you know you're getting REALLY real ingredients...

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Sugar Free) 
Adapted by jalene

Makes 2 cups
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup sliced banana
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Throw it all into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. ;)

To make popsicles: 
Follow the directions above and then pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 4-6 hours or overnight. 

To make ice cream: 
Follow the directions above except use FROZEN bananas as well as frozen strawberries. Mixture will be THICK. Put it into the freezer to harden more or enjoy right away! 

This past weekend we went to Yogurtland for dessert! It's one of the few places that has gluten free, dairy free ice cream! Audrey was IN HEAVEN! And even though she IS gluten and dairy free she knows exactly what ice cream is. Why? Because we make our own at home! It's INCREDIBLY easy (and so much cheaper than buying!) but you do need an ice cream maker. Costco had one on sale the other day for $17! We bought ours for around $20. It has already paid for itself!

If you have not tried coconut ice cream before, it's amazing. The coconut milk makes it SO creamy and so the end result is a consistency very similar to a dairy-base ice cream. This recipe is very easy to throw together and then it only took about 20 minutes in the ice cream maker!  

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free) 
Created by jalene and her mom alene
Serves about 4-5 people

Ingredients: 

• 1 can coconut milk, chilled in the fridge for at least 4 hours
• 1 peach
• 3 Tbsp sugar or organic evaporated cane juice sugar
• 2 & 1/2 tsp gluten free vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Wash and peel your peach. Dice into small pieces. In a bowl, combine the peach with the sugar and vanilla. Let sit for at least a couple of minutes so the sugar can start to dissolve. 
2. Remove the coconut from the fridge, open can, and combine with the peach mixture. Immediately pour into the ice cream machine and press the start button. The ice cream is ready when it no longer turns with the paddle. Ours took about 20 minutes. You can eat it right away or place it in the freezer to continue hardening. 

If there's any leftovers, store in the freezer in an airtight container.