Dairy-Free Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Ice cream? But doesn't that have milk in it?

WRONG.

I recently purchased both Purely Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream and Rice Dream Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts (A.K.A., ice cream). I tried Rice Dream's strawberry, vanilla, and Cookies an' Dream, as well as Purely Decadent's mint chip, turtle tracks, and couple others.

Purely Decadent wins by far.

Purely Decadent's mint chip tastes no different from your standard mint chip ice cream. You can taste the rice and soy milk in Rice Dream's ice creams, but Purely Decadent's ice cream is simply delicious.

For those of you gluten-freers, Purely Decadent's SO Delicious line has a gluten-free Cookie Dough ice cream.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Ingredients*:

2 cups gluten-free all purpose baking flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup turbinado sugar (white or brown sugar can be substituted)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons maple syrup

6 ripe bananas, mashed

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs, maple syrup, and mashed bananas until well-blended. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture; mix until batter is just moist. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. If using muffin or cupcakes tins, bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

*Altered version of All Reciples' Gluten Free Banana Bread.

-----

I highly recommend this banana bread. It is incredibly moist - so much so that you may initially believe that you've under-cooked it. It tastes amazing that you won't know by the taste that it is gluten- and dairy-free. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free AND Dairy-Free?!

Hello, world -

Long time, no post! I've got a little something to update you on; I'm going gluten-free!

Why? This itchy, unattractive rash developed on my right arm, and that, along with a couple other symptoms, made me wonder: am I gluten-intolerant, too?

So far, it looks like that was the key.

What can I eat now? Well, gluten-substitutes. And things that don't contain gluten or dairy, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish...etc.

So it goes. Together, it eliminates nearly all store-bought junk food, which is definitely a good thing. Time to become incredibly healthy! Or else, start baking more....

Help support me on my dairy-free, gluten-free endeavor by posting links to recipes in the comments. Thank you!

Superbly Chocolatey Cake

Ingredients*:

Cake:

2 cups white sugar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

3/4 cup Earth Balance

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Optional topping:

1 Ghirardelli Chocolate Intense Dark: Twilight Delight bar, shaved (using a potato peeler)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, coconut milk, oil, and vanilla, mixing with an electric mixer for appx. 3 minutes. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely (an additional 30mins - 1 hr). I recommend using a soft spatula to help ease the cakes out without breaking them.

For frosting, cream Earth Balance until light and fluffy. Sit in cocoa and confectioners' sugar alternately with coconut milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency, appx. 3 - 5 minutes.

Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally and cover the top of each layer with frosting, stacking them on a serving plate. Frost outside of cake, and serve!

*Altered version of All Recipes' Extreme Chocolate Cake.

Dairy-Free Living: Day 7

Daiya's meltability = 100% !

I made quesadillas last night using Daiya's mozzarella style shreds, and it melts! It doesn't taste bad, either. It doesn't taste like your standard mozzarella, but it does taste like cheese.

My mother went to Whole Foods last night, which, like our nutritionist, carries Daiya, Amande, Earth Balance, and the like. She also brought home SO Delicious's Coconut Milk yogurt.

I found that I don't like SO Delicious yogurt. I think it tastes too sweet, and it lacks the between-solid-and-liquid texture one expects in yogurt. I found it more like a lassi than yogurt. I would recommend using their yogurt if you are, in fact, trying to make a lassi, but for just yogurt, stick with Amande.

Too each their own, though. My brother loves SO Delicious's Coconut Milk yogurt, but then again, Seiji has always had a sweet tooth.

Happy Dairy-Free Living!

Dairy-Free Living: Day 6

Quitting dairy has honestly been a lot easier than I expected.

When the nutritionist first announced that it was time for me, like my mother and younger brother, to quit dairy, my brain went insane. What about cheese? Ice cream? Yogurt?

Luckily, baking was not an issue. My mother and brother have been dairy-free for the past couple months, so I have grown accustomed to baking without dairy. Two of my favorite milk and butter substitutes, as you may have noticed in the past few recipes, are coconut milk and Earth Balance, respectively. You can also substitute almond milk for cow's milk in recipes where you want a blander, less sweet, taste.

What brand of coconut milk you buy doesn't really matter, but make sure you buy unsweetened coconut milk to use in baking. Sweetened coconut milk will cause your cakes, brownies, etc, to be far sweeter than most can tolerate.

Many people substitute soy milk for cow's milk, but my mother and brother are also soy intolerant, and so it's coconut milk all the way. Personally, I think coconut milk tastes better anyway.

What about eating? Well, you can put coconut or almond milk in your cereal, you can bake with it, that's great. Milk problem solved. What about yogurt?

My nutritionist showed me a product called Amande, a cultured almond milk yogurt I was rather skeptical about.

Post work-out the next day, I had a staring match with my cherry amande. It looked like yogurt. It smelled like yogurt. But would it taste like yogurt?

"Okay, almond milk yogurt," I said. "You and I better get along real well." Mom looked up from her book, and smiled bemusedly. I took a small bite of the yogurt. "Wow. I actually like it better than regular yogurt," I told Mom, who nodded but refused to taste.

Amande comes in a variety of flavors, and so far, all of them have been yogurt-y and tasteful. I strongly recommend it.

Another dairy-free substitute my nutritionist pointed out was Daiya, a vegan, soy-free cheese that theoretically melts. I haven't tried it yet, but the nutritionist assured me that it tastes like cheese. We'll see.

So I conclude my first Dairy-Free Living blog post. I'll be back - I can't leave you hanging on the meltability (I know that's not a word, but it should be) of Daiya cheese.

Happy Dairy-Free Living!

Dairy-Free Basic Butter Frosting

That's right - dairy-free basic BUTTER frosting!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Earth Balance

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups (1 pound) sifted confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 to 4 tablespoons coconut milk, to make smooth

Directions:

Blend together Earth Balance, salt, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract. Add appx. 3 to 4 tablespoons coconut milk, or until smooth.

Spread on your desired desert and enjoy!