Friday, May 28, 2010

Dairy Free "Ice Cream"

There are quite a few dairy-free ice creams on the market now. These have become a great treat for me, and it's fun to try all of the different varieties!
Purely Decadent has a pretty big line of dairy-free ice creams. I have tried both their regular, soy based ice cream, and the coconut milk version. Personally, I don't like the soy version, it seems like it has an unpleasant aftertaste... but the coconut milk version is amazing!
Another brand is NadaMoo with a ton of flavors! I've just started sampling this brand.
Then there are the soy ice creams- Soy Dream and others. Personally, try to avoid soy as much as possible as a main ingredient in food. If I'm going to do a non-dairy version of something, usually I try to go with almond or coconut milk, just because soy is in everything to begin with, and with all of the phytoestrogens in it, I don't think it's something we should eat so much of.
Rice Dream is made from rice milk. It actually tastes pretty good too. My only problem with this brand is that they don't have any gluten-free versions of any that aren't just plain ice cream flavors... I like my ice cream with mix-ins!
There is also another new option- Almond Dream ice cream (they don't have a page for this on their website yet!). This is good, but the ice cream seems to be frozen harder than the other versions... which makes it a little more difficult to eat, unless you have patience to wait for it to soften up. Patience is not a virtue that I possess...
I've decided that if I'm going to eat all this ice cream, maybe I should review it as I try the different varieties!

Purely Decadent Made with Coconut Milk:
Chocolate- VERY GOOD. Rich, smooth, creamy, satisfying! A little bit satisfies my ice cream craving.
Cookie Dough- I was so excited when Dave brought this home for me! Not only is it dairy free, it's also gluten free, even with the yummy little chunks of cookie dough in it! This is very good!
Mint Chip- Very good! I've always liked mint ice cream for when I have a stomach ache/heartburn. This does the trick!
I've also had some chocolate and almond covered bars with coconut milk ice cream in them, they were wonderful too!
NadaMoo Coconut Milk Ice Cream:
Java Chip- eh, not so much. Got this thinking it sounded good, but I really don't like it. Don't like the texture with all the little chunks, I'm assuming they are ground up espresso beans based on the ingredients... but it doesn't look like the picture on the carton, and it really wasn't good. I think I will take it back and try a different flavor.
Purely Decadent Soy Based:
Turtle Trails- I REALLY wanted to like this. But honestly, I didn't. The ice cream itself just didn't taste right.
Rice Dream:
Mint Carob Chip- good, but unfortunately I realized later that it's not gluten-free!
Almond Dream:
Praline Crunch- very good! Frozen super hard... if I thought ahead I would take it out of the freezer 5-10 minutes before I wanted to eat it probably...

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