Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Dairy FREE, Gluten FREE, Sugar FREE Coconut Ice Cream

You CAN enjoy ice cream on your Maximized Living Nutrition Plan.  As requested by Megan from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, here is an easy, simple recipe for delicious Coconut Ice Cream.  No more spending $6 on a pint of Coconut Bliss!  :)  Now, as a wedding gift we received an old fashioned crank ice cream maker from Dave's parents, so I'm not sure if the directions differ with an electric one.  Just make sure the freezer bowl is frozen.  Leave it in the freezer until you’ve got your ingredients mixed in a bowl first:

1 can  organic full fat coconut milk
1/2 c shredded unsweetened coconut
3 tsp powdered stevia OR 1/4 c honey (adds sugar)
Fresh berries for garnish

Soak dried coconut flakes in filtered water for a few hours to soften.  Drain the coconut thru strainer shaking off any excess water and mix it in a bowl with the coconut milk and stevia.  Assemble and pour into ice cream maker.  Start cranking, or if you're blessed with an automatic machine, sit back and wait for it to get ready for you.  It will should firm up in about 25 minutes. Top with berries and almonds and you've got THE best summer treat!

OPTIONAL 1:  You can also add a little raw milk for a lighter ice cream texture, I'd recommend probably around 1/2 to 1 cup.

OPTIONAL 2:  Second round, I threw some young coconut flesh into the blender with a little of the coconut water until it was smooth (used about half of a young coconut).  Added that in to the ice cream and it definitely gives it more flavor and firmer texture.  Try it if you feel up to it, but it's great with just the coconut milk, too!

Looking for more easy ice cream options?  Check out my recipe for Simple Sorbet.  More ice cream recipes to come thru the summer!

7 comments:

  1. We've been making coconut milk ice cream here too! (I even let A eat it w/ her breakfast)... why not when it's just milk, stevia and fruit? One thing I've found that works really well is to add about 1 t. arrowroot powder (per can of coconut milk) makes it very smooth and creamy! This also prevents ice from forming on it, if you can't eat it all in one day.

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  2. Wow, great tip Nora! I will try the arrowroot next time around. I'm working on perfecting a coffee coconut ice cream now, and this last time it was a little bit soft for my liking. The arrowroot should take care of that! Thanks!

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  3. Can't wait for the coffee coconut ice cream. I would also like to try your orange sherbet made with coconut milk.
    I saw two different bottles organic orange extract. They contain orange oil, but one has alcohol. I am not sure which to buy? Can I grate the orange peel for orange zest? Thank you for your help.

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  4. Hi Cathy! Mmmm coffee coconut ice cream, fabulous idea!

    For the orange extract, and this will go for all extracts including vanilla, you will want to go with the one using alcohol. You'll notice the other option uses Propylene Glycol to extract the oil from whatever the source is (vanilla bean, orange peel, mint leaves, etc). Propylene Glycol (an anti-freeze chemical) is much more toxic to your body than simple vodka (which is sugar).

    You can definitely grate the orange peel for orange zest. A microplane works the best for this, but a standard cheese grater should do the trick. You can always run your chef's knife thru if the bits are too chunky. ;) Come back and let me know how your orange sherbet turns out!

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  6. HI, just wondering if Megan happens to be Dr. Drew's wife? I see Dr. Aaron in Eau Claire.

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  7. Hi Jaxs,

    Nope, Dr. Drew's wife's name is Lyra. But, I believe Megan is a patient at Dr. Aaron's office as well! You'll have to ask around and meet her. She's a big recipe buff and loves cooking ML style!

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