Gluten Free, Dairy Free Ice Cream Review
Since I discussed yesterday about how I cheered myself up with ice cream, I decided that sharing my experiences with finding the perfect scoop of icy goodness would make a great follow up post.
Personally, my "sweet tooth" came in bulk so losing easy access to postmeal sweets has pained me more than cutting out any other gluten-containing foods. "My muffins?" I remember thinking. "I have to give up my muffins?" Ice cream, then, stepped in as my main dessert, at least for the early months when inexperience prevented me from making my own baked goods.
When I began to experience issues with dairy, though, as is common with many celiacs during the period of intestinal healing, the search for great ice cream became more difficult.
First came So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Brave soul that I be, I started out with Cookie Dough.
Overall, it was as delicious as the name. It had a very creamy texture that was impressively close to ice cream without the use of milk and I groaned when I hit the cookie dough, which is spread generously enough that you can get a glob of it with every bite. Finding cookie dough ice cream that is gluten free is hard enough, not to mention finding one this tasty!
The only downside, which was actually a deal breaker for me, was the coconut base. Despite the cookie dough flavor, the coconut taste remained prominent. If you don't mind the flavor of coconut, this is definitely a great ice cream choice for you.
What I ended up finding as my "perfect" dairy free, gluten free ice cream, though, is the Almond Dream Ice Cream line. I started out with chocolate, but now my two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Toffee Almond Fudge.
All of the flavors have an extremely smooth and creamy consistency, much like So Delicious, but without the distracting coconut aftertaste. Although the chocolate doesn't taste like regular chocolate ice cream, after a few times of eating it, I adapted to the different flavor that is still quite chocolatey enough to be enjoyable.
What I really love though are the two new flavors. Mint Chocolate Chip tastes exactly like mint chocolate chip ice cream with a wonderful minty bite and a great amount of chocolate chips. The Toffee Almond Fudge tastes similarly to a coffee-flavored ice cream, but fudge layers mixed with the slight crunch of tiny pieces of almond create a light chocolate flavor that is tasty without being overpowering.
I wish you all luck in re-discovering your favorite desserts. As I am extremely happy to know first hand, food doesn't need to contain gluten to be super tasty! If you ever are thirsting for a tasty gluten-free, dairy free treat check out Almond Dream or So Delicious! Personally, I bought these at Sprouts, but check out the gluten-free store options in your area!
What is your favorite gluten-free treat? Comment below!
Personally, my "sweet tooth" came in bulk so losing easy access to postmeal sweets has pained me more than cutting out any other gluten-containing foods. "My muffins?" I remember thinking. "I have to give up my muffins?" Ice cream, then, stepped in as my main dessert, at least for the early months when inexperience prevented me from making my own baked goods.
When I began to experience issues with dairy, though, as is common with many celiacs during the period of intestinal healing, the search for great ice cream became more difficult.
First came So Delicious Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Brave soul that I be, I started out with Cookie Dough.
The only downside, which was actually a deal breaker for me, was the coconut base. Despite the cookie dough flavor, the coconut taste remained prominent. If you don't mind the flavor of coconut, this is definitely a great ice cream choice for you.
What I ended up finding as my "perfect" dairy free, gluten free ice cream, though, is the Almond Dream Ice Cream line. I started out with chocolate, but now my two favorite flavors are Mint Chocolate Chip and Toffee Almond Fudge.
All of the flavors have an extremely smooth and creamy consistency, much like So Delicious, but without the distracting coconut aftertaste. Although the chocolate doesn't taste like regular chocolate ice cream, after a few times of eating it, I adapted to the different flavor that is still quite chocolatey enough to be enjoyable.
What I really love though are the two new flavors. Mint Chocolate Chip tastes exactly like mint chocolate chip ice cream with a wonderful minty bite and a great amount of chocolate chips. The Toffee Almond Fudge tastes similarly to a coffee-flavored ice cream, but fudge layers mixed with the slight crunch of tiny pieces of almond create a light chocolate flavor that is tasty without being overpowering.
I wish you all luck in re-discovering your favorite desserts. As I am extremely happy to know first hand, food doesn't need to contain gluten to be super tasty! If you ever are thirsting for a tasty gluten-free, dairy free treat check out Almond Dream or So Delicious! Personally, I bought these at Sprouts, but check out the gluten-free store options in your area!
What is your favorite gluten-free treat? Comment below!
I think I'm going to have to hunt down that cookie dough ice cream. That sounds so good. One of the hardest things for me at first was that all of my favorite flavors of ice cream contained gluten. And dairy. I love the flavors that have baked goods in them, like Boston Cream Pie or Red Velvet Cake. But now I usually have to have fairly plain flavors. Have you tried the new Pillsbury Gluten-free cookie dough? It's good enough that I just ate the whole tub plain and didn't even bake it into cookies.
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