Nutella Peanut butter Graham Non-Dairy Ice Cream

Ok So I'll admit I have an addiction to making ice creams. It's insanely easy, so much fun, and absolutely delicious! Not all my Ice creams turn out good (like the mint Julep non dairy one that took me forever and never actually froze up! I didn't even bother posting about that one!) but when they do turn out well, I feel its my non-diary ice cream maker duty to inform my lovely readers. I think I'll make it a weekly habit this summer to post a non-dairy ice cream recipe. What do you guys think about that? I know it will certainly make my husband happy!
        This recipe was inspired by my Husband's love for peanut butter and my love for Nutella. Of course we added a cookie for crunch. Because the BEST ice creams always have a crunch factor. We had some grahams so that's what I threw in. Now, Nutella isn't actually non-dairy. I particularly don't mind that. But if you do and you really want to make this 100% non-dairy, feel free to make your own version of Nutella as opposed to buying the store bought version.

Ingredients

1. 1 can of full fat coconut milk (to get the closest to real ice cream don't use the light version)
2. 1/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3. 4 tbs raw honey
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 4 tbs coconut cream - This will make your ice cream creamy and also add some sweetness. This stuff has a lot of sugar so you can omit and just adjust your honey if you don't care to use this. It is also very calorie heavy so if your concerned with that, I would suggest omitting.
6. 4-5 cracked graham crackers. (leave them in chunks)
7. 1/4 cup peanut butter I use this one. It's the best tasting peanut butter I've ever had!
8. 1/4 cup Nutella (or you can make you own non-dairy one following this recipe)

Directions
    Combine your coconut milk, honey, coconut cream, and vanilla and whisk till everything is incorporated. Add your cocoa powder and whisk until it's all incorporated.  Pour your mixture into an ice cream maker and mix according to the directions adding in the graham crackers during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Mean while, pop your peanut butter and Nutella (in separate bowls) into the microwave for a quick 30-50 seconds so it's a more liquid consistency. Pour them into your ice cream maker at the same time. Only let the mixer go for another 2 min max. You don't want the peanut butter and Nutella blending in too much. You want to aim for a swirl effect. Your ice cream will seem melted because you heated the extras. That's ok. Just transfer your ice cream mix to a container and freeze for an extra hour before serving. Enjoy!!

Non-Dairy Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream

I like Ice cream. No I mean REALLY like ice cream. So much that I think the first little argument my husband and I had was over the fact that I polished off his Ben and Jerry's Milk and cookies in one whole sitting. Yes, I like ice cream THAT much. So when I gave up most dairy products including ice cream I had come up with some replacements like frozen Kefir, which I made here. While I find frozen Kefir delicious, and refreshing, it's still not ice cream. Oh how I've longed for the creamy texture and soft sweet taste of full fat milk based ice cream. This recipe is creamy, sweet, and so close to traditional ice cream that my husband requested I make a Milk and Cookies inspired version next! I'll have to play around with that idea! For now this strawberry shortcake version hits the spot.

Ingredients

1. 1 can of full fat coconut milk (to get the closest to real ice cream don't use the light version)
2. Strawberries quartered and smashed (I used about 20)
3. 4 tbs raw honey
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract
5. 4 tbs coconut cream - This will make your ice cream creamy and also add some sweetness. This stuff has a lot of sugar so you can omit and just adjust your honey if you don't care to use this. It is also very calorie heavy so if your concerned with that, I would suggest omitting.
6. 4-5 cracked graham crackers. (leave them in chunks)

Directions
    Combine your coconut milk, honey, coconut cream, and vanilla and whisk till everything is incorporated. Add your strawberries and whisk well mashing any larger chunks of berries you see as you go.  Pour your mixture into an ice cream maker and mix according to the directions adding in the graham crackers during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Enjoy!

Makes 6 servings, approximately 250 calories per serving

The BEST frozen Kefir

 It all started when I decided to eliminate my dairy intake dramatically. I'm lactose intolerant but there are also other personal reasons for my decision to forgo most dairy products. I wont get into that here though, to each his own. So, while I still eat some yogurts and cheese (I can't realistically give up cheese!) I no longer drink milk or eat ice cream. I LOVE ice cream. Ben and Jerry's Milk and Cookies was my complete heaven! So I've been on the hunt for a good alternative to traditional ice cream that will satisfy my frozen treat cravings. I found Lifeway frozen kefir at the organic deli by my old apartment a couple of years ago. For those of you who don't know what kefir is read this. It's 99% lactose free and has 10 live active cultures and probiotics. Sounds like a good treat choice to me! I was hooked. All the flavors are amazing. Unfortunately I cannot find the stuff anywhere around our new apartment. So I decided to give it a go and make some of my own using the Lifeway liquid kefir. This stuff is amazing. My Husband even said it was better than the one from the carton. I could eat the entire batch it's that good! It's not like traditional ice cream, it has the same creamy texture, but tastes more like pinkberry. Only WAY better if I do say do myself!

Coconut Vanilla Frozen Kefir

2 cups liquid Kefir (I used Lifeway low fat plain flavor)
1 cup coconut milk
1-2 tbsp coconut cream (this adds a great sweet coconut flavor feel free to add more of this and less sugar if you want)
3 tbsp Sugar or Sugar Alternative (adjust more or less for personal taste)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp coconut extract

Mix all the ingredients till its all blended together. Put it all in your ice cream maker following the devices instructions for 25 min. Enjoy!