Coconut Milk "Ice Cream"

The other day I bought myself some coconut milk/liquid to use in coffee, with the hope that reducing cow milk would make my cold better. There was one minor though crucial problem. I just couldn't stand the taste. The coconut milk was creamy and sweet, no need to add any sugar at all, but it totally overwhelmed my very strong French Press coffee bought in Power Coffeeworks.

The coconut milk cost too much money to waste/dump, so I needed to figure out something useful to do with it. Since I remembered from a previous purchase of the "milk" that you can freeze it and make a sort of ice cream, that's what I did. I decided to combine the coconut milk with a couple of perfectly ripe bananas, chocolate chips and some of my coffee and then mix them up in the food processor.

I used the plastic "dough hook blade," hoping that the bananas would get a bit mashed, but the chocolate chips would stay whole.

To thicken the mixture, I added some coconut flakes. I let it whirl until the most of the bananas were mashed. Then I poured the mixture into a plastic container and put it in the freezer.

I plan on serving it Friday night for Shabbat dinner dessert. Coffee liquor will be offered as a topping. If I had some chocolate liquor that would be good, too. I'll look for that in the grocers today, Gd willing I should remember.

Gd willing, bli neder, I'll report on the success of this ice cream after Shabbat.

I highly suggest using coconut milk/liquid for vegan,  parve, non-dairy dairy-like, lactose free desserts. It is much better and far healthier than the totally synthetic factory-made stuff most people use. So many times I've felt sick after eating tempting desserts people have made with Rich's*. Many of the same people who won't let soybean oil in their houses, insisting it's unhealthy and cook with canola oil instead, have no compunction about serving desserts made with the soybean oil based Rich's.

* non-dairy whipped topping based on soybean oil. Wikipedia 

Revolutionary Health Diet Advice

Today as I was eating my breakfast, apple and fresh ginger in goat yogurt, I turned on the television and found myself watching a morning "health" show.

A woman in her late forties asked a doctor how to improve the health and weight of her family. She said that they, her children and herself, were always tired. The first thing the doctor asked was what they ate for breakfast.

"Sweetened coffee and cake."

The doctor replied that all that sugar has to go. They need to have something fatty in the morning, like real cream or coconut cream in their coffee, a slice of avocado, nuts, etc. He told them that he, too, has been working hard to remove sugar from his diet. Natural fats are healthy, much healthier than all of the sugar most people eat, whether added to coffee or within all sorts of prepared foods.

The doctor also said that he keeps a supply of nuts with him for quick energizing snacks. This all jives with what I've been hearing for years and suits my conclusions about which sort of diet works best. Anyone who carefully reads the ingredients of all the low-fat reduced fat foods comparing them to the full-fat varieties will discover that the fat is replaced by sugars and salts. That makes the low-fat reduced fat foods extremely unhealthy, much worse for us than the natural fat originals.

What's your experience with this sort of eating?

Final Milk Experiment IMHO: Soy vs Almond vs Coconut vs Goat

In the past month or so, I've been experimenting with various non-cow milks. I was trying to cut down on the sugar in my coffee in order to lose weight. One thing I discovered very early on was that my stomach seemed flatter when avoided cow dairy products.

frozen cubes of

coconut liquid

During the past few years, especially as we were trying to cut expenses, my dairy eating was almost only the milk I put in my coffee. I've been having sesame paste, which is extremely healthy and inexpensive, with foods that most people would eat with some sort of cheese. My husband still eats cottage cheese. Besides that, our protein consists of organic eggs, from a producer here in Shiloh, chicken and sometimes beef or fish.




First I tried coconut cream. The container had been in my closet for a few months. I didn't need any sugar with it to enjoy the coffee. Then I realized that it had separated, leaving a fatty block of coconut cream and some liquid. I mixed the cream with a ripe mashed banana, a bit of vanilla and cinnamon. To that I added chocolate chips and left it in the refrigerator until serving it at a nice meal. It was a great success. And the liquid I froze as "ice cubes." One morning I had those in my coffee. The flavor was fine, and I didn't need sugar to make it palatable. But the "taste of coconut" stayed with me all day.

goat milk

almond milk

Next I tried almond milk, and I must admit that I really liked it. It was sweet and didn't need any added sugar. Of course that was most probably be because there is a lot of sugar in the "milk." I was told by someone that it's not a real milk and there aren't many almonds in it. She suggested I drink goat milk.

The person who suggested the goat milk claimed that "it's delicious." So, yes, my next experiment was that. And I must admit that it was the worst milk I had ever tasted. I was rather surprised, since I love plain goat yogurt and have it daily as part of my breakfast.

almond vs soy milk side by side

Yesterday I needed more milk and planned on getting almond milk, but the first store I went to only had soy. So I began to rationalize the advantage of buying soy milk. I know that there are many people who consider it a terrible health danger. I checked the Nutritional charts of soy and almond milks side by side. Both are marketed/produced by Tnuva, Israel's largest dairy company. Even if you don't understand Hebrew, you can see that many of the number matchup. I have no doubt that Tnuva did this on purpose, since they both have all sorts of vitamins added. Even the calorie count is the same. Soy and almond milks are the only two non-dairy protein based milks I could find in the refrigerator section of the store. I am not interested in trying the rice milk, because I try not to eat rice; it's a carbohydrate.

I sent the above photo to Instagram and facebook to ask advice. People weren't shy. Soy milk has many disadvantages, which was pointed out numerous times. Many people suggested almond milk made without sugar. It wasn't an option, though when I had it in my coffee, I didn't need sugar.  I also have a number of friends who make their own almond milk in a blender, but since I only need it for coffee, and I don't have a blender, nor am I interested in adding to my chores, that's not an option for me. No doubt you're curious about what I decided to buy. My facebook friends know already, and you can see the picture below.

soy plus sugar

Since being female, especially at my age, the "estrogen" in the soy isn't a real issue, and this is an "experiment," I bought the soy. This morning I poured it into my coffee. I did not like the taste at all. I even found myself adding a bit of sugar to make it palatable.

My conclusion is that I will buy almond milk whenever possible, and I'll check out coconut milks in other stores. The canned ones I saw all had those "E" additives which I don't want.

On the whole, this has been a very interesting experiment. I'm very grateful that it is very easy to buy a variety of milks here in Israel. I also wish to thank all of those who contributed their knowledge and opinions about the milks. Of course, taste is very subjective. Also, since, thank Gd bli eyin haraa, I don't have any medical condition forcing me to look for an alternative milk, I can be very flexible in how I "accessorize" my  morning coffee.

Your advice and opinions are still welcome, thanks.

Frozen Coconut Liquid in Coffee

You may remember my post about Easy to Make Non-Dairy Ice Cream. I had discovered that the coconut cream I had been using as a "non-dairy creamer" in my coffee had seriously separated. Part was solid enough to make "instant ice cream," but the rest was just a weak liquid. I froze the liquid in an icecube tray, later putting the cubes into a bag.

This morning I decided to try being non-cow-dairy for a few days, again. Last week I went back to eating cow dairy and found myself getting bloated. I wasn't uncomfortable, like many who are lactose intolerant. I just looked worse, all the extra pounds/kilograms in my stomach. Since I was all out of non-dairy milk, I remembered the cubes in the freezer and added them to my coffee.

Since the frozen coconut liquid's white color is deceptive, I ended up needing all the ice cubes for the three cups/mugs I drank. It added a sweet coconutty flavor to the coffee. It wasn't fantastic, but it certainly tasted a gazillion times better than the goat milk I had a couple of weeks ago. I still love natural goat yogurt, but the milk totally killed the coffee.

I've been warned off of soy milk because it mimics estrogen in the body, but I don't know if it's all that bad in small quantities for a woman of my age. I'm not interested in rice or oat milk, since they're both carbohydrates. So that leaves me with either almond or coconut milks.

Today I must go shopping for a non-dairy milk.

Easy to Make Non-Dairy Ice Cream

When I discovered that the coconut cream had separated into a pale liquid and a very solid "mass," I decided to experiment. I made Coconut Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.

It was amazingly easy to make. All I did was mash up a very ripe banana, added the coconut cream to it.

Then for extra flavor I added some vanilla and cinnamon. I mashed all that up with a fork and then added chocolate chips. You may have noticed that I didn't add any sugar to this ice cream.

I served it on Succot, so there's no photo of it served in the pretty little glass bowls decorated with more chocolate chips. We all, my husband plus a guest and myself, finished our portions to the very last drop. I didn't hear any complaints about my latest creation.

IMHO this easy to make non-dairy vegan ice cream is much tastier than what most people make  with the commercial artificial "Rich's." I didn't need a mixer or any other kitchen tool. We all have forks; don't we? So, if you find yourself with thick coconut cream, you have the base for a very easy, simple and tasty ice cream. And as ice creams go, whether commercial or homemade, this one is pretty healthy.