Overcoming Lactose Intolerance

Unfortunately, over recent years, lactose has been waging a wicked war with me. This battle has resulted in many casualties - including the ability to enjoy my two favorite foods: ice-cream and pizza. Just when I thought all hope was lost, and the Lactose demon was threatening to force surrender, I got an ice-cream maker from my parents. Little did they know they were listening to the promptings of the spirit and assisting my Heavenly Father in sending me the biggest blessing of my life (second only to you, of course, sweetie!). With a little trepidation, and a lot of experimentation, I have finally made some amazing headway in making non-dairy vegan (if you use vegan chocolate) ice-cream that ACTUALLY tastes good! WOW! I'm on a new, noble quest to discover new and delicious flavors. For those of you who requested the recipe, here it is. I got this from a blog http://veganicecream.blogspot.com/. Unfortunately, it looks like she hasn't updated her blog in a couple years, but there are still some recipes. ENJOY to all of you that are bravely fighting the war with Lactose...here's to the joy of eating ice-cream once more!!

P.S. I have the quart Cuisanart ice-cream maker (pictured below), about $40 on amazon (not that I'm advertising...)


Chocolate Ice Cream (Adapted from the Chocolate Candy Cane Ice Cream)

2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk) - see my recipe for soy creamer below (I didn't want to try and find the ready made stuff in the store, so I made my own after some internet searching. Blessed technology!)
1 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
¾ c. sugar
1½ c. high quality dark chocolate chips (we used the costco truffles as we didn't actually have vegan chocolate on hand...I guess we're really not that hard core...)
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. chopped dark chocolate (or some more of those dark chocolate chips) - this is optional, for if you like chunks in your ice cream

1. Arrowroot slurry: Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot, mix well with a fork and set aside.

2. Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, sugar, and chocolate chips together in a saucepan. Heat gently until the chocolate melts, then bring to a boil.

3. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and immediately stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

4. Set the ice cream mixture aside (ie. in the fridge) to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Stir in the chocolate chunks in the last 5-10 minutes of freezing.


Soy Milk Creamer Recipe (from e-how.com)

1 1/8 Cup plain soy milk
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoon maple syrup or 1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Pour 1/8 cup of the plain soy milk into the blender. Blend for five seconds to aerate the milk.

2. Remove the top of the blender while still on and pour in 1/8 cup of vegetable oil.

3. Blend soy milk and oil mixture on high until mixed.

4. With the blender still on, carefully remove the top from the blender and slowly stream in the last 1/8 cup of oil.

5. Bring the blender speed down to a medium level and slowly stream in the syrup and vanilla.

6. Bring the speed of the blender to medium-high. Open the compartment in the blender top and slowly drip the remaining 1 cup of soy milk into the blender.

7. Remove the creamer from the blender, pour into a container with a lid, and place in your refrigerator. This should keep for two weeks. Shake vigorously if it settles or separates.

Optional flavoring options:
Add 1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 Teaspoon almond extract, or 1 Teaspoon carmel syrup to make cinnamon creamer, almond creamer, or carmel creamer, respectively. Add these flavors in at step 5.