the ice dream cookbook

Just as I was headed for Alaska, I was offered a chance to review Chef Rachel Matesz's new dessert cookbook The Ice Dream Cookbook. I was intrigued by the concept of making frozen desserts from coconut milk using agave and stevia rather than sugar. It sounded like the recipes would be very close to SCD compliance than many others.

I was very excited when the book arrived and set out to read it right away. Despite the fact that it is a dessert book, the Trainer was impressed by it as well. Chef Rachel does a wonderful job explaining everything. She gives detailed information about all of her ingredients, their uses and nutritional benefits. She writes a very informative section on gluten free grains alone which is probably the most comprehensive and useful I have seen in one place.

After reading the book I was presented with a challange: while I could easily make the base 'custard', slightly modified for SCD, I don't have an ice cream maker. This is not a kitchen tool that I can buy and hide easily. I am running out of places to store tools, and the Trainer would surely figure out what it was. In stepped by wonderful new friend S along with her kitchen and ice cream maker.

On my day off I was able to prepare the base on the sly, without the Trainer poking his nose in and asking questions. I wanted to start with a simple recipe before trying anything too fancy. As much as I love vanilla, I decided that I really wanted cinnamon. After spending my whole afternoon preparing burgers and other foods I was about to sit down and relax when I realized I had completely forgotten to prepare the Ice Dream. I dashed around the kitchen, expecting the Trainer to walk in at any moment, and prepared the vanilla recipe with some added cinnamon. I finished just in time, tucking the container of base safely into the back of the fridge just as the Trainer walked in the door.

Saturday, with S, we set the Ice Dream to churning before we heated up the kitchen with our little bake-a-thon. The result was a creamy, delicious icy treat. I could definitly taste the coconut, but the flavor was mild. My result was a bit icy, but S and I think we left it to churn to long. The only change I made to make the recipe SCD was to use a little extra honey instead of stevia (which is not permitted)

I left some of the Ice Dream with S, brought some to my coworker whose son is lactose intollerant and managed to make my remaining portion last several days.
I will be making this again, although I think it was a little early for me to introduce coconut into my diet. When the weather warns up again I will try making my own SCD coconut milk to try more flavors. I was unable to try any of Chef Rachel's gluten free desserts, since they are so carefully balanced various blends of gluten free flours I did not want to arbitrarily substitute almond meal for everything.

Nutritious Creations, Carrot Cake Cookie

This Nutritious Creation isn’t quite what I would call carrot cake. It was spicy, more like a spice cake than a carrot cake, with small pieces of walnut. The one I had was overly sweet, and addictive because of it. I had planned to eat half of the cookie, which is considered one serving, but I ended up eating the whole things when it crumbled to pieces. I ate the whole cookie, drank a whole glass of water, and ended up not being satisfied.

Organic Food Bar, Belgium Chocolate Chip

Around about three o'clock I was really dragging. Lunch was behind me, dinner was at home, I was running an errand in the cold rain. I wanted a sweet pick-me-up. There are mini Snickers in my desk, but I took the high road and went for the Organic Food Bar instead.

The label read Belgium Chocolate chip, and I can taste a little chocolate. But frankly, this is so gooey good that it doesn't have to be chocolatey. Sweet and soft it has bit of nuts and little bits of chocolate. I can most definitely distinguish the dates and almonds, the first two ingredients on the label. It has a hint of wheat germ in the aftertaste. Somehow, this bar manages to taste both healthy and like desert.

These bars are certified organic, cold processed, non-GMO and 100% vegetarian. And it's delicious! None of the ingredients contain gluten, although that particular statement is not printed on the label. You could definitely eat this one for lunch, or a snack, but it sure tastes like dessert.