Your favorite brownie recipe.
NadaMoo Lotta Mint Chip
1/2 cup non-dairy semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Cut prepared brownies into squares or elegant triangles (you can also bake the brownies into mini tart pans for an even more impressive presentation). Place one brownie on each plate. Set aside.
Combine chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double boiler (if you don’t have a double boiler, a metal bowl placed over a pan works, too. Just be careful of the steam when lifting).
Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally and watching closely, until melted. Remove from heat and stir in peppermint extract.
To assemble, put one scoop of Lotta Mint Chip over each brownie. Drizzle on fudge mint topping. Garnish with an optional sprig of mint and serve immediately.

Next time you’re at a regular grocery store pick up a well-known brand’s vanilla ice cream and read the ingredients list. Somewhere in they’re you’re likely to read the words “natural flavors.” So what does that mean?

The exact definition of natural flavors from the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows:

“The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

The only way to know what that means is to call the company and ask them directly. But when it comes to traditional ice cream, particularly vanilla and and cheap strawberry or raspberry syrups, one likely ingredient you may not like to hear is called castoreum.

A by-product of the trapping industry, castoreum has been used as a food flavoring for over 80 years. Castoreum is a smelly, oily secretion that’s found in two sacs between the anus and the external genitals of beavers. This secretion is combined with the beaver’s urine and used when peeing to mark their territory.

Unfortunately it’s not just found in ice cream. It’s also used to flavor candies, drinks, and desserts.

So why not just use real vanilla beans for flavor or real raspberries? You only need one guess…they’re more expensive.

Next time you see ‘natural flavors’ on an ingredient list you may want to ask yourself if you’re dealing with a manufacturer that you trust.

Here’s a fun clip with David Letterman and Jamie Oliver, sure to make you chuckle.

Benefits of Coconut Milk

• Coconut milk is a rich source of calcium, minerals, vitamin, potassium and chloride.
• It contains saturated fat known as lauric acid. There are plenty of benefits of lauric acid like brain development as well as bone health. These are medium-chain fatty acids which are very efficiently converted into energy by the body. This also means that coconut milk can help you in losing weight
• It boosts the immune system as it contains anti-viral, anti-bacteria, anti-carcinogenic and anti-microbial properties which will also help you fight off the various common infections like the cold and flu.
• Helps reduce the risk of diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis and skin cancer.
• It can alleviate sore throats as well as stomach ulcers.
• Prevents and treats dry dull skin as well rashes. It is also used to moisturize dry scalp and dull hair.

With so many benefits of coconut milk drink it straight up, use it as a dessert topping, or fall in love with its amazing ice cream abilities like we did!

Is it warming up where you’re at? Here in Texas it’s practically summer…a few days a week at least. Summer time = milk shakes.  Here’s another fun one from our friend Audrey at Just Audrey.

1/2 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen–frozen will make it thicker)
1/2 cup nondairy milk (or use orange juice for a strawberry-orange shake)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 cup NadaMoo Creamy Coconut or Vanilla…ahh!
Fresh strawberries to garnish (optional)

Using a blender, combine first three ingredients and blend until combined.
Add NadaMoo to other ingredients in blender and blend just until smooth and creamy.
Pour into chilled glasses and enjoy immediately! For the optional strawberry garnish, slice the strawberry partially through and rest on the rim of the glass.

Also try with peaches or other fruit!

Is it possible that ice cream knows no bounds? Cookies, cakes, all by itself…what can’t it do?

Our very talented friend Caitlin at TheVeganChickpea.com put this recipe together for a special occasion. But with this kind of genius, I’m not waiting for a special occasion to make it!

Ingredients

For the raw crust:
2 cups raw cashews
1/4 cup medjool dates
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil

For the candy:
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil
marshmallows

For the ice cream:
2 pins of your favorite NadaMoo! flavor
8 heaping 1/4 tsps of Ricemellow Creme

Method

Make crust:

Prepare a 9″ round cake pan by cutting out a round piece of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan.

Using a food processor, pulse cashews until they are crumbs. Add in dates and pulse again until they are fully incorporated. Pour maple syrup over the mixture and pulse again until a raw dough is formed. It will be consistent in color and texture and hold together well. Set 1/4 cup of the mixture aside for decoration(chill in refrigerator). Take the remainder of the crust dough and press to the bottom of the parchment prepared cake pan, making it as even in thickness as possible. Place in freezer.

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Place a glass bowl overtop of the pot and add the chocolate chips. Stir continually until the chocolate chips are completely melted. Add in the coconut oil and continue to stir until chocolate is very smooth. Take cake pan out of freezer and spoon/brush melted chocolate over the crust, covering the entire top. Place pan back into freezer.

Roll out 1/4 cup of crust to your desired thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutter(s) to make shapes to decorate the top of your cake. Place in a sealed container in the refrigerator, separated by parchment paper, until ready to use.

Make candy:

Bring a small pot of water to boil. Place a glass bowl overtop of the pot and add the chocolate chips. Stir continually until the chocolate chips are completely melted. Add in the coconut oil and continue to stir until chocolate is very smooth.

Spoon just enough chocolate into the molds to cover the bottom. Take each marshmallow and toss it in the chocolate until covered. Place in the candy mold, and cover with additional chocolate until the entire mold is filled. Refrigerate/place in freezer until candy has hardened. Pop out of the molds and store in airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator.

Make Ice Cream:

Let ice cream soften until workable. Once it is soft, stir in the Ricemellow. Spoon ice cream into cake pan, cover, and place in freezer.

Just before the cake is going to be served, remove from freezer. Run a knife in between the cake and the sides of the pan to separate. Remove the springform pan and top the cake with your decorations. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup agave nectar-you can use honey too even maple syrup would work in a pinch
1/2 cup good spiced rum
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
-Mix together in medium sized bowl and let sit for a few hours or overnight.
-When ready to serve slice just ripened bananas into bowl of syrup and let sit for 10 minutes.
-Spoon syrup and bananas over NadaMoo! coconut milk ice cream and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
-Let the good times roll!

Amber, the creative genius behind The Tasty Alternative, created this amazing recipe for Valentine’s Day. Hard to imagine a better match for NadaMoo ice cream.

Grain free vegan double chocolate cookies

Amazing. Thanks Amber! You can see her original post here.

Coconut milk is a slightly milky and sweet flavored liquid found inside the coconut seed. The seed has a very hard outer shell that must be cut through with a saw or machete blade in order to crack it open. The milk and meat are well worth the effort through.

The average serving size of coconut milk is 1/3 cup or 2 ounces. This product contains about 120 calories per serving. It’s also contains 21 grams of fat per serving and about half of that is saturated fat. This product is very rich in fat and calories, which is partly why it was so widely used.  Coconut milk also has about 1 gram of protein per serving and adds some iron to the diet. It’s a very good product to add to ice cream for a rich, sweet ice cream that also provides some iron and protein and a few other essential vitamins and minerals to help you feel good after eating.

There are many benefits to eating coconut milk. It is a plant seed, so the coconut contains certain minerals that are important to the body, but can be hard to get into the diet, including phosphorous, copper, iron, manganese, potassium, zinc and selenium. The zinc and vitamin C in the coconut milk help the body fight off bacteria and viruses. This makes NadaMoo! coconut milk ice cream not only tasty but nutritious as well.

Additionally, the potassium and selenium in coconut milk are important for the production of strong hair and nails. Iron and copper are used in the blood and oxygen transportation, so you can easily justify consuming coconut milk.

Besides coconut milk nutrition facts, there are also many uses for it. Coconut milk is considered useful for easing sore throats and the pain of ulcers. It is an anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-fungal product as well.

Also, even though coconut milk contains a lot of fat, it has been found that the body uses up these calories rather than converting them into the body’s own fat stores. It provides a nice high calorie kick to satisfy cravings without adding a lot of fat to the waistline.

What can’t coconut milk do?!

Beginning With Lactose-Free Diet

Now when you have discovered your allergy to lactose, you will be required to carefully choose the products in the beginning and once you find all the lactose-free products, it would be easier for you to shop again. Your shopping might take you just a little longer as you will have to read various labels and compare different products.

Reading the Labels

Checking and reading the labels thoroughly for ingredients and the nutritional value of the product is very important. Even if there is a label on it to be “Lactose-Free”,  just give a look at the ingredients to check whether there is lactose present in what is marked to be lactose free.

If you are interested in lactose free ice-cream and you are reading the label and you find the lactase enzyme, this would mean that there may contain some presence of lactose but it will not create problem for the lactose intolerant people but there are still some amount of people that cannot even take lactose enzyme so make sure you fall in which category.

Zero Lactose

If you are one of those people that need zero lactose in their food then you will be required to search for zero lactose foods and desserts including the ice cream. Rice, soy and coconut are popular options that are used for lactose-free ice creams in which coconut milk is getting very popular as it not only makes the ice cream delicious but also its very nutritious. This is the ideal milk substitute and there are plenty of brands today making use of these popular products. Among the various lactose-free ice cream brands, NadaMoo is gaining popularity as their ice cream is made from organic and pure products which are simply tasty to eat, healthy for body and excellent for environment. So if you are lactose intolerant, you don’t have to quit eating ice creams switch to the alternative!

A dairy and gluten-free diet can also lead to a slimmer waistline. It helps to reduce bloating in people who have digestive problems and also improves digestion, so that the digestive track remains clear and isn’t blocked. Plus, the change to lower fat alternatives to dairy can reduce caloric intake and reduce weight in the long term.

Perhaps the most obvious benefits of a gluten and dairy-free diet are the health benefits. Many people are sensitive to gluten and dairy products without realizing it. Some people are even allergic to gluten and dairy and will have severe reactions after eating foods containing these products.

Unfortunately, gluten and dairy are prevalent in western foods so they can be hard to avoid. However, it is essential to good health. Gluten sensitivity can lead to bloating, pain and diarrhea. Sufferers also complain of headaches, migraines and lethargy.

Similar problems also result from dairy allergies, but can include much more severe symptoms including, rashes, hives, vomiting and even anaphylactic shock. Naturally, those allergic to milk want to avoid this product at all costs.

Other health problems can be improved by changing to a gluten and dairy free diet including autism, arthritis, diabetes, brain fog, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Many people with allergies and sensitivity to gluten and dairy begin to see immediate improvement in their health when they just stop eating these foods. The time it takes to get adjusted to a new diet is well worth it in terms of good health.

Some excellent alternatives to consider instead of flour, which is filled with gluten, include corn, rice, potato and quinoa flours. These products can be used in place of gluten filled flours in recipes. Alternatives to dairy include soy, almond, rice and coconut milk.

A plentiful amount of flour exists in nature that can be used instead of wheat, oat and barley flours. A new diet in these alternatives to gluten and dairy can be just what is needed for good health. The other benefits to a gluten and dairy-free diet a wider palette, weight loss and easier digestion are just bonuses.