COCONUT COLADA ICE CREAM

By Lisa

Has anyone noticed that it’s finally starting to get hot outside? Stupid question, right? Like most people, I like ice cream on a hot day. Being “Paleo,” it can be hard to buy Paleo-friendly ready-made ice cream. So Delicious makes a decent Coconut Milk Ice Cream that you can buy at Sprout’s or Fry’s, but some of the flavors have agave syrup (bad news!) and/or different gums in it. Yuck! Plus, it’s more than $6.00 per pint! No, thank you….

I’ve been experimenting with Paleo ice cream for the last year and I’ve found that canned coconut milk ice cream is very close in texture, without all the sugars and fillers you normally find in “traditional” ice cream. Coconut milk ice cream is pretty darned good and will fool your non-Paleo friends and your kids. Promise. It’s really easy to make homemade ice cream with the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. You just have to make sure that you plan enough ahead to freeze the cylinder (planning ahead is always an issue for me).

A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a new Paleo Cookbook that is chock-full of treats, “Paleo Indulgences” by Tammy Credicott. This cookbook is amazing. Since I only make “treats” and leave the meat-cooking to Brian, this book is right up my alley. I bought it because there is an ENTIRE SECTION devoted to Paleo Ice Cream! I plan to make several of Tammy’s ice cream recipes, but started with the Coconut Colada version. I’m not going to lie, I began with this particular recipe because I thought it would be good with rum in it. And, I was right! Enjoy:)

Coconut Colada Ice Cream

Ingredients

Ice Cream

• 1 can of coconut milk (full fat, of course)
• 2 ripe bananas (next time I’m going to use 4)
• 1 cup of diced fresh pineapple (warning: don’t use this much pineapple unless you LOVE pineapple. I’m going to cut it to 1/2 cup next time)
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut (I love coconut and plan to increase this to 3/4 cup next time)

Topping

• 1/2 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (don’t skip this! They are yummy. I toasted by putting in a pan and cooking on medium on the stove. Make sure you stir constantly so they don’t burn. It only takes about 3-4 minutes)

Directions

1. Place all the ice cream ingredients in a blender and puree until almost smooth. Slightly lumpy is good. Place in refrigerator to cool for about an hour.
2. Pour mixture into prepared ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions for your machine.
3. Scoop into serving dishes and top with toasted coconut. Enjoy!