The rest of the family eats the real stuff, and we spring for that little bit more for the one who can't tolerate dairy.

I work for Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss and I wanted to chime in about the price of our product listed on this review.  $7.95 is not an average price for our product; most stores carry our product around $5.49-$5.99
(I would be interested in knowing where our pints retail for $7.95)

Our price is slightly higher because we use no fillers and use only organic & fair trade ingredients, please stop by our homepage and take a look at the ingredients in our flavors.

I don't work for Larry & Luna, though I wish I did (but it's probably best for all involved that I don't). However, I think even at $7.95 a pint (though I've never seen it cost that much anywhere) it's still a steal of a deal for the product and the highly thoughtful ingredients that go into it. For goodness sakes, it's a treat. Where do we get the idea that everything has to be super cheap? That's why we have food issues on such a huge level. Good stuff comes at a price and a pint of incredible dessert is less than a couple cones at a shop.

The Mint Galactica flavor is pure... well, bliss. I'm not a huge frozen mint fan but this is subtle. They've had some other wonderful flavors I haven't seen for a while and miss which I'd never think to put together or ever believe I'd like but they work. I think I remember lilacs in one. Doesn't matter, as one of the things I've found with L&L is that I don't need much. A few spoonfuls of "squealing" good (oh and it is for everyone I've shared with) frozen confection and I feel satisfied. A pint can last quite a long time in my freezer with lots of little treats, all of which are far more satiating than the other alternatives.

Really, you do get what you pay for. Unfortunately those down the line also get what you pay for, or don't. Are we all worth it or not?

I don't use dairy products as a personal choice (but also becasue milk never does anything good to my stomach). Unlike you, I really like the soy ice cream and was never keen on the rice one. Will take you up on the coconut ice creams, though. Thanks!

Chocolate (or Mocha) Sorbet

This makes one quart of smooth, dark, and lovely sorbet. If you like bitter chocolate you will love it. The kind of chocolate, liquid, and booze are flexible; you can make many different flavor combinations. I've made this with coffee, plain chocolate, and bourbon; also coffee, Green and Black's Maya Gold, and Kahlua.

1 c. sugar
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
3 c. water (or coffee to make mocha sorbet)
3 oz. good quality dark chocolate (flavored if you like; Green and Black's Maya Gold bar is good), chopped
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. of 80-proof booze (Grand Marnier, Kahlua, rum, bourbon, whatever---if it's not 80-proof, scale accordingly)


In a 2-quart saucepan, mix cocoa and sugar. Slowly add water or coffee, whisking until smooth. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the chocolate until smooth. Add vanilla and booze. Chill until cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker. Alternatively, scrape it into a metal pan (like a 9" square pan) and freeze completely (it won't freeze solid because of the booze). Chop half of it into a food processor and process until smooth, then transfer to a quart container. Repeat with the other half and put the container in the freezer.

I avoided ice cream for years because I was vegan, but I also love vanilla ice cream so I've tried several different brands of dairy-free imitations. Unfortunately, the beany quality of soy tends to overpower the subtleties of vanilla and, consequently, most of them didn't taste particularly good to me. The rice substitutes never worked for me, either, because I think the strong rice syrup flavor also interferes with the crisp, clean vanilla taste. Cocoa, having a much stronger flavor, holds up much better to the soy and rice flavors.

Unfortunately for all those who love vanilla and don't eat dairy for one reason or another, my favorite vanilla soy cream was part of the Wholesoy Glace line that was discontinued several years ago. Wholesoy does still sell a lowfat "frozen soy yogurt" (Wholesoyco.com) but I don't think I've ever tried it. Lowfat ice cream (or imitation) seems to me to be a contradiction in terms. Of the brands that are still on the market that I've tried, my favorite is the Double Rainbow Vanilla Bean Soy Cream (DoubleRainbow.com).

The coconut-based imitations didnt' hit the market until after I started eating real ice cream again so I don't have an opinion about their compatibility with vanilla.

While I love both of these, another easily tops my list: Chicago Soy Dairy's Temptation Ice Cream. The coffee flavor is amazing!!! You can check their website to see if someone carries it in your area (it's mostly in the midwest and east coast): http://www.gotemptation.com/ice_cream.php It's highly worth trying!!

For further info try www.ingmanglass.se

As an environmentalist, I can't justify eating dairy when I know the extent of the degradation it causes to Earth. And why would I? There are so many ice creams made from milks that are produced more sustainably. (Some of my favorites, for instance,are Vanilla Tofutti Cuties and So Delicious Coconut Almond bars.)

I am also a nutritonalist, and need to point out that not everyone who doesn't eat ice cream made from cow's milk -- or as you degradingly referred to it, "the real thing" -- is lactose intolerant, although most adults are. (Specifically, 80% of Asian and Native Americans, 75% of African Americans, 51% of Hispanic Americans, and 21% of Caucasian Americans.) This is because cow's milk is made for baby cows just as breast milk is made for baby humans. After that, don't consume it! Simple.

Lastly, since you are associating the smell of coconut with sunscreen, I'm worried you might be using an unhealthy kind of sunscreen. Sunscreens made by terrible brands like Coppertone put that overwhelming smell in their product, but most healthy sunscreens do not. So please check and make sure you're using sunscreen that is actually protecting your body, not damaging it, and that isn't running off into our oceans and bleaching our reefs.

Please be the environmental organization we all want you to be! Thanks for listening.

I enjoy the so delicious (or maybe it's purely decadent) chocolate and peanut butter swirl -- it's really good. I agree that a lot of soy ice creams have a strange bean taste but the PB texture here adds a rich creaminess. 

Also, any good vegan knows to think outside the box: Tofutti Cutie ice cream sandwiches are AMAZING! I like all soy/rice ice cream bars -- adding chocolate sauce on top balances it out. Or, they are all good when used to add a scoop to a piece of cake or eating it with cookies because it helps balance out any strangeness. Also, of course fruit sorbets and Edy's Whole Fruit popsicles are a great summer vegan treat, holy crow!

But overall, I find the coconut ice creams superiour even to regular ice cream -- esp. if you consider health factors. You can use coconut milk (buy it in industrial size cans for a killer price) in an ice cream maker and make your own too! Super cheap!

Whichever commenter said price shouldn't be an option when you buy food -- where do you live and how do I get there? 

You're absolutely right that cow's milk isn't a healthy food for everyone. Wikipedia gives an estimate that 75% of the world's adult population have some degree of difficulty in digesting lactose. For those of us who don't have such difficulty, though, I see no personal health argument for avoiding milk entirely--and ice cream and gelato are absolutely luscious. There must have been some evolutionary advantage to eating milk or the mutation that allows people to continue producing the enzyme necessary to digest lactose--lactase--throughout adulthood wouldn't have become predominant in certain population

Many ecosystems need ruminants to be healthy, so I don't see any reason why those of us who can digest milk just fine shouldn't be able to eat milk from ruminants grazing such ecosystems. We can argue about how much to eat, but there're no personal or ecological health reasons for arguing we should never eat milk, period. You can make an ethical argument, of course, but that will always be a matter of opinion.

Personally, I think Tofutti's products have a bizarre synthetic quality to the texture and mouthfeel.

I was in a health food store today and saw another alternative: Living Harvest Tempt frozen dessert based on hempseeds (LivingHarvest.com)! I didn't buy any--it was expensive and the hempseeds weren't organic, though some of the other ingredients were--but it's another option for those who decline to eat dairy for ethical reasons or who have health problems when they do.

The Wholesoy Glace I mentioned in my last message used a Swedish process that reduced the beany flavor, and they still use it for their soy "yogurt" and soy "yogurt" frozen desserts.

Anyone else remember the Ice Bean brand of imitation ice cream? When I was vegan, that was the first brand I ever had, as I recall. I remember thinking it was tasty, but it had been years since I'd had the real thing so it couldn't pale by comparison.

Although I still have to try the coconut ones ... (tho not a big fan of coconut I'm not sure how I will like them)

Thank you for the recipe :)!

Sidecar for Pigs Peace, which is in Seattle (and which, by the way, sells Coconut Bliss for the lowest price I've ever seen in Seattle): www.sidecarforpigspeace.com

and

Food Fight! in Portland: www.foodfightgrocery.com

 Miyaka@

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Furniture Store

http://www.gotemptation.com/ice_cream.php

I don't like dried coconut at all, it's like eating coconut flavored cardboard, but melty cold sweet coconut - sounds devine. Kinda like a pina colada, not sunscreen.