Dairy-free Lavender-Blueberry Ice Cream

Yay! Just got my first blueberries of the summer . . . and made this scrumptious ice cream. 

You can find this recipe, Blueberry Ice Cream, and lots more in my new cookbook Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love.

Lavender-Blueberry Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

I thought my original Blueberry Ice Cream couldn’t get any better, but this flavor proved me wrong! This recipe is actually worth growing fresh lavender for—but if it’s not in your garden, look for it at a farmers’ market or natural food store.

1/2 cup soymilk or other nondairy milk

2 tablespoons fresh lavender flowers and buds (about 4 large sprigs) 

2 cups blueberries

1 (14-ounce can) full-fat coconut milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar or agave syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour the soymilk into a small saucepan and warm it on medium-low heat until it just begins to boil. Stir in the lavender flowers and buds. Cover and remove from the heat. Steep for 20 minutes.

Place a fine-mesh strainer over a blender jar. Pour the soymilk mixture through the strainer to remove the lavender. Add the blueberries, coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla extract to the blender and process until smooth. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

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MSG

Here is this week's Food Safety Tip from the Organic Consumers Association:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the most common and hazardous food additives on the market. MSG is reportedly more toxic than alcohol, tobacco and many drugs. MSG is an excitotoxin, so it tricks your brain into wanting to eat more and more foods containing the ingredient, even if you are already full. Side effects of MSG include: obesity, eye damage, headaches, depression, fatigue and disorientation. Food manufacturers know that health-conscious consumers try to avoid MSG, so it is oftentimes not listed in a product's ingredients. MSG is banned in organic foods.

Here's a list of ingredients that ALWAYS contain MSG:

Autolyzed Yeast -- Calcium Caseinate -- Gelatin Glutamate -- Glutamic Acid -- Hydrolyzed Protein -- Monopotassium Glutamate -- Monosodium Glutamate -- Sodium Caseinate -- Textured Protein -- Yeast Extract -- Yeast Food -- Yeast Nutrient

For more information, check out this article.

GIVEAWAY--Drawing for free cookbook!

Okay -- here's the deal. My new cookbook Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Vegan Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love will be out in a couple of weeks. Here are some online stores where the book is available for preorder:

Powell's Books

Amazon

Indie Bound

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Now for the giveaway part -- email me proof that you preordered the book and I'll enter you in a drawing to receive another copy of Lick It! (Don't you have a friend that you want to get a copy for?) or one of my other books--your choice. A random drawing will be held on Friday, May 15th--if you get a copy from a physical store or somewhere by that time -- email me a picture of you with the book or the receipt or whatever kind of proof you want and I'll enter you as well. If you post about the book on your blog or Facebook or online book review site--anything like that, email me the link or put it in a comment on this post and I'll give you an entry for that as well.

Spread the word -- for every 25 entries I get, I'll pick an additional winner!

Don't forget--if you become my fan on Facebook and you'll be entered in another drawing -- that's two chances to win.

Lick It! Creamy Dreamy Ice Creams Your Mouth Will Love -- hot off the press!

It's here!

Looks good . . .

Huh?

There it is!

Yum!

You can get one too!

Foodcast Pilot

I'm working with A Million Cooks on their Foodcast pilot program. Check out my test foodcast on including more dark leafy greens in your diet (in ways your family will like them). When it gets going, I'll be doing a weekly 1 minute or so giving tip on eating healthier. (You'll see several foodcast boxes but right now they're all the same . . . )

Nava Atlas Interview

Nava Atlas is the author of Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons, The Vegetarian Family Cookbook, Vegan Express, The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet, and many other cookbooks designed for busy families who want healthful vegan and vegetarian food. She's written many articles for magazines such as Vegetarian Times, Veggie Life, and Cooking Light. She's the creator of the popular Web site In a Vegetarian Kitchen (www.vegkitchen.com) and the vegan blog Veggie Talk (http://blog.vegkitchen.com). She lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York with her husband and two sons. 

Click here to read the whole interview on VegFamily.com.

Water Bottles Re-Revisited

Well--as you know from my previous reviews that out of all the nonplastic water bottles I tested, my kids liked the Thermos versions the best. 

Well today my daughter complained her was leaking and I found a bunch of cracks along the bottom. The outside is plastic and doesn't seem to have held up that well. She's now going to be using the Klean Kanteen bottle with the new nonsqueaky sports cap. It's stainless steel inside and out and nothing can hurt that thing!

Here's my previous water bottle post.

Easy and Healthy Snacks for the Whole Family

If your kids are anything like mine, they're starving when they come home from school. They need a nourishing snack to tide them over until dinner and fuel them for sports or dance practice. Midmorning snacks also help preschoolers and older kids get through the long morning until lunch. Most commercial snack foods like crackers, pretzels, chips, granola bars, and cookies—though convenient and filling—are often high in fat, salt, sugar and calories, contain few nutrients, and are expensive to boot. So what are the alternatives? Let's explore some ideas for nutritious snacks that are quick and easy for busy afternoons. 

See the rest of the article.