Since finding out I was lactose intolerant, ice cream has been one thing I’ve really missed. Summer is not the same without creamy, chocolately Magnums – especially when the sun is shining. The world of ice cream retailers don’t seem to have woken up to the joys of the cold, icy stuff without cows milk in it yet, so it’s impossible to get a dairy free 99 on the go. (Yes there are ice lollies, but they’re just not the same!) It’s therefore all the more important to make sure my freezer is stocked so that I can munch some ice cream when I get home.
Dairy free ice creams were once the preserve of Whole Foods and Waitrose, but now more mainstream supermarkets seem to be getting in on the act. So it was that I stumbled across the Coconut Collaborative in Sainsbury’s. I chose the Chocolate Snowconut flavour to satisfy my ice cream and chocolate craving. As you can see I was eating it in my sweats, ready to relax before another week at work! 
The texture looked promising – not lumpy or icy like it sometimes can be. The colour was rich and looked like genuine chocolate. I had such high hopes for this ice cream, so much so that it’s totally not an exaggeration to say that they were CRUELLY DASHED as soon as I put a spoonful in my mouth. 
The taste that immediately hit me was coconut – I couldn’t taste chocolate at all. And I don’t mind coconut but I’m not a huge fan – you’ll certainly never catch me with a Bounty in my gob. I *could* have gone on eating it, but only for the sheer mindlessness of the munch and my desire to like it. But the more I ate, the more disappointed I became. What a shame. 
Needless to say, the rest of the tub ended up in the bin. And to make things worse, the next day I had a growly, bloated belly. The only other things I’d eaten were the usual salads and pasta, which is always fine, so I could only put it down to the ice cream. I remembered glancing at the ingredients the night before and it mentioned lactobacillus something or other. I was suspicious of it at the time because of the ‘lacto’ bit, but assumed it would be fine as the carton said non-dairy. I have no conclusive evidence, but I am pinning it on the ice cream – I’m convinced it upset my tummy. I have since tried to find the list of ingredients online but all I can find is ‘dairy free cultures’. Hmmmmmm.
In short – not one I’ll be trying again!
Next on the dairy free ice cream test list – Booja Booja. I’ve had their dairy free truffles and they are to die for, darling. So I have even higher hopes for that one! Shame you can only get it in Waitrose.
Do you have any other dairy free ice cream recommendations? If so, I’d love to hear them and I’ll add them to my list. Oh it’s a hard life testing ice cream… 😉
♥ JH