We’re huge ice cream lovers at our house. Chocolate ice cream with naturally sweetened hot fudge sauce regularly makes an appearance at the table. One of my favorite flavors as a child though, was cherry vanilla ice cream. Now you can make it at home with healthy ingredients, even without an ice cream machine.

Is an ice cream machine really necessary?

For many years we didn’t have an ice cream machine, and I made do with a food processor and the freezer. Constant freezing of the food processor was hard on the plastic, and eventually it cracked under the pressure. So then I tried just freezing a batch of ice cream in a bowl and stirring every 30 minutes or so. That didn’t really work so well either, because the ice cream would turn out all icy and clumpy. Not very ice creamy, which is really the whole point of ice cream.

I eventually lucked out and found an ice cream machine at Gooodwill for next to nothing. We love that thing and use it several times a week. I foresee needing a new one soon in our near future though, and I’ll get this one, which is the newer model. The cover on ours mysteriously ended up with a large crack and a chunk of the plastic missing. Did I mention that plastic doesn’t seem to like me?

Getting the perfect scoop

If you haven’t gotten an ice cream machine yet (which I highly recommend if you love it as much as we do!), then there are a few simple tricks to getting the perfect dairy free ice cream.  I just got this new e-book from Jessica over at Delicious Obsessions and she gives all the details on how to achieve the perfect ice cream, even without a machine. As much ice cream as we make,  I’m excited to make these few tweaks for an even better dish of the stuff.

There’s a lot more than just ice cream in a bowl in this book though. The Splendid Scoop mixes favorites like creamy vanilla, with intriguing new concoctions like Strawberry Mint Watermelon Slush, Water Kefir Ice Cream Floats and Dark Chocolate Crunch. Oooh, I want that Dark Chocolate crunch one right now. You can check out The Splendid Scoop here.

Cherry vanilla ice cream

The post Dairy Free Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream Without a Machine appeared first on The Herbal Spoon.

A good caramel sauce goes well with so many desserts, I’ll even add a touch to my morning herbal coffee brew for a salted caramel flavor! Most caramel sauces are made with heavy amounts of refined sugar, which wreaks havoc on your body. This honey sweetened caramel sauce is naturally sweetened and offers a healthier, yet just as delicious option.

In search of ice cream topping

Last night I made chocolate ice cream from some coconut milk I had just bought. We were going to eat it after the baby went to bed except, the baby wouldn’t go to bed. We finally rolled into bed bleary eyed and exhausted at four in the morning, after Mr. energy had finally exhausted himself. Tonight I decided to pull the ice cream from the freezer, but then I realized I could do better.

Can I tell you something? My secret indulgence is a chocolate sundae with caramel sauce from Dairy Queen. It’s so smooth, sweet and creamy, but so incredibly bad for you! I’m not even sure what all chemicals and artificial flavors are in it.

Honey sweetened caramel sauce

That’s when I had an epiphany and decided to try a sugar free all natural caramel sauce. After much searching I found some inspiration online, but nothing exactly like what I was looking for. The resulting recipe is rich and smooth just like regular caramel, but without the guilt! I wasn’t sure it would thicken properly at first, but I promise you it will!

You don’t have to save this sauce for just ice cream though. It tastes equally delicious on top of some cheesecake, or drizzled on a moist, chocolate brownie. I’ve even been known to sneak a few spoonfuls in straight out of the jar.

Be sure to use pastured cream and butter as well as local honey and a healthy sea salt like Celtic or Himalayan. I’ve included links in the recipe below for ingredients we use if you can’t find what you need locally.  So without further ado, here is the best caramel sauce in the universe. (okay maybe not, but it’s pretty darn good

What would you put this caramel sauce on? Let us know in the comments below!

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