Dairy is one of my favorite food groups. I could live on it. Diary is a controversial food in the Paleo community. Many people don’t tolerate it and some claim it’s mucus forming and causes weight gain.
In an effort to eat less dairy I’ve been making my own nut milks. It’s easy and fun and I’ve experimented with many different types of nuts. My almond coconut milk is delicious but cashews have a creamy quality that best mimics real milk/cream.
The secret ingredient in my cashew milk is coconut water, which imparts sweetness without adding sugar.
Cashew milk has been rocking my world lately. And because I made 32 ounces, and it goes bad so fast, I’ve started freezing half in my over sized silicon cube tray for later use.
That got me thinking….this stuff is so creamy and sweet and freezes so well, it would make amazing ice cream.
That’s how this recipe was born.
I know that it’s winter for most of you and you are probably all about soups and stews. But I couldn’t wait for the summer to share this because it was a great treat recipe for those doing a dairy or sugar detox for the new year.
And honestly it’s so darn easy and good that I couldn’t wait to share.
It’s a treat that even satisfies a dairy addict like me.
Ingredients
1 cup of cashews and enough water to cover and soak them in overnight
4 cups or 32 ounces of coconut water (you can use regular water also)
Optional flavorings: 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Optional toppings: dark chocolate chips
How to
Cover cashews with water and let soak overnight on your counter or in your fridge
Drain water and rinse cashews in strainer
Put cashews in a blender with 4 cups of coconut water
Blend for a few minutes until well blended
Pour the cashew milk into a nut bag or cheese cloth that is draped over or above a bowl to catch the milk.
If you don’t have a nut bag you can use a clean nylon stocking.
Squeeze the nut bag until all the cashew milk drains into the bowl and you are left only with pulp. There might be no pulp left or very little depending on how long you soaked the cashews for.
You can transfer the milk directly into the ice cream maker (I used this one) or refrigerate it for later use.
This is when you can add in additional flavorings 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup for a sweeter ice cream, or 1 to 2 tablespoons of cocoa for a chocolate version. If you want to add chocolate chips you can mix them in after the ice cream has been made. It should still be pretty soft and easy to mix in chips or nuts.
Fill your ice cream maker to the suggested limit and let it run for about half an hour or until the ice cream solidifies.
If the ice cream is too soft for your liking then transfer it to a container and put it in the freezer for another half an hour to harden up.
