Ice Cream!

I finally after many months of consideration bought a Cuisinart ICE-21 Ice Cream Maker.  Why, oh, why did I wait?  It has turned out to be one of my favorite kitchen appliances.  Not only is this appliance very easy to use, but I can now make my own low-carb high-fat ice creams that fit the guidelines of my desired diet.  Specifically, this means that I can have ice cream made with natural no- or low-calorie sweeteners such as stevia and xylitol.  Let me be clear here that the ice creams are not less expensive that ice cream available in your local supermarket; rather, my purpose in making my own ice cream is to obtain a nutritionally superior product while accommodating my sweet tooth.

I have found the Rubbermaid Premier 7-Cup Food Storage Container to be the perfect size for a batch of ice cream.

The following is Cuisinart’s own video about this ice cream maker.

I have been using the following no-cook recipes in my ice cream maker.  I use stevia with the xylitol to increase sweetness while minimizing the intestinal distress that can result from consuming too much sugar alcohol.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

2 cans regular coconut milk
1/2 cup xylitol
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 dropper liquid stevia extract

1. Freeze bowl of ice cream maker for at least 24 hours.  (Just keep it in the freezer at all times when not in use so that it is always ready.)
2. Place all ingredients into blender; blend well.
3. Pour mixture into assembled ice cream maker.
4. Turn on ice cream maker and process for 20 minutes.
5. Transfer ice cream into container and freeze to increase firmness.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

1 cup organic heavy cream from pasture-raised cows
1 cup organic half-and-half from pasture-raised cows
1/2 cup xylitol
1 dropper liquid stevia extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
dash salt
2 frozen Amberlyn dark mint chocolate bars (These can be purchased at Costco road shows.)

1. Freeze bowl of ice cream maker for at least 24 hours. (Just keep it in the freezer at all times when not in use so that it is always ready.)
2. Place cream, sweetener, flavor, and salt into blender; blend well.
3. Pour mixture into assembled ice cream maker.
4. Turn on ice cream maker and process for 20 minutes.
5. Place chocolate bars into a plastic bag.  Pound with a mallet or meat hammer until the bars are broken into chips.
6. Stir chocolate chips into processed ice cream.
7. Transfer ice cream into container and freeze to increase firmness.