Milkshakes and Product Reviews

Last night after dinner we took a short drive out to go scavenge some bikes out of someone's trash pile that James had noticed on his way home from work yesterday. I'm always a sucker for anything free that is in any condition to be recycled or reused. There were three bikes there but we only took two....no need to be greedy - I just hope someone else did get the third one before it met a trashy destiny.

And yes, you can rest assured knowing that they were indeed someone's trash and not just some bikes the children living in that house had parked by the trash, as James had to remove some mangled tomato cages and rotted lumber to get to them. I feel I have to mention this because it never crossed my mind that someone might actually think we would just take some children's bikes from a stranger's curb. However, it must have crossed at least one person's mind because when I posted on my Facebook page about our trash-picked treasure and how I absolutely love heavy trash day, a friend posted "I hope those were really set out for trash! lol" Yes, Jen, they were in a pile. And we rescued them.

So what in the world does this have to do with milkshakes?

After completing our task of being the neighborhood nuisances by picking through others' trash pile, we were driving home when out of the blue I asked, "Who wants milkshakes? Raise your hand!" This was totally spur of the moment and I wasn't even certain if we had the right ingredients on hand to make them. To be accurate, I knew we had milk replacer (since we do not do dairy) and GFCF chocolate syrup but I wasn't terribly sure we had any ice cream - just the main ingredient - no big deal, right? Way to dangle a carrot in front of a four-year-old, hunh?

It ends up we did have ice cream, thank goodness. Since making such drastic restrictions to our diet around eight months ago, I've not made milkshakes. Smoothies, yes. Milkshakes, no. So where the thought to make milkshakes came from is beyond me.

Here are the ingredients I used, their specific brand names, and a brief review of each. They are in no specific order and please don't ask me the measurements. When making something simple like this, I just wing it going solely by the look of things! By the way, I am not being paid or compensated in any way to tout the benefits of the products.

AH!LASKA Organic Chocolate Syrup - This isn't Hershey's but it's pretty darn good. Considering it's organic, gluten-free, dairy free, and "free" of a few other undesirable ingredients, it's actually better than Hershey's in some ways. I do feel I use more of this than regular Hershey's or store brand syrups though and at more than $5 per bottle, that is somewhat of a drawback. Overall, it gets a thumbs up and hey, I'm getting pretty used to spending a lot of money in order to stick with our dietary restrictions. What's another five bucks for a bottle of chocolate syrup? It still beats the price of getting an ice cream treat out and about somewhere.

Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream - Technically, this product is not called ice cream. It's a "non-dairy frozen dessert." But how appealing does that sound? It is made with coconut milk rather than full fat dairy cream. In my opinion, this stuff is better than real dairy ice cream. It is so incredibly rich and yummy.

This makers of this product claim it is "dramatically lower in fat, calories and sugar than most premium ice creams" but honestly, I wouldn't know because I don't know about you, but I've never actually looked at the fat count, calorie count, or sugar grams on any regular premium ice cream packages. Most times when I have eaten "premium ice cream" it has been to satisfy a craving, not to see how much of it I could eat without expanding my waistline. That said, this ice cream is awesome and it contains a healthy dose of fiber! How cool is that? Fiber in ice cream! Does it get any better than this?

Depending on where I purchase this product, I pay $4.99-$5.79 per pint. Not cheap, but not really any more expensive than other "premium ice cream" pints in the grocery store. My gripe? There aren't very many flavors. The vanilla bean flavor is spectacular though, and even better than the chocolate flavor. That's a lot coming from someone who would choose chocolate anything over vanilla any day.

DariFree Non-Dairy Milk Alternative - This milk replacement product is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, as well as "free" of many other commonly avoided allergens. It tastes great on its own and in most recipes. I have found it works great for baking but does not taste so great in some savory dishes. I can use a little of it in mashed potatoes without tasting strangely, however, the results were not quite as stellar once when I used a tiny bit in some eggs for scrambling. Let's just say I'm sure the raccoons living in the woods behind our house thought they'd died and gone to heaven when they awoke that evening and went scavenging for some midnite munchies.

DariFree isn't just an ordinary milk replacement product either - it packs a hefty punch in the way of vitamins and minerals. Although its main ingredient is maltodextrin derived from potatoes, it is surprisingly low in sugar grams at only two grams per serving.

If you purchase this product in 25-pound bulk containers from the manufacturer (in the link above), the savings are more than worth having to pay for shipping over buying it by the canister from a local retailer.

Last ingredient for the milkshakes? Ice! No link needed - just look in your freezer!