Book Review

Vice Cream: Over 70 Sinfully Delicious Dairy-Free Delights
by Jeff Rogers
Review by Cathe Olson

Going vegan was pretty easy for me. I didn't miss milk or cheese. I definitely didn't miss meat. I did, however, long for ice cream. I tried all the non-dairy substitutes but found them icy, flavorless, and overly sweetened. Some even contained hydrogenated oils and chemicals. None had the creamy texture and rich flavor I was craving.

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Jeff Rogers, author of Vice Cream, also found non-dairy "ice creams" unsatisfying. He had grown up eating the rich flavors of Ben & Jerry's and after he went vegan, he wondered if it was possible to make a delicious "ice cream" without dairy. Rogers began experimenting and discovered that cashew milk had the richness he had been searching for. Rogers' creations became very popular at raw, vegan, and health foods shows and now his recipes are available to everybody.

Vice Cream contains 70 delicious recipes for non-dairy "ice creams". Raw cashews are used to provide the creaminess and maple syrup or dates are used to provide sweetness. There are recipes for basics like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry and exotic flavors like espresso, gingersnap, black forest, and pumpkin. There is even one called jalapeno heaven. Half the book is devoted to raw vice creams, including delicious flavor like strawberry colada, blueberry-peach, pecan pie, and vegg nog. The book also includes several sauce recipes.

The introduction to Vice Cream supplies information and tips about the ingredients and methods. The recipes are easy to follow and don't contain many hard-to-find ingredients. In addition, the ingredients are mostly fresh and unrefined. The vice creams do require a little advance planning as the ingredients must be blended and chilled prior to freezing the vice cream.

I tried several recipes and they were all delicious, rich, and creamy. My whole family liked them. The vice creams are very sweet, however. I suggest using only half the amount of recommended sweetener and then tasting your blended mix. Then add more sweetener if needed. I found that with most recipes, we preferred 1/2 to 2/3 of the recommended sweetener.

All in all, I was thrilled with this book and the recipes. If you are a vegan, raw foodist, or just like to eat healthy, you'll appreciate being able to make rich, creamy treats you can feel good about indulging in.

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Cathe Olson is the author of the new nondairy ice cream cookbook: Lick It! Cream Dreamy Vegan Ice Cream Your Mouth Will Love, as well as Simply Natural Baby Food and The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. Visit Cathe's website at www.simplynaturalbooks.com and her blog at http://catheolson.blogspot.com.

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