Happy First Day of Spring!

My best friend and I have a long standing tradition of eating pink ice cream on the first day of spring.  It started out in high school as a way to fight the winter blues and has turned into a tradition we have kept up through the years.  Despite still freezing temperatures and a foot of snow on the ground, we welcomed spring in tank tops with pink ice cream and a camera.  Even now that we live on opposite sides of the country, every year, snow, sun or otherwise, we call each other and welcome spring with a bowl of pink ice cream. 

This year, I feared my new allergy free lifestyle was going to get in the way of a tradition lasting over a decade.  Instead, I pulled out the ice cream maker and whipped up this dairy free ice cream. 

I found this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen.  Their recipes have never failed me, and this one for Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream is no exception. 

Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

2 cans full fat coconut milk
2 to 2 1/2 cups frozen strawberries (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in blender and whip until smooth.  Put in ice cream maker and follow ice cream maker instructions.

This recipe is really easy and fast – took about 40 minutes in ice cream maker until fully frozen.  I chose strawberries, but you can add any of your favorite ingredients, blueberries, chocolate (use unsweetened cocoa powder), nuts, etc. 

Even our puppy, Dally, helped welcome the first day of spring this year with Frosty Paws ice cream.  It wasn’t dairy or gluten free, but Dally didn’t seem to mind!