So, I have mentioned how obsessed my G-boy is with processed sugar.  When the weekend rolls around, the one thing I can be sure of is that he will ask me at least 246 times when the ice cream truck is coming.  For real.  If I could find the home of said truck and siphon the gas, I would!  Well ok, I probably wouldn’t, but I have seriously thought about it!  I have never wanted to see the death of a vehicle so bad in my entire life.  The freaking thing can be heard for miles.  Once, a few weeks ago, Garrett was asleep for a nap. Upstairs. In his room. With the fan on.  I heard the truck on the next street and, I am not kidding you, that kid was bolting downstairs before I could even think to myself, “Oh fooey, here comes the ice cream truck”.  I do not understand how he could have possibly heard it, but he did.  If I try to deny him the trip to the end of the driveway for his desired confection, it is like the world has come to an end.  Or I chopped off his arm. We have been through this, and it is no fun!

Today was no different.  It is Saturday aka, the weekend. Garrett was up at 7:30.  When he came downstairs, he was already dressed.  I hugged him and asked him why?  He doesn’t usually get dressed until later in the morning.  I mean, what are the weekends for if not to stay in your pj’s as long as possible?  Anyway, he says to me, “This way, I am already ready when the ice cream truck comes” in a tone of voice that said, “duh, mommy.  Today is the weekend and the ice cream trucks ALWAYS comes on the weekend!” I managed to contain myself and chose to ignore what he said.  Maybe not the best option, but seriously….I had barely taken a sip of my coffee!  Starting at about 10 o’clock though, he waited by the road off and on, money in hand, until early afternoon.  Seriously.  Here he is waiting.  Notice the red cup.  This is his cup of water because he got thirsty waiting!  Waiting for the ice cream truck is hard work. ugh.

Are you beginning to get a sense of how sugar obsessed this kid is?  I am on a mission, and I have my work cut out for me!  So, today I broke the news to him…he was done waiting for the truck and we would no longer be purchasing ice cream from the ice cream truck.  Nothing like breaking a child’s heart, right?  It is for his own good though and anyway, I don’t think he believed me.  He was standing by the back door trying to go back out to the driveway when I told him if you go out that door, you will go to bed and take a nap.  He takes me seriously when I say the word ‘nap’, so even though he had his hand on the knob, he did not turn it.  After I had his attention, I explained that we would be making our own ice cream today.  He said he wasn’t going to eat it.  He was having ice cream from the ice cream truck.  Ummm, no.  Sorry.  You’re not.  I put a can of coconut milk in the freezer to quick chill and told him we would get busy in just a little while.  Once he saw that I was serious about the ice cream truck, he started asking me, “Mom, when are we going to make ice cream? You said you were going to make ice cream!”  Geez.  Ok, ok.  Here we go….

I had to do a little looking for a recipe.  I know I had seen one that required only coconut milk, but I couldn’t remember where.  I found one that I thought would work for us at Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.  This guy is rad.  If you have not checked out his before and after pics, I suggest you do!  He puts out great information and tasty bites on his blog.  He has a great contest going right now, too!  Subscribe and follow him. You will be glad you did.

So, I decided to tweak the recipe a little bit to fit what we had on hand, and Garrett made the suggestion of adding cinnamon, so we did!  It turned out great!  Here is what we did…

This is what you need:

one 14 oz. can (guar gum free) coconut milk ~chilled~ we had full fat, so that’s what we used

1/4 cup raw honey

2 T. unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup Enjoy Life choc chips

ice cream machine

Mix everything, except the chocolate chips, in a blender.  Put the frozen bowl of your ice cream maker in to the machine and turn it on.  Add the ice cream mixture from the blender and let it go for about 15-20 minutes.  Be sure you watch it.  Watching it is half the fun!  You will see it get thick, and you will know it’s ready.

Actually, at this point Garrett gave me a big hug and told me how much he loved me and that our ice cream was going to be way better that the ice cream from the ice cream truck.  My heart melted.

Right before it’s done, pour in the chocolate chips.

Remove the middle thingy (yeah, I don’t know what’s it is called) from the machine and scrape the ice cream off.

Don’t forget to lick the middle thingy…

Dish it up and serve it to those you love!

We enjoyed ours on the patio because it is such a gorgeous day here in Texas!  Here are both of my children enjoying their “healthy” ice cream (not from a truck!)

I love them immensely, and I want to do what is best for them.  Kids really do crave rules and boundaries and once given, they are usually ok with them.  We will still have to contend with the ice cream truck.  It will taunt us every weekend. I’m sure.  I am also sure that Garrett will want to go running after it, but I will tell him no.  It won’t be fun during the transition period, but eventually it will be fun!  and we like FUN.!