Ice cream was introduced to me at a VERY early age, my
Grandmother expressed such a passion for the cold deliciousness, that she
started an ice cream club for the 20+ Grandchildren in the family. Visits to
her house would guarantee at least 3 flavors in her freezer, cones and most
important, seconds! My Mother…also very passionate, has always stocked the
freezer with multiple flavors as well, however cones and seconds- not a guarantee…anyway,
needless to say, I am basically addicted (to lots of flavors, cones AND
seconds!). When I was diagnosed with Celiac, my villi was so damaged, I couldn’t
digest dairy (gasp!) I spent the 1st 6 months pretending that
non-dairy options were satisfying …they were decent, but didn’t compare to the
rich creaminess of the old fashioned stuff…as I slowly started to introduce the
real deal back into my life (whew) I found it difficult to dissect labels, it
was exhausting to go on websites every time I was in the grocery store. I ended
up buying Elan, Vanilla Frozen Yogurt EVERYTIME…which don’t get me wrong,
better than the wanna-bees, but given my craving for choice, it sometimes got boring.
Of course I tried to make “cookies & cream” by crumbling a GF sandwich
cookie into the ice cream, but everyone knows cookies and cream is amazing
because the cookies taste like they’ve been dipped in milk and then frozen-yum!
I also was not able to go to Ice Cream
shops because of major cross contamination-even frozen yogurt! I was having major
withdrawals…
And then Breyer’s pulled through-just as they did at Granny’s
house…over 30 GF flavors, all with proper labeling. I’ve noticed some packaging
already transitioning and imagine in the next few months there will be a sense
of relief in the freezer section for all Celiacs. THANK YOU Breyers for
identifying the GF flavors. Albeit there is no Cookies & Cream (someday, I
hope!), there are still other fabulous sounding flavors that I’m anxious to
try. In a cone.
In almost sheer parallel, another breakthrough: I discovered
Yogurtland. That’s right, Yogurtland…a land in which I could spend many hours a
week. I was taking a stroll through a lovely center of town and walked by
Yogurtland, hesitantly, I convinced myself to walk inside and ask the exhausting
question “Do you have any Gluten-Free ice cream??”, the young teenager said “yeah,
I think we have a few flavors”…my ears perked, “what about
cross-contamination??”, I ask. “We have a strict procedure to ensure there is
not cross-contamination” he says. My heart started racing as I walked over to
the ‘do-it-yourself’ frozen yogurt machines….now counting….2…5…8…12…16
FLAVORS!! Clearly I looked waaay overly excited and the kid basically chucked a
handful of sample cups at me, in which, at 6pm on a weekday, pre-dinner, I
tried every single GF flavor. AND brought home a hefty pint, obviously.
Amazing. I now have a rewards card to Yogurtland and visit frequently…so THANK
YOU Yogurtland for being Celiac friendly!
