Vegan Ice Cream Is Everywhere: Here Are My Favorites

I could never tolerate dairy, so I wasn't surprised when I found out it was a no-go on the endo diet. I went vegan in 2000, four years before I found out I had endometriosis. And one of the things I missed was ice cream. Back then, I'd have to go to a natural foods store to maybe find one option. But those days are gone. There are cases full of vegan options at regular grocery stores now. Even Target has their own brand. Haagen Dazs, Breyer's, and Ben & Jerry's are a few other big names that have entered the vegan ice cream world.

Unfortunately, my digestion problems aren't limited to dairy. So I can't just pick any non-dairy options. Anything with soy is out of the question because this ingredient is my enemy. It makes me feel like I'm one big menstrual cramp, even if my period is three weeks away. There's also a list of problematic high-FODMAP ingredients: cashew makes me bloated and gassy; ingesting high fructose corn syrup is guarantee for diarrhea; carrageenan gives me a headache.

Thankfully, my husband is also a connoisseur of vegan dessert. We've tried practically every option out there. Here's a list of my three favorites. (And some of my husband's go-tos)

Archer Farms (at Target)

Target recently started selling their own brand of almond-based ice cream under the Archer Farms label. Not only is this ice cream delicious and inexpensive, nothing bad happens after I eat it. It's made with cane sugar, which is low-FODMAP and easier for me to digest. Archer Farms is solidly my new favorite. I have four pints of Caramel Brownie (wheat, soy, and corn-free) sitting in my freezer right now. The Vanilla Cake & Cookie Dough is another great choice.

Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss

This creamy organic, non-soy, gluten and wheat-free option is coconut-based. It's sweetened with agave, which is a high-FODMAP sugar, but at least it doesn’t have corn in it. Before I fell in love with Archer Farms, this was my favorite. But it's not cheap; it can cost around $6 or $7.

NadaMoo!

Another organic, coconut-based option, NadaMoo! is also gluten and wheat free. Unfortunately, some flavors have carrageenan or inulin, which can be a digestive problem for me. The flavors are really great though. Sometimes indulging in The Rockiest Road or Himalayan Salted Caramel is worth a little gas.

Some others worth tasting

Breyer’s is almond-based, but some flavors have corn syrup and wheat. I can’t eat a lot of it, but it does taste very good. I think if you give it to your dairy-loving uncle, he wouldn't know it didn't come from a cow. It's also cheap and comes in a big tub, a rarity in the vegan ice cream world. So Delicious is another great brand with far too many flavors to list here. They offer almond, soy, and cashew-based ice creams. Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs are also bringing their flavor A-game, but they have a bunch of ingredients that hurt my stomach (wheat and corn syrup are the main culprits).

Everyone is different, so ingredients that don't work for me may be fine for you. But one thing is for sure, it will be delicious to find out.