Goat Milk Ice Cream, Baobab, Pre Run Snacks and Coconut Flour: Four Favorites September

It’s time for Four Favorites, the September edition! I say that like there have been previous editions. Well, there haven’t.

You see, I’ve come across so many cool specialty foods and ingredients over the past year. Some I buy myself, others are sent to me for review. Many have become regular staples in my kitchen, others are treats that I think you must try.

In the past, I haven’t felt comfortable sharing about some of my favorite finds because they aren’t all ingredients. Having a blog called Fake Food Free that is focused on eating fewer processed foods has pressured me for a long time to show that I make just about everything we eat.

The truth is, I don’t make everything. I used to make a lot more when we lived in Kentucky, but in the Bay Area I have access to so much. I’m finding foods that are equally, or more, natural, unrefined, delicious (whatever term you want to use) than I can even make myself.

Don’t worry. I plan to keep on cooking and making things from scratch as I have for the past several years. I value that. There are some things that I really want to share, though, because the products are great or the companies are doing great work. And sometimes you can use a good gift idea!

I love browsing favorite thing posts from other bloggers so I thought it was time I start my own. Just once a month and hopefully you’ll find something fun you haven’t tried before. 

Organic Baobab Superfruit Powder from Bonga Foods

I’m not a huge fan of supplement powders, so I almost turned down the opportunity to review Bonga Foods Baobab Powder. But then I took a closer look. Baobab is a Sub-Saharan African fruit. What I find to be so interesting about baobab powder is that it is raw and unprocessed. The pulp dehydrates naturally inside the fruit and the powder is separated from the seed. It’s never heat extracted, pasteurized or freeze dried. How cool is that?! Be sure to check out the Bongo Foods site for pictures as well as information on how they support the farmer’s they work with.

The powder has a delicious tangy flavor. I’ve mixed it into yogurt and it is perfect for shakes and smoothies. The powder is rich in antioxidants and it is 50 percent fiber by weight, which is mostly soluble fiber. It also provides vitamin C, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The company also makes some tasty fruit chews with the baobab and minimal ingredients that are a great travel or hiking snack. The mango is my favorite flavor.

Bamboo Lane Crunchy Rice Rollers

I am constantly on the lookout for something small to eat pre-run that tastes good, gives me a little energy boost and is low in grains and fat so that it won’t upset my stomach a mile or two in. I found Rice Rollers at Costco about six months ago and they have been the perfect fit.

I’ve wanted to rid my diet of soy protein isolate for a while and it’s been tough because most bars contain it. Those that don’t, often have nuts and lots of grains. I’m not saying that these snacks aren’t much more than a super tasty rice cake, but they have four ingredients – white rice, natural cane juice, rice syrup and agar. They have fast acting simple sugars, a little protein, a little sodium and they keep me from feeling completely empty before I head out.

Nutiva Organic Coconut Flour

I’m kind of crazy about coconut flour – the nutty flavor, the pleasantly gritty texture and a natural sweetness you can’t get from other flours. Not to mention it has 8 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein per 2 tablespoons. I bought a big bag of the coconut flour a while ago at Costco (you will find that I get so many cool foods at Costco). I haven’t experimented with it nearly enough, but I plan to work with it more over the next few months. Just in time for the holiday season. I’ve had one failure (I’m working on it) and one success (these, Nectarine Coconut Peanut Scones). I absolutely love the nutty flavor it adds to baked goods and there are many more recipes to come!

Laloo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream

Honesty here. I didn’t know goat milk ice cream existed! I have seriously been missing out. Let me first say, that I am not super crazy about goat milk. A moderate amount of goat cheese is delicious in so many recipes, but I can’t take a big swig of the milk. It’s a little too grassy for me.

But Laloo’s ice cream? Oh my. I made the point above because I wanted to say that if you don’t necessarily like goat cheese, don’t swear this stuff off before you give it a try. The goat milk adds a flavor that intrigues the taste buds. You can’t quite pinpoint what it is, but you know it’s good. And the creaminess. I’m not sure I’ve had an ice cream so creamy. An added bonus is that goat’s milk ice cream is often easier to digest for those who don’t do well with cow milk or soy.

I received four flavors to try – Vanilla Snowflake, Rumplemint, Capraccino and Deep Chocolate. All of them were delicious, but I have to tell you, the chocolate was the best chocolate ice cream we have had, goat, cow or otherwise. It was rich and creamy with so much dark chocolate flavor.

I have a recipe with the Capraccino coming up on the blog soon, but I had just made some Kentucky Bourbon Vanilla-Soaked Cherries when I received the ice creams. That’s where the opening photo above comes in. They were the perfect addition to the Deep Chocolate. Chocolate, bourbon and cherries – there are few better combinations and I couldn’t think of a better chocolate ice cream to serve those cherries on.

Disclosure: The baobab powder and goat’s milk ice cream mentioned in this post were sent to me for review. I was not required to post about them and received no compensation for doing so. Thoughts are my own. The other two products were purchased willingly by yours truly.

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