ok, i am dying here, in the 100+ sunny heat, for some ice cream. however, as many of you know, i absolutely cannot eat ice cream because of how terrible it will make me feel. i have had a craving for, oh, three months, and it isn't going away, so i thought i would liven things up a bit and ask for some suggestions on substitutes for ice cream.
i have tried tofutti, the vegan form of ice cream, which is decent, but really isn't cutting it. also, i really enjoy the sugar free jello puddings (dulce de leche wins my vote), but again, i just want some cold, delicious soft-serve. how can i beat this craving?

Frozen banana? and banana is good for it's potassium qualities.

Hi Rosie,

I used to love sherbets. I stopped eating them for years because they were fruit flavoured and fruit is high in salicylates and the 'theory' was they were causing the burning sensation of my skin.

Like an idiot I avoided all the foods that could be part of this problem for years and still had the burning. Now I just eat what I like and burn, as I'm going to burn anyway.

It's not 'sherbet weather' in Sydney, Aus at the moment. Mid winter and a really windy day. I live high on a hill (great for catching winds that blow from all directions) overlooking Sydney Harbour in front of me and the ocean to the back of me, and while the views are great the place I live in is very old and wind whistles in through gaps in the window frames and under doors. This makes for good air flow in summer but in winter it's not such a good thing. LOL. I think the heater I have going at the moment is 'farting against thunder.' LOL.

More like hot chocolate weather here today. But I will be indulging in sherbets for sure come early September when we head north to warm weather for a few weeks on a family holiday. It should be just pleasantly warm, neither too hot, nor too cold. Fingers crossed.

I am with Rosie. Sherbet. Something water and not dairy-based seems to work for me.

Orange Sherbet is the best; I dip salty stick pretzels in the sherbet. The tastes mixed together are wonderful! Try it, you'll be hooked. Ritz chips are also good for dipping with it. ENJOY!!!

why cant you have the ice cream, but can have the pudding? both are milk based, not sure what suggestions to give based on the info. or is it the sugar you cant have??

sherbet is a great great great idea!!!!! i haven't had it for years, but remember loving it as a child.
krissie - no, i can't have sugar. the pudding i sometimes eat is no-sugar.

well the sherbet, i believe, has a slightly higher sweetner content than ice cream. have you tried a sugar free ice cream? Breyers SugarSmart or Bluebunny has a few good ones. Sugar free ice cream tends to be hard and not creamy, so you will need to go for the more expensive brands and look for slow churned. or try getting an ice cream maker, and use splenda or equal instead of sugar.

Gelato (has some milk) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelato

and

Sorbet (not Sherbet and not necessarily containing milk)

There's even an Acai Sorbet now from Amazon juices.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbet
Sorbet is often confused with Water Ice, Italian ice, and Sherbet. The FDA does not have a classification for sorbet as it is a synonym for sherbet. Sherbet in the United States must also include dairy ingredients such as milk or cream to reach a milkfat content between 1% and 2%. Products with higher milkfat content are defined as ice cream; products with lower milkfat content are defined as water ice.[3] Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably in the United States, the use of the term "sorbet" is unregulated and is most commonly used with non-dairy, fruit juice "water ice" products.[4]

The word "Sorbet" (pron. IPA: /sɔrˈbeɪ, ˈsɔrbɨt, sɔrˈbɛt/) is French (pron. IPA: [sɔʀˈbɛ]) for the Ottoman Turkish word "Sherbet".[5] Sorbets/sherbets may also contain alcohol, which lowers the freezing temperature, resulting in a softer texture. In North America, sherbet may alternately be written and spelled sherbert.

Whereas ice cream has air whipped into it, sorbet has almost none, which makes for a dense and extremely flavourful product. Sorbet is served as a non-fat or low-fat (sometimes 3% fat) alternative to ice cream.

If it is dairy that you are avoiding, would you be willing to make your own ice cream substitute? I also cannot eat dairy and am trying to avoid refined sugar so I came up with an alternative. I use cashew cream and honey and a home ice cream maker. It is pretty close. I would be willing to share the recipe if you are interested. It is not difficult to make, I promise. The one I make most often is chocolate caramel but I have made strawberry and would have no trouble altering any other flavor that moves you. There is nothing quite like ice cream.

What about some delicious Italian Water Ice? Is that a no-no?

hugs

How about a fruity smoothie? You could use fruit with a low glycemic index rating and add rice or soy milk. Adding ice gives it a ice-creamy consistency. And they're yummy too!

yummm, yes fruit smoothies are delicious, and getting into home ice-cream making sounds like a great idea. i don't think i even realized that there are sugar-free ice creams on the market right now, i'm going to the store today to check out the options!

Hello,
They make Otter Pops now that are made with Spelnda. I love them. They are nice and cool and fruity. Definitely does the trick for me when I need to cool down. Also, I make smoothies ice, fruit and yogurt. They are very tasty and if you get low fat yogurt, they are pretty healthy too!

rosie - do you mean splenda and the likes? what do they do to you?