With the warm weather approaching I start to think about ice cream...
I have been looking through posts on here and it seems there hasn't been much activity on the subject in a while so I thought maybe I'd stir it up again...

A local ice cream shop around here serves a flavor called cannoli ice cream. For those of you who don't know what a cannoli is see here: yum
Before south beach, I never realized that cannoli filling is mostly just sweetened ricotta cheese! When I first saw the ricotta desserts I thought, isn't that the stuff used in pasta dishes? gross! But now I know better and I want to try this ice cream, but I'm sure it's chock full of fat and sugars so I'll refrain...

Anyways, I've been thinking about getting an ice cream maker and making my own yummy ice creams so I don't need to suffer through the guilt or the pounds from the ice cream shops... has anyone tried this? I'm sure there's lots of amazing flavors perfectly acceptable for P1 or P2 like avocado or pumpkin or strawberry rhubarb, (oh my!)

Please share!

I think you can also have sugar free pops now and then on South Beach (not phase 1 I believe).

I bought an ice cream maker and I plan to experiment lots this summer, but eat very little. I just think it'll be fun to make up flavors and give them out to friends n fam. I don't know how acceptable any ice cream will be due to the need for sugar and cream. Even gelato requires some cream and sugar.
Unless I'm mistaken and someone here has SB tips! i.e. does agave work? FF 1/2 n 1/2?

I was looking at recipes online to see if it was even worth it to splurge the $50+ on an ice cream maker and it seems pretty doable. Just substitute splenda for sugar and low fat cream or half and half or milk. play around with the amounts until desired taste and consistency and watch your serving sizes! I also saw some vegan recipes and they don't use dairy so that might be interesting to try. Some machines also make frozen drinks and sorbets! Off to the store to start looking for one!

We got ours at Williams Sonoma. They've got machines worth $100-$150 on sale for $50-$75. Loved the reviews online for them, too.
Thanks for your info! I guess I haven't done much research on alternative methods. I'm excited!

Just got one! And the book "the complete idiots guide to homemade ice cream". They do talk about sugar substitutes and lower fat dairy products but it seems to say the higher the fat, the creamer it will be. So a bit of texture might be sacrificed but it's not impossible. Also includes sorbet and sherbet recipes along with frozen yogurt. I'll start experimenting this week!

from experience, i'll tell you that using low fat/sugar substitutes results in pretty inferior ice cream. i use my ice cream maker to make mainly sorbet now - just blended fruit + a bit of stevia. sometimes i add some coconut milk to make it creamier.

Oh gosh, icecream is definitely my weakness. but hey, when I reach the 30lb I will definitely reward myself with a little cone I'll just make sure I walk to the ice cream place and walk back home. I love summer!

I figured that using substitutes will probably make it more icy and less creamy, but even the ability to make sorbets (if my experiments fail!) will help out a great deal for those weird flavors I want to try (like strawberry rhubarb or avocado)... And at least I know they are sugar free and low in fat!

I would love to hear how your experiments go. I got an ice cream maker last year but have not used it yet. Sorbet sounds great too, will have to try that as well.

Zeffryn, the coconut milk added is a great idea.

Not really the same thing as ice cream, but... I used to make frozen yogurt that would even be Phase 1-friendly. It's just Greek yogurt with some flavor of Crystal Light added to taste (mixed berry is my favorite). I have just the hand-crank kind of ice cream maker that I picked up at Goodwill for $3. Quick and easy! And so delicious.
I have also made it with different kinds of berries and other flavors using SF Torani syrup.
Never ventured into making actual ice cream, so I am curious what people have to report here.

I have an ice cream maker, too. Just found a recipe I am going to try for Coconut Lime ice cream - made with coconut milk and no cream.

I love sorbets with agave as a means of having something sweet.

Can you post a link to the coconut lime ice cream, it sounds delicious.

Thanks!