Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Oh Happy Ice Cream Day (kind of...)

For months I've been waiting. Patiently waiting, but always peeking into the freezer section with high hopes to find this...


And the day finally came, about a week ago, when my eyes locked onto the Coconut Milk ice cream from Turtle Mountain. Many of you know this Purely Decadent brand of ice cream, for its soy-based non-dairy ice cream creations. I have long been a fan of Turtle Trails, as well as a few other Purely Decadent flavors. When I learned that a soy-free, coconut milk-based version of Purely Decadent was launched on the market, I was excited to say the least. (You all know I'm an ice cream junkie, right?)

I picked up a couple of pints and my happy day had indeed begun! My favorite flavor so far is the one pictured, Cookie Dough (also gluten-free). I enjoyed the texture of the ice cream, it has a lighter, more airy quality than their soy counterpart. The coconut flavor is subtle, though not entirely absent. I enjoyed the flavor and didn't mind any coconut undertones at all. And the bits of chocolate crackle and cookie dough made this flavor just about perfect for me. Yes, it was bliss. For a while, until I realized I had been oblivious to the price my hfs was charging for this pint of ice cream. One small container (500 ml) is $7.39! That's just wrong. wrong. wrong. wrong! I also noticed that they had increased their price of the other Purely Decadent flavors (soy-based) to over $6.00 ($6.49 I think). Holy frozen price-hike!

I'm doubting that this coconut ice cream is as expensive in the US or even other parts of Canada. Is it??!! Hopefully our hfs will feature some weekly or monthly ice cream specials, or I'll be making a lot of my own frozen desserts! Luckily, I do have a few ice cream recipes up my sleeve, and a couple of them are in fact coconut-milk based (as I was growing impatient waiting for the Turtle Mountain varieties to make their appearance in our store)... and I will show you one or two of these new recipes very soon.

Price issues aside, definitely give this flavor a try if you are a fellow vegan ice cream enthusiast. I'd also really like to try the Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, but that one isn't available in our store. Also no signs yet of the Coconut Milk Yogurt and Coconut Milk Beverage by Turtle Mountain. I'll be keeping a lookout, you can be sure...

but I better start saving my pennies for a yogurt right now. :)

35 comments:

ACH said...

I'm jealous! I sent the bf to the store to pick this up just last night, but he came home with the regular Purely Decadent Cookie Dough (NOT the one made with coconut milk!). A nice treat, yes, but not my favorite!

Anonymous said...

Goodness, $6!!! You know, I haven't looked at the price of the ice cream lately, it could be that high, as I just checked the price on Turtlem Mountain's coconut yogurt locally and it had rocketed up to well over a dollar (I don't remember the exact price, but it made me do a double take) for a little container. As wonderful as I think it is, it needs to be slightly more budget-friendly to warrant purchase.

Heather said...

ahhhhhhhhhh the chocolate crackle......I dig all around the container just for it. we just started to get these a few months ago. Our price is 5.49 but you can get a 1.00 off coupon on their web site. Our store had them on sale last month for 4.49 (so I bought 4!)
enjoy

Heather said...
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Heather said...
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Anonymous said...

I think it sells for US$5.99 at my local grocery store. I've been wanting to try it forever but that is just too ridiculous. The coconut milk yogurt is yummy, and that is sometimes on sale for $0.99.

Anonymous said...

I too have been waiting for the coconut milk line to come to Canada. I just called my local retailer and its $7.69 for a pint. Yikes! They don't have the yogurt yet or the "milk" and I'm waiting anxiously for those to come as well. Can't wait to try some.

Dreena said...

Bernadette, I haven't tried that one, we haven't had any new flavors of Purely Decadent (soy) in our store for quite some time. I'd love to try that one - and the snickerdoodle, and the dulce de leche, etc, etc...!

I'm surprised to see that the price is fairly high in the US as well. $7.39 is close to $6 US, so some of your amounts are fairly close. But, I don't think the Purely Decadent (soy) flavors are quite as expensive in the US as they are here (or at least as they are in our hfs currently).

3veggies, I don't know if those coupons are still available on their website - and they were only for US customers, at least to my knowledge. I can get some coupons from a local coupon magazine, but still, the new pricing is quite high. Turtle Mountain DOES use premium quality ingredients, so I expect to pay more than I would for a lesser quality soy or rice ice cream, just a bit of shock to see it *this* high!!

Lebkuchen, that is a VERY good price for yogurt - I can't even get a soy yogurt for that price. I hope to see the coconut yogurt soon. SOON!! :)

A.M. said...

I make a lot of coconut ice cream myself; love the texture and flavor. Can't wait to see how you make it!

And yowza, that is expensive! Ever since I first saw it pop up on blogs, I wished it was available here, but I don't know how often I would buy it for that price...

Anonymous said...

6 dollars!!?!?! That's insane! I hope the prices come down soon. I haven't tried the ice cream but the yogurt is heavenly! I love the vanilla.

I didn't even know the milk existed haha

Laci said...

Dreena-
HOLEY YUM I must admit, in my cruelty- free lifestyle world I do have a bit of a sweet tooth... the first time I tried the turtle mountain line, I was addicted! Embaressingly enough, I literally have three, yes, three huge pints (each only partially down so far!) of the heavenly frozen goods nestled in my freezer... I like so/soy delicious and purely decadent but I'd love to try the coconut line! Thanks for the review! Whoa, 7 buckaroos for one little pint!? Ithink in the US it's more like $4-5 per pint, but It will take quite a price to hold me down, haha. :)

Ronda Kisner said...

My favorite is the plain chocolate type. I don't think it costs over $5 in MN.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, where did you find that? I've never seen that before here in Victoria. I love all things coconut, so I would love to try out some of the coconut ice creams or yogurts should they ever come here.

carrie said...

save your pennies indeed. The ice cream isn't that expensive here in the states, but the yogurt is outrageous at almost $2.00 per container. And unfortunately, my kids are addicted to the yogurt...I've been spending nearly $14 a week on YOGURT!!!

Anonymous said...

I pay around $6 for a pint of Coconut Bliss. (Palo Alto, California)

jb said...

That's my favorite flavor, too! Chocolate chip cookie dough was my favorite back in my pre-vegan days, but I just love love love that hint of coconut!

Run Sarah said...

Wow, that is expensive I buy the So Delicious bars here in Canada and they are fairly expensive too, $6 for a box of the mini ones when they're not on sale. So worth it though!

Anonymous said...

hey, i'm a vegan german girl :) do you now an online shop that sells turtle mountain products? nice blog!

Kim said...

It is that expensive here too. Crazy. We got some of the chocolate peanut butter swirl because it was on sale. Oh my, it was heavenly. We mixed it with some bananas and soy milk and made quite the yummy shakes.
It keeps me from buying it too often...it's too freaking expensive! I've yet to try the coconut milk ones though, but they look divine.

Lamb said...

The pints run around the $5-$6 range here. The price helps keep me from buying it too often- the stuff is insanely good! I'm not a big fan of the cookie dough flavor, though. Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl is more my speed.

There's another brand that makes coconut milk ice cream as well, Coconut Bliss. I'm a big fan of both, though.

Hungry Hungry Dancer said...

isnt this brand to die for?!?!?! god I love it!!!

I liked cookie dough the best :)

Michelle said...

i've been waiting for this to come to my town too! i simply MUST try it!

Jess said...

I am absolutely addicted to this ice cream. I LOVE IT.

It sells for (I think) about $5.19 near me... Too expensive to indulge in regularly. But man... I savor every little bite. It's truly perfect ice cream.

Everyday Superhero said...

That price seems steep but it's not easy getting the meat off the coconut.

The way I look at expensive food that's good for me is that I could be spending $5 on a burger at a fast-food joint or spend it on a high quality food that's going to nourish me and (hopefully) last a few days.

Anonymous said...

You can blame the price on the state of our dollar. Every "specialty" product coming from the US are seeing serious price increases. Our distributors have all sent notices to inform us of this fact :(

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if this will make you feel better, but in Dublin I pay 7.35 euro (that's about 9.20 USD) for 750ml of Booj booja's cashew-based frozen delight. So...you're not alone? I feel crazy for buying it on a regular basis. But it's so wonderful. Rich, creamy, raw, organic, soy-gluten-sugar-free, in a word, fantastic.

Anonymous said...

I've been waiting for this to come to Vancouver too! Where did you get it?

Eating Consciously said...

I've tried them all! My favorite is mint chip ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Dreena,

I was at the Capers in Kitsilano today and they had the coconut milk ice cream on sale for 5.99 (I think it's on sale for the next week or two). They don't have the cookie dough flavour (just vanilla and coconut, I think) but still, you may want to stock up...

Anonymous said...

I was so excited to try their coconut milk yogurt and then noticed the price: $1.99! For 6 ounces of yogurt. I allowed myself one but will not buy it again (delicious but too expensive!!). The ice cream is fantastic but I could go through a pint a day so I just stopped buying it. It tends to go for around $5+ around here (southern NJ).

Dreena said...

Laci, 3 containers... ah, that's nothing! You don't want to know how many containers of ice cream rotate in my freezer (and between my freezer and deep freeze)!!!

Marianne and Alice, I believe both Choices and Capers are carrying the ice cream, but I don't know if either is stocking the yogurt. :(

Minou, no I don't know, sorry. You might want to go to the Turtle Mountain website (www.turtlemountain.com) and send them an e-mail to find out ordering info.

Rebecca, it's a good thing to hear others share my expensive ice cream habits... we should form a support group! :)

dreaminitvegan said...

We love coconut ice cream!!!!

Cathy said...

Yes, that ice cream is expensive in NY. We found it in Whole Foods for over $5 a pint. That's why I started making my own also.

Nichole said...

here in santa cruz the coconut milk yogurt is over 3 dollars a cup and the ice cream is 6-8. that's just way too much for me to want to try it. the soy ice cream is still around 3-4 though.

Tricia said...

Hi!
I just wanted to let you know about a coconut-based vegan "ice cream" that I really like, and only has 4 or so ingredients. It's sweetened with agave nectar! It's Larry and Luna's Coconut Bliss. My omni husband claims the dark chocolate flavour is the best ice cream he's ever tasted.
I've tried the turtle mountain Purely Decadent soy yogurt and it's way too sweet for my liking!