Desserts, sweets, dulce, after dinner treats… Who doesn’t like a little something sweet once in a while?
And in these still stressful days of COVID and crazy political drama, what better way to ease your mind than dessert for breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner?
Granted, I don’t eat too many sweets due to my many intestinal issues, but on occasion, I’ve been known to indulge.
One of my vegan husband Jeff and my newest finds for sweet treats is in El Segundo: a Gelato store appropriately named Gelato-go.
They mainly serve traditional gelato, but also offer from two to four vegan flavors; so far, the best are dark chocolate, passion fruit, coconut and strawberry. I haven’t tried lemon or almond yet, but I will. The vegan gelato is just as rich and creamy and full-flavored as the non-vegan flavors, and I swear I thought their dark chocolate wasn’t vegan. I was fully prepared to suffer through a month of lactose intolerance issues, but it turns out it is vegan and I was fine! Not too sweet, just really chocolatey, it pairs well with strawberry and coconut. A small is $5 and is big enough to share, ‘cause they really pile it on.
Coconut banana cream pie anyone? How about a gluten free/vegan coconut banana cream pie?
“Gross,” think you? Wrong!
Delicious say I!
Plant Food Wine on Abbott Kinney has the best—hands down no questions asked—gluten free/vegan coconut banana cream pie in the world! It tastes like banana and coconut and it’s creamy and rich. Don’t share it; order one for you and something else to distract whomever you are with and tell them they wouldn’t like it. That’s how good it is. It can be a little sweet for me, so I’ll have a coffee to take the edge off.
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How about a homemade treat? For a while there, Jeff and I were really into banana splits, just completely obsessed with them. I was making them at least three times a month (which is a lot for us), and boy, were they good! Of course, it’s all vegan/gluten free everything.
To prepare, peal, then split your banana in half. We like Soy Delicious cashew milk ice cream; make sure to include chocolate cookies’n cream, salted caramel cluster and either peanut butter & jelly oat milk ice cream or oh-so strawberry coconut milk ice cream… Or just use whatever you want. Put your ice cream on top, sprinkle with fresh berries, chopped nuts of your choice, mini-marshmallows, almond or peanut butter, any flavor jam or maple syrup, and whipped cream—there are some really good vegan ones on the market, any one you get should be fine. Last time, I cut up a chocolate chip banana muffin from The Ridiculous Baking Co. and added it on top of the banana but under the ice cream. The time before that, I added a coffee, banana-nut tamale… yum! And there you have it: a homemade banana split! A sweet treat for your sweets!