Chop the coconut: 30 divine and dairy-free coconut ice creams (World's healthiest ice creams)

Dairy free - coconut milk replaces dairy

These 30 coconut ice creams provide delicious taste for every mood and season. For explosive fruit flavor, try Banana Walnut, Fruity Granola, Grapefruit, Lemon-Lime, Mango, Orange Vanilla, Pineapple, or Pomegranate Coconut Milk Ice Cream. If you love ice cream with a swirl, try any of these: Apricot Swirl, Berry Swirl, Kiwi Swirl, and Papaya Swirl. 

If you think fruit paired with chocolate is a delightful combination, Cranberry Chocolate or Sweet Cherry and Dark Chocolate will be perfect for you. Your sweet tooth may crave Caramel, Cocoa, or Maple Pecan Coconut Ice Cream.

If your palate is ready for something sophisticated or unusual, check out the recipes for Avocado, Coffee, Date Pistachio, Ginger, Green Tea, Lychee, Mint Tea-Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, or Sweet Potato Coconut Milk Ice Cream. 

But wait, isn't coconut milk bad for you? No, no, no. The poor coconut is so misunderstood. Decades ago, a study indicated that coconut oil could be harmful to heart health. However, that flawed research used refined and hydrogenated coconut oil trans fats, NOT the unrefined, organic, virgin coconut oil sold in health food stores today. The fat in coconuts is bad for you only when it is hydrogenated and turned into trans fats, as is done in some processed foods.

Coconut ice cream is higher in calories than other healthy ice creams, so you'll want to limit the ice cream serving size to a cup or less, but you can increase the volume and nutrients by topping your ice cream with chopped fruit, cocoa nibs, or berries.

Cookbook author Cindy Stratton, explains the health benefits of coconut milk:

• The fat in coconut milk and coconut oil is in the form of medium chain fatty acids, a plant-based fat that is much easier for the body to use than animal-based fat. These particular fatty acids are easily absorbed and turned into energy. Some studies show that the fat in coconuts may even burn fat.
• New studies indicate that saturated fats (especially plant-based ones) are NOT the cause of heart disease and that populations getting a lot of their calories from coconuts are much healthier than people in Western nations.
• Coconut oils that are part of coconut milk fights germs. It has antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties in the form of lauric acid, which also seems to play a role in keeping arteries clean.
• Coconut milk contains manganese, calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, and iron in significant amounts. It has antioxidants that fight free radicals and work to prevent cancer and the breakdown of cells in the body.
• Coconut ice cream lets vegans and those who can't tolerate lactose enjoy ice cream again.

• Made with natural sugars and with natural starch substitutes instead of eggs, these nutrient-rich treats give you vitamins, minerals, and delicious taste.
• Taking out the heavy cream, eggs, and refined cane sugar found in most ice cream recipes gives you a low-cholesterol, low-sodium, healthy treat.
• Eliminating eggs not only cuts out the cholesterol, but also gives a cleaner taste to these frozen concoctions.