Hellooooo Summer!
Today I am officially off from work for the summer..one of the many perks of being a teacher! Yes, I’ll miss the kids, my co-workers, yadda yadda yadda, but I am ridiculously excited to not have to wake up at 5:50 every morning! To celebrate this wonderful time of year, I got an iced coffee, picked up my latest copy of Food Network Magazine, and treated myself to a pedicure!
I was just settling into the pedicure chair. My feet were soaking in a tub of warm, swirling water, my iced coffee was cold and refreshing, and I had a thick magazine on my lap. It was going to be a perfect hour.
This month’s issue of Food Network Magazine looked delicious. The cover promised recipes for an “All American Cookout”, “Cool Summer Desserts” that were “so easy!” and over 100 new dishes that I couldn’t wait to try.

Doesn’t that look delish??
So I flipped open to the recipe index, looked at the selection of dessert recipes offered,
…and I got mad.
Of the eight recipes listed, only two looked like desserts that could easily be dairy-free. The other six were mostly cream based.
In fact, Food Network published a “Cookies and Cream” section, with three cake recipes that utilized pre-made cookies and some type of cream. There were three options: a chocolate hazelnut icebox cake, a gingersnap and coconut cream cake, and a lemon berry icebox cake. These all looked amazing, and recipes that I would be dying to try. However, upon further inspection, I realized that all three would be ridiculously hard to replicate dairy free.

Now let me just say one thing: I don’t expect all food magazines everywhere to cater to my dietary restrictions. I get that most people are not lactose-intolerant (though it does affect 40 million Americans according to a recent study). However, this is 2014, people! At this point in food culture, there should be substitution suggestions or alternatives for those who at least want to eat healthier.
All three recipes called for multiple cups of heavy cream. I get that summer is a time for cream: ice cream cakes and cones, banana cream pie, strawberry short cake etc. It’s hot out, and people want refreshing desserts that don’t sit in their bellies like rocks. Plus, realistically, bakers refrain from using their ovens in the summer. That makes sense. (Not everyone is willing to make cookies and sweat like me).

Just made these last night…vegan chocolate chip cookies!
I know that you can use various vegan substitutions for heavy cream: the most popular being coconut cream, but I have to wonder if there would be a prevalent coconut flavor in anything you make with that. Other substitutes include silken tofu (I have trouble digesting too much soy), avocado or cannellini beans (both of which do not sound super appetizing in desserts), or cashew cream, which okay maybe I could get behind. *see full explanation here*
Regardless, this one section of the magazine angered me and I kept flipping through, hoping that there would be some sort of dessert suggestion I could make for the summer. The only other cake recipe that Food Network Magazine offered was an ice cream cake.
As an old coworker of mine would say when dealing with frustrating students: anger. Rage.
Mostly I just feel left out. Yes, I could go to Whole Foods and spend a ton of money on a small amount of vegan ice cream, but it’s not the same. When will mainstream food magazines catch up to those of us with dietary restrictions?
Maybe it’s time I cancel my subscription.
For now, I’ll stick to baking my own stuff.
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