Product Review: Good Karma Organic Rice Divine

It was back in 1999 that I realized I had a gluten-intolerance. My father had it for years, so I at least had someone that could help validate how awful I felt. Eventually, I started reacting to dairy products as well. Which stunk because whenever I'd go out to eat with family or friends, ice cream was always my backup plan for dessert at a restaurant. I don't know why, but fruit sorbet never quite cut it. There was something about the creaminess of dairy products that satisfied me in ways that frozen fruit didn't.

So slowly I switch to soy products. I bought soy milk, soy ice creams, soy butters, all in an effort to capture that same creamy essence in my meal enjoyment. It wasn't quite the same either, but it was really the only alternative I found that has halfway decent.

Eventually, it dawned on me that since giving birth to Monkey, I haven't been able to enjoy any soy product without repercussion. Are you serious? ANOTHER food reaction??? No soymilk in my lattes at Starbucks. No edamame with our sushi. No soy ice cream.

Is there ANYTHING I could eat that would fill the void of my ice cream fascination???

I tried Rice Dream ice creams. Not too much there I liked. The flavors or the textures were always just "off". My favorite out of their so-so products was the vanilla with TONS of chocolate syrup to cover the taste. LOL! But there was always something "grainy" about them. Grainy ice cream = a big yuck in my book!

After reading another GF/DF blog, I was introduced to Good Karma products. And last week, I decided to take the plunge and spend the $4 (oy!) to buy a pint of their Very Vanilla Rice Divine.





I'll be really, really honest. I had VERY LOW expectations. Every dairy substitute has direly disappointed me, so I didn't expect this one to be any different. Most non-dairy frozen desserts are not initially creamy, they are really hard. Letting the carton sit out on the counter for 2 or 3 minutes is best. I was a little leary because the Rice Divine had pulled away from the sides of the carton, which gave me the impression that it was old or something was wrong with it. This wasn't looking good.

But...

I was very pleasantly surprised! In fact...YUM! The texture of the ice cream felt good in my spoon, as I glided it across the top...creamy, smooth. I could see little flecks of vanilla bean, which is always a good sign in my book. The taste? Soft, creamy, milky, rich, very vanilla, thus appropriately named. It didn't have that odd after-taste that I remembered in Rice Dreams frozen products. I was impressed! After a few bites, I realized I could easily eat the pint in a sitting, that's how good it was!

But since I'm watching my carb intake right now because of gestational diabetes, I slowed down to savor and only ate about 10 spoonfuls. I very begrudgingly put the pint back in the freezer. I will save some more for later. Even at $4 a pint, it was a really good experience!

I'll also blog later about having a gluten/dairy/soy allergy AND try to keep up with a diabetic diet. Talk about hard!!! Holy cow.

For now, Good Karma's Rice Divine in Very Vanilla gets two thumbs up! This is by far, the best gluten-free, dairy-free frozen dessert I've ever had! There are other flavors that I'm looking forward to trying: Mudd Pie, Coconut Mango, Mint Chocolate Swirl...and others. Although dairy-free, I'm not sure which ones are gluten-free, so I'll have to research those before I try. I'll update the blog later once I do it.