Endo Belly Healing vanilla ice cream

Many of you may already have tried my cashew vanilla ice cream (if you have my free Christmas cookbook, or you’re a client or student of mine), but that recipe, being made mainly from cashews, is high FODMAP. So, I wanted to create a vanilla ice cream that actually tastes like vanilla (not banana, or coconut!) and is also low FODMAP. Finally, I cracked it!

This ice cream is really dependent on your ingredients, especially the milk, vanilla and type of rice you choose. So, I do absolutely recommend you read the sections on those ingredients, so you’re able to make the best version for your body and tastebuds.

This Endo Belly Healing Vanilla Ice Cream…

• Is a source of resistant starch to boost butyrate levels. A short chain fatty acid often low in people with endo, which lowers inflammation, helps heal the gut lining and inhibits the inflammatory pathways that contribute to endo growth. To learn more about butyrate and resistance starch, listen to or read my podcast episode.

• Contains monk fruit, a sugar free natural sweetener which doesn’t impact blood sugar or insulin levels, but also supports a healthy microbiome. People with endo often have low levels of beneficial bacteria, and high levels of pathogenic and gram-negative bacteria. High sugar foods can increase the growth of these bad bacteria, whereas monk fruit can support the growth of healthy bacteria and may even inhibit some pathogenic ones, like e.coli, which may be higher in people with endo. See below for more info!

• Is rich in psyllium husk, a fibre which helps to improve diarrhoea, constipation and general IBS issues. It also helps to improve stool consistency and frequency, and helps to feed healthy gut bacteria and boosts short chain fatty acid production. To learn more about the benefits of psyllium husk for endo, listen/read this episode.

• Is entirely sugar free, rich in healthy fats and resistant starch, with added fibre (from the psyllium), to keep blood sugar levels even.

• Is low FODMAP, so less likely to trigger endo belly flares and IBS upset (though everyone is different, so make sure you tailor to you - see below).

Important notes to help you tailor these biscuits to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)

The rice

I’ve made this recipe with about three different types of rice and the type of rice can 100% influence the flavour and be overpowering. Something like a white basmati is going to be far too strong, you want something like simple short grain white rice.

This will also give you a better consistency, as short-grain, white rice is typically higher in amylopectin, a starch that provides a more creamy, gelatinous consistency.

If all you have is a white basmati (or something similarly flavourful) or a brown rice, I can’t guarantee the results and I would recommend you go heavy on the vanilla to mask the flavour!

I’ve made this recipe 5-6 times to test the best way to use the rice for the creamiest results. We want to ensure that when we eat the ice cream, the rice has been cooked and refrigerated overnight, as that’s what creates resistant starch, which is the key endo belly fighter in this recipe.

Resistant starch forms when starch, naturally found in foods like rice and potato, chemically changes after heating and cooling, and this chemical change prevents it from being so easy to digest, and instead of being ‘sucked up’ by the small intestine, it makes its way to the colon and feeds good gut bacteria, which then make butyrate as a result. Additionally, starch typically raises blood sugar because it’s so easy to digest and is high in carbohydrates, but resistant starch resists digestion, having a better effect on blood sugar.

Refrigerating rice, overnight or for 24 hours, produces the most resistant starch, as it’s something that occurs over a period of time rather than rapidly. However, we get the creamiest results when we blend the rice hot.

So, I’ve tried this method a few ways. You can absolutely use cold left over rice (providing it’s been refrigerated overnight), blend it up and then churn it/freeze it into ice cream.

But for the best texture, I found it’s better to blend when the rice is freshly cooked. This is because as this stage, the starch is still very gelatinous (has absorbed water, swelled and created a gel) and as you blend it, the starch particles essentially burst open, allowing for a creamy consistency to form. You can then refrigerate your ice cream mix overnight (or freeze it, see below for method) and churn it into ice cream the next day.

What I don’t recommend is taking rice freshly cooked, blending and then churning instantly, as the resistant starch won’t be as well developed by that point, so this would be less beneficial both from a blood sugar perspective and a gut perspective.

The milk

Milk makes a real difference here. The first two times I made it, I used an almond milk that had a strong roasted almond flavour and it just masked the vanilla too much. The next time I had an almond milk that tasted better and didn’t overwhelm the flavour, but it must have had a higher water content vs. the other milk, and it came out icy.

I eventually tried it with lactose free cow’s milk, and this gave the best results in terms of texture and flavour. Now, don’t panic if you don’t do dairy, I have some tips for you below, but if you’re curious to try it but are worried about dairy and endo, here’s some key points to note so you can tailor your intake to your body’s needs.

The issue with dairy and endo is multi-layered, but it’s not a complete rule out for everyone. Here’s what to consider (and please note, this is not a deep dive but an overview of some of the key research and concerns):

Lactose:

Some people are intolerant to lactose, and the lactose intolerance is what could be causing diarrhoea, gas, bloating, cramping, etc., worsening the endo belly.

Lactose intolerance is very common in the SIBO population, as SIBO tends to lower lactase, the enzyme required to digest lactose. Once people with SIBO clear their SIBO and improve the gut health, they find they can tolerate lactose again. As we know, many people with endo also have SIBO.

Lactose is also high FODMAP, which means it’s rapidly fermentable, which can increase gas and bloating in people with IBS or gut sensitivities, so a low FODMAP diet or recipe calls for lactose free dairy.

The other thing to note is that often with lactose, it’s about serving size. You might do okay with a small amount, but not a moderate or large amount.

Of course, if you’re eating something that triggers intestinal distress, it’s going to be triggering intestinal inflammation, which can spread both locally (i.e. to the nearby pelvic organs) and systemically. As endo growth and pain is driven by inflammatory chemicals (combined with other factors like oestrogen), we want to lower our intake of foods that cause us intestinal inflammation.

A1 casein:

Then we have A1 casein to consider. A1 casein is type of milk protein which research suggests many people find triggers intestinal inflammation and gut distress, so the same applies here regarding inflammation spreading throughout the abdomen/pelvis and body. A2 casein has been observed as typically better tolerated(, and this comes from sheep and goat’s dairy, as well as Guernsey and Jersey cows. So, you may find that you don’t need to go lactose free (though this recipe won’t be low FODMAP if you do that), but you do need to use goat’s milk or Jersey milk, as an example.

It’s important to note however, that some people may be fine with A1 casein, it’s very individual.

Hormones and cycle changes:

The next consideration with dairy is its influence on hormones. Non-organic dairy is often treated with extra hormones, which we then ingest and can influence our own, so it goes without saying that organic is preferable.

However, organic dairy still contains naturally occurring hormones and growth factors. These hormones can and do influence our own, and can raise levels of hormones like testosterone, and trigger cyclical changes. In fact, one study showed cyclical changes such as annovulation (skipped ovulation) and increased cycle length. Dairy can also increase oestrogen levels and affect progrestone levels as well.

Pain:

The other thing to note is that dairy may raise prostaglandin levels due to arachidonic acid, a fatty acid which is the precursor to inflammatory prostaglandins. These are the suckers involved in endo growth and pain, and are higher in people with painful periods.

Final thoughts on dairy:

Does this mean you shouldn’t ever eat dairy due to endo? No, it’s absolutely individual. If you enjoy dairy, it may be about experimenting with how much, how often and the type of dairy you can tolerate.

After seriously breaking my ribs last year (literally puncturing a lung the break was so bad), with a history of significant breaks, I was advised to increase my overall bone support including calcium. Whilst I am doing other things, like increasing magnesium, weight training and vitamin D, I also started introducing dairy products, alongside ensuring plenty of plant sources of calcium too. I have actually observed my cycle shortens alarmingly with cow’s milk, but goat’s yoghurt and the occasional well aged cheese, doesn’t seem to affect levels of pain or cause any cycle changes.

Dairy is not all bad either. In fact, fermented diary is beneficial for the gut (providing you personally tolerate it) and has been associated with anti-inflammatory effects!

Again, it comes down to which types (if any) you tolerate and how much and how often you eat it.

Dairy alternatives:

For this recipe, cashew would be the best milk because it’s got a subtle, sweet flavour, but alas, it’s not low FODMAP. So, our main options are almond milk, coconut milk or soy milk, plus a few others like hemp. Have a read of this great article by Monash University (the creators of the Low FODMAP diet) about your options, because it’s not just any of these milks that will do.

If you’re worried about soy for endo, again - it’s nuanced and I cover this in-depth in my courses, but have a listen to my episode on flax, as the same pretty much applies. In theory, the phytoestrogens in soy are weaker than our real oestrogen, so soy should actually be helpful and lessen any oestrogen dominance or excess oestrogen, however, it just seems to vary from person to person. What I will say is, unless you’re intolerant to soy or eating this ice cream every day, I doubt the odd serving is going to make much of an impact, but always do what’s best for you and go for good quality, organic soy (as soy is often sprayed with some pretty heavy pesticides).

In terms of taste, as I said earlier, you probably don’t want to go for a strong tasting milk, like roasted almond milk, etc. Pick a milk you know you enjoy the flavour of or you know is subtle, and be prepared to experiment to find the right one for this ice cream.

Vanilla

To ensure that the vanilla shines through and masks the flavour of the rice (and milk, depending on the type), you really need to go all in with the vanilla. I used about 2 tsps of vanilla extract and about half a vanilla pod with the dairy version, but I needed more when I was making it with the almond milk. I also had to get a better vanilla extract, because one we bought was particularly mild and so the ice cream just tasted like rice.

Having said that, my partner says I don’t have a vanilla tastebud, because he always tells me something is vanilla-ry enough, and I just can’t taste it and keep adding more!

But in short - get a good quality vanilla extract (no added sugar or flavours) and vanilla powder or pod, and just add until you’re happy with the taste!

Monk fruit vs. other sweeteners

When it comes to ice cream, monk fruit is my sweetener of choice. My recipes don’t call for granulated sugar etc. so using a pinch of monk fruit powder or a few drops of monk fruit syrup is plenty and won’t affect the texture (whereas for example, with cakes, you can just swap 100g sugar for a few drops of monk fruit syrup, so it’s trickier).

Monk fruit extract is a sugar free sweetener derived from the monk fruit plant. Unlike some other sugar alternatives, it doesn’t raise blood sugar or insulin levels, so this really helps to keep our recipe blood sugar friendly.(8?)

The other great thing is, unlike other sweeteners, the majority of research indicates that it doesn’t have any negative side effects on the gut (though more needs to be done) and in fact, recent research shows it to be a prebiotic that actually promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria and the production of SCFA. In one study where they added monk fruit to yoghurt, they observed better survival rates of beneficial bacteria whilst inhibiting pathogenic bacteria like e.coli! Higher levels of e.coli have been found in several studies on endometriosis.

Additionally, whilst it hasn’t yet been officially tested, it’s thought to be low FODMAP.

You can get monk fruit drops here (this is the one I use, no affiliate or sponsored link) but I’ve also seen it sold on Etsy. You can also get powder too, so hunt around, just avoid any monk fruit products with added erythritol or other sweeteners as they can cause bloating or affect blood sugar.

If you don’t have the budget for any of these, or you can’t find them (best to look online or in health shops), you can use 20g maple syrup. I’ve tested this and it tastes sweet enough (in my opinion) whilst keeping the sugar content relatively low, however, it of course may impact your blood sugar levels - but the psyllium husk, fat from the yolks and resistant starch should help with that.

Psyllium husk powder

This is added to boost the Endo Belly fighting properties, slow down the glucose release from the rice and add thickness. However, it’s best to test your tolerance to it, which you can learn about here. I’ve kept the total amount quite low to accommodate people who can’t tolerate that much, but if you do well with psyllium, you could try 5g, but I haven’t tested the consistency of the ice cream with that amount and suspect you’ll need more liquid.

Further resources

If you’re struggling with your gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on gut health and blood sugar, plus, you might find these article helpful in terms of how to manage your blood sugar levels and why:

https://endometriosis.net/living/diet-sugar

https://endometriosis.net/living/how-to-balance-your-blood-sugar-levels-to-reduce-endo-symptoms

To understand more about the low FODMAP diet, start here.

Method:

• Cook your rice according to the instructions.

• Once cooked, give it a few short minutes to cool a little as if it’s really hot, it may cook the egg and make it lumpy. Add the rice to the blender, pour over with milk and the other ingredients, but add the eggs last - again, to prevent the eggs cooking and going lumpy.

• Blend immediately on high speed, until a thick custard forms. Add more sweetener or vanilla if needed.

• If you have an ice cream machine, refrigerate overnight. If you have a Ninja Creami, I believe you need to freeze overnight, but follow the instructions, as long as your mix is chilled/frozen overnight in some way. If you don’t have a Creami or an ice cream machine, pour into small silicone moulds or ice cube trays (whatever you have) and freeze.

• The next day, if using an ice cream machine, pour into your machine and follow the instructions to churn. If using a Creami, follow instructions. If you have neither, pop out your frozen mix and pulse in your blender until creamy and whippy.

• You can eat now for a softer serve, or cover and freeze for 30 minutes to firm up.

Notes: If you find your ice cream too icy, try lowering the milk by 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup until you get the consistency you like or try a different milk if using plant-based milk. Additionally, if you find your ice cream too gelatinous, try a different rice or increase the milk by 1/4 cup.