Easy Low Histamine Mango Ice Cream (also Low Lectin, Low Oxalate)
Dessert options aren’t always easy for those of us with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance. Which is why I work hard at making my own Low Histamine Dessert Recipes.
Since Lectins and Oxalates are also mast cell and histamine triggers for me I have to work even harder at food choices. So my recipes are also Low Lectin and Low Oxalate.
Have you heard of oxalates and lectins before? When you have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance, you often have to avoid more than just high histamine foods when picking a dessert.
You can read more about those other food triggers in this post: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome Diet
For those of us with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance, wheat is out negating most pies, cakes, and brownies.
Most gluten-free flour substitutes like rice flour are high in lectins. And almond flour is high in oxalates.
Dairy causes a problem for most of us too, so there goes ice cream, pudding, etc. Sugar raises histamine levels too. It also increases inflammation and is a mast cell trigger.
I don’t have a big sweet tooth anymore. But I do like something refreshing on hot days. Last weekend, I went with my husband to pick up some furniture from friends who are moving to South America. The furniture was in a storage unit. We were outside in the heat for quite some time.
As you may know, heat is also a mast cell trigger. I realized my feet were hurting. I took my sandals off and my feet were really swollen. This is one of my heat reactions – swelling hands and feet.
On our way back home, we stopped at Whole Foods to get something cold. I was really tempted by the ice cream. I just wanted something creamy and frozen to cool me off. But I know from the many times I have read every ice cream label in Whole Foods that there isn’t a single option for me there.
I don’t do well with dairy. The coconut ice creams all have a lot of sugar. Or they use erythritol. This is a sugar alcohol that can cause a lot of gas and bloating. At least it does for me. I just don’t think it is a good choice.
Sorbets are packed with sugar. Nearly all the ice cream options have xanthan gum. These are major mast cell triggers for me. I’ve had too many days-long flares from eating those.
So I settled on a cold bottle of sparkling water and a bag of frozen mango. Yes, I ate the frozen mango straight out of the bag. It was a two hour drive home. What else was I to do?
That frozen mango gave me an idea though. I wondered if I could make an ice cream at home with it? So I started experimenting.
First, I put 2 cups of frozen mango in my Blendtec Blender* and blended on high. This would also work in a Vitamix blender* or Ninja Professional.* Don’t try it in a regular blender though. You’ll burn out the motor.
Blending the mango in the Blendtec gave me a thick, sorbet texture. It was pretty good but also really tart. I also tried blending 1 ½ cups frozen mango with ½ cup frozen raspberries. This was also good. But these weren’t creamy like I wanted.
Then I got the idea of adding some coconut milk. Jackpot! The coconut milk gives a creamy texture. It also mellows the tartness.
Here is the thing you need to know about coconut milk if you have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or Histamine Intolerance.
Almost every coconut milk I’ve seen in a store has xanthan gum, or another thickener that is a mast cell and histamine issue.
But the good news is Amazon carries Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk and this is the only coconut milk I use now.
You have to get the mango to coconut milk ratio just right for ice cream. It depends on the type of high power blender you are using.
If you don’t have enough coconut milk, then the blender will have a hard time turning. If you use too much it will be more like pudding than ice cream. But not to worry – if you make pudding instead of ice cream, it is still delicious!
I found I don’t need to add any sweetener to this. I really like it with just the two ingredients below. But you might like to make it a little sweeter. In that case, you can add some Pure Monk Fruit Extract* or organic stevia* to taste.
I think this ice cream tastes amazing as it is. But if you really want to step up this recipe to be more decadent, you could whip some Let’s Do Organic Coconut Cream to add on top. That would be heaven!
My favorite part of this Low Histamine Recipe is that the basic recipe is only 2 ingredients. How easy is that? And even better – both coconut milk and mango have histamine lowering properties!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe!
Low Histamine Mango Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen mango
- 4-6 ounces Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk
- Optional: Pure Monk Fruit Extract* or Organic Better Stevia* to taste
Directions
- Pour frozen mango into a high speed blender like a Blendtec Blender,* Vitamix blender,* or Ninja Professional.* A food processor would also work. Do NOT use a regular blender for this.
- Start with adding 4 ounces of coconut milk.
- Turn blender on high.
- If the blender is struggling, add 1 more ounce (2 tablespoons) of coconut milk.
- Turn blender on high again.
- If necessary, add 1 more ounce at a time until blender can just blend.
- Blend on high until the mixture is creamy and has a consistent texture.
- Top with coconut cream topping (recipe below) if desired.
- Spoon into a bowl and enjoy immediately.
For Coconut Cream Topping (Optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Let’s Do Organic Coconut Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Monk Fruit Extract*
- ½ teaspoon raw vanilla powder*
Directions
- If using the Coconut Milk:
Refrigerate Native Forest Coconut Milk overnight. Then remove it from the fridge. Open the package and scoop the thickest cream from the top of the package.
OR
If using the Coconut Cream:
Scoop out 1 cup of coconut cream.
- Whip the coconut cream, monk fruit extract, and raw vanilla powder with a whisk or in blender until fluffy.
- Top ice cream with coconut cream.
- You can use the leftover coconut water or coconut cream for smoothies or other recipes. You can also freeze it in an ice cube tray to make it easier to use.
And now, I’d love to hear from you. How did you like this recipe? You can leave your comments below!
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It’s important you know that this blog post is for informational and educational purposes. It’s not meant to treat any health condition or to be prescriptive for anyone. Always be sure to work with your healthcare practitioner.
Before you change your diet on your own, please make sure you’re working with a healthcare practitioner who can help you with this.
More Low Histamine Desserts
- Apple Pie – Low Lectin, with Medium Oxalate and Low Salicylate Options
- White Chocolate Cookie Dough – Low Lectin and Medium Oxalate
- Macadamia Nut Butter – Low FODMAP, Low Lectin, and Low Oxalate
- Low Histamine Blueberry Cassava Flour Muffins – Medium Oxalate and Low Lectin, with Low Salicylate Options
- 6 Layer Cranberry Trifle – Low Lectin and Low Oxalate
- Pecan Clusters – Low Lectin and Medium Oxalate
- Ginger Cardamom Breakfast Rolls – Low Lectin, Moderate Oxalate, and Moderate FODMAP
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Oh So Delicious coconut milk, which you can get at the grocery store, does not contain guar or xanthian gum, however it does contain locust bean gum and gellan gum. Are these harmful?
Hi Kris! They can be triggers for some people. You can test it out for yourself. I prefer to use foods with no additives, because I feel so much better. I’m not sure that this would give the same creamy texture. Please let me know how it works for you!
Trader Joes coconut milk is 100% coconut milk with no additives!!
Great to know – Thanks Kristin! Is it in a can or in a tetra pack? I try to use the tetra packs when possible to avoid the toxins in the can liners. Let me know!
how about vita coco coconut milk? these are the ingredients
Coconut Water from Concentrate (Water, Coconut Water Concentrate), Water, Coconut Cream. Contains less than 2% of Stabilizers (Cellulose Gel and Cellulose Gum). Fortified Vitamins and Minerals: Tricalcium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin A, Zinc Sulphate *vs whole dairy milk which contains only 30% of your daily value of calcium
i was just diagnosed with MCAS a month ago, and am still figuring out what i can and cant have, its pretty exhausting
Hang in there, Kayla! I have a 3 part series coming out starting Tuesday on how to do the Low Histamine Diet. Those will probably help you. This *may* be ok, but I don’t know about the stabilizers for you or the forms of fortification. I like to simplify things and just use the coconut milk in the post. That way if you react to it, you’ll know it is definitely the coconut milk and not the additives.
Hi Beth,
I just made the Mango Ice cream and it is Delicious! I didn’t have reaction to it! Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Carmen
You are so welcome! I am so glad you tried it!
Bomb ice-cream!!!! Holy s**t! So good! It came out perfect in my vitamix!!!!
I made the coconut cream topping but I made a mistake and put the heavy coconut cream in the refrigerator the night before. It turned into blocks of hard material so I had to put that in the vita mix by itself to get it to turn into whipping cream again. But all in all it was a success.
Glad to hear it!
Hi what other frozen fruits could be used. I am not sure if I might be allergic to mangos
Hi Kathleen,
We’ve only made the mango version, but you could use any low histamine fruit from the low histamine foods list. We won’t be able to guess proportions since we haven’t tried it yet ourselves. Blueberry might be really tasty. Whenever I experiment with a recipe, I only make a half recipe so if it doesn’t turn out, I can learn how to make it better next time without all the waste. Please keep us posted if you have success with other fruits!
Suz
Hi Beth,
Firstly, thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us via this site. It is by far the most useful resource about histamine intolerance and mast cell activation syndrome I could find.
My question is not quite related to this recipe. I’ve noticed a few times, including in this post, that you don’t recommend using Monk Fruit that contains Erythritol. I live in Australia and the Pure Monk Fruit brand isn’t available here, even through Amazon. According to a couple researches that I’ve read, the only side effects of Erythritol are bloating and digestive upset, which I haven’t personally experienced. Is there any other controvercial qualities that I should be aware of?
Thanks,
Victoria
Victoria,
Thanks so much – I’m really glad to hear the website is so useful! On erythritol, if it isn’t bothering you, it’s probably ok for you. I personally try to avoid them because they are more synthetic. You could also sub stevia, if you like.
Native Forest makes a version of their coconut milk without any gum, it’s their can marked “Unsweetened Organic Coconut Milk Simple”. Natural Grocers (in AZ) and Thrive (online) carry it. It’s ingredients are just organic coconut and filtered water.
Thank you so much for posting!!! I have a family with teens and we all love this recipe. You are a life saver.
Hi Julie! Thanks so much for letting me know you liked the recipe!
Hey, we have a coconut allergy, do you think hemp milk could work? Or I could also do flax or chia milk.
Hi Caroline,
Beth says:
I haven’t tried it, but you could experiment and see. If oxalates bother you, keep in mind hemp and chia will be high oxalate. Also, watch out for things like guar gum, xanthan gum, and carrageenan.