Dairy Free Chocolate Freakshake {using Rice Dream}

New year, new me. Blah Blah Blah. 

We all do it, but this year I mean it. I haven't actually said it out loud because I hate the term, but there is nothing like a new year to start a new diet. Or a Monday, or indeed a Tuesday, like today, on which I have jumped aboard the Slimming World bandwagon. Dieting is not easy when your work revolves around delicious food, but I will be zipping my mouth firmly shut and handing over full taste testing responsibility to my 3 stooges. 

First test on the agenda has been for DREAM, who specialise in Diary free alternatives to milk and ice cream. I received some of their Rice Dream drink to test their claim that it offers tea lovers a dairy free solution to the perfect cup of tea. I admit that I am a little fussy when it comes to tea, and can only drink it with skimmed milk in. For coffee I'm a little more flexible, but if there's tea on offer then it has to be skimmed milk, or I drink it black. 

I was a little skeptical at this claim but was pleasantly surprised that my tea tasted no different to usual, despite being a little darker in colour due to the consistency of the milk.

None of the kids are tea drinkers so they weren't in the slightest bit interested in these claims, but they were more than happy to put Rice Dream through their own taste test in a Freakshake.

Freakshakes are a huge trend sweeping the country. Bars and cafés are adding them to their menus, and Facebook is often awash with photos of huge shakes that have enough calories in to see a grown man through a few days! What to do if you're following a dairy free diet though? How about this dairy free freakshake, which is still loaded with all the yumminess and calories, but without the dairy. Most supermarkets stock dairy free products that can be used in this, and although I used a dairy free chocolate ice cream that I found in my local supermarket, DREAM make a salted caramel and a mint chocolate version which is available in Waitrose, and would be a delicious alternative.

Dairy Free Chocolate Freakshake - makes 1

tbsp smooth peanut butter
sprinkles
25g dairy free chocolate
250ml Rice DREAM
1 tbsp cocoa powder
4 scoops dairy free ice cream
2 large cookies (there's a great recipe here for cookies using coconut oil)
handful of sweet & salty popcorn
coconut cream
dairy free brownies (this recipe can be adapted with dairy free spread and chocolate)

• Place the peanut butter in a small bowl and heat for 10-20 seconds in the microwave until runny
• Dip the rim of your glass into the peanut butter to coat the rim approx 1-2cm deep before dipping in sprinkles
• Place in the fridge to firm up whilst making the shake
• Make a chocolate sauce by heating together a tsp of rice Dream with the dairy free chocolate, until melted and smooth
• Use some of the chocolate sauce to drizzle inside the glass
• Add the remaining rice Dream to a blender, along with the cocoa powder and 2 scoops of ice cream - whizz together until smooth
• Pour the shake into the glass and top with another scoop of ice cream
• Make an ice cream sandwich out of the 2 cookies and one scoop of ice cream - making a hole in the centre for the straws
• Top with coconut cream and stick popcorn and brownie pieces around the cream and ice cream
• Drizzle with the remaining chocolate sauce before serving

Rice DREAM certainly passed the taste test in these shakes, and the glasses were soon empty!

If you fancy trying Rice DREAM for yourself then it's available in Ocado, Tesco & Waitrose (rrp £1.49). There is currently a 'try me for free' promotion on certain packs, inviting shoppers to discover the great taste for themselves, or receive their money back if they don't enjoy it. What have you got to lose!

post commissioned for DREAM