Hello Summer! + Daiya Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert Bars

Today I’m excited to share an update on what my family is up to this summer…especially the frozen treat we’re going to be snacking on!

The sun’s out, school’s out and our kiddie pool is out, so we’ve been spending just about all of our time in our backyard. As you may already know, we moved out of Brooklyn last year and bought our first house, complete with a very spacious outdoor area.

Coming from the city, it feels so luxurious to have our own outdoor space. Between moving, having Baby L, writing cookbook #2 and getting adjusted to life with two babies, our family is more than ready to chill out this summer. I can’t even being to describe how good it feels to let Baby V run wild around the backyard while Ross and I sit in the shade eating snacks.

The top snack on my list this summer: Daiya Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert Bars. Daiya has been go-to for vegan cheese for years (especially in melty grilled sammies) and I’m so excited that they’re now making dessert bars. They remind me of the ice cream bars I used to get from the ice cream truck as a kid…but without the dairy and other funky ingredients.

We tried all four flavors: Chocolate Fudge Crunch, Classic Vanilla Bean, Salted Caramel Swirl (my personal favorite) and Espresso Coffee. They’re all completely delicious and basically taste like summer on stick. I can’t even begin to tell you how joy it brings me seeing Baby V be able to have vegan versions of the kind of treats I used to love as a kid.

Look at that face! If that’s not pure summer joy then I don’t know what is…

We like to do nightly “garden checks” as a family, where we peek at the garden and see what’s growing. Baby V think its just the bees knees that we’re already able to eat lettuce we grew right in our backyard, and now that we have tiny cucumbers and tomatoes starting to grow, it’s really the most exciting part of the day.

One night I let her bring a Daiya bar on our garden check and she now insists that every night we do a “garden check with WITH ice cream bars!” I have to admit she is on to something because there’s really nothing better than enjoying our garden and eating dessert at the same time.