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Community Corner

I Scream, You Scream - We All Scream for (Vegan) Ice Cream

Scream-Worthy ice cream at Go Lightly

Things at Go Lightly just got a little sweeter…and creamier and fudge-ier.  Owner Jen Chaky recently introduced homemade vegan ice cream that is so yummy, it stands as a solid contender in the upcoming frozen treat season. 

Known for her well-stocked shop of all things eco-friendly and cruelty-free, Chaky gladly responded to the increasing demand of her customers, “There are many vegans, health-conscious people, and those with food-allergies who asked me to bring in some good food they could enjoy. I know of two vegan ice cream places in NYC and myself and other folks in NJ used to have to travel there to get fresh, homemade vegan ice cream. So I decided to change that and bring vegan ice cream to Montclair,” Chaky says. 

The list of ice cream flavors are all recognizable but that’s where the similarity ends. Ingredients like hemp milk and agave syrup replace the traditional cream and sugar – but you won’t miss them.  The Mocha Almond Fudge, for starters, slaps you with rich chocolate flavor lined with clean notes of coffee. The blueberry, made from fresh organic blueberries, tastes exactly how it should – like fresh organic blueberries.  

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The vegan ice cream scored high on the kid set too. My eight-year-old polished off a cup of cookies and cream where she happily noted the “cookie to cream” ratio was very high.  Other flavors offered include: chocolate, vanilla, maple walnut and soy/gluten-free chocolate chip cookie and coffee.

In keeping with Go Lightly’s mission, the cups and spoons are compostable.  They are also a pleasant change from the disposable plastic most places dole out.  The ice cream comes in cups sized “Small” for $4.50 and “Big” for $5.  Chaky is looking (and tasting) various organic cones to add soon, too. If you are looking for something more celebratory, vegan ice cream cakes are available to order. 

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Chaky hopes to go beyond ice cream with other vegan edibles at Go lightly. “Plans to add other vegan foods are in the works, but I will continue to sell the eco-products, like waste-free lunch supplies, safe-baby essentials, cleaning products and gifts that I always have,” she says, “because I believe so much in that. But healthy vegan food made and served sustainably is so in line with my mission, that it is a natural evolution to include it in my store.”

If you want a sample of just what other vegan treats are out there, Go Lightly is hosting a Vegan Bake Sale this Saturday after 11am. “The bake sale will be part of hundreds of Worldwide Vegan Bake Sales that happen annually for one week across the globe to raise awareness and money for animal issues,” Chaky explains.

Organized by the group Montclair Vegans, the bake sale will donate raised funds (which Chaky said can sometimes net $1000) to the Montclair Animal Shelterand Jersey Cats rescue organization in Jersey City.

And the vegan nibbles you can expect to find?  “There will be dairy-free and egg-free cupcakes, donuts, cakes, muffins, and cookies- including traditional favorites like NY-style black and white cookies to some inventive concoctions like ‘maple-pecan-oat-choco-chip-coconut-and-whatever-else-I-can-find cookies’. There will be some raw, gluten-free and savory treats there as well,” Chaky notes.

Go lightly is located at 4 South Fullerton Avenue in Montclair and is open Tuesday – Friday 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday 11 am to 5 pm – with plans to have extended hours in the summer. Go Lightly’s website is worth a browse too, where you can shop online as well as get properly (and nicely) schooled on all manner of environmental and vegan topics by Chaky herself.  

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