I’m a year-round ice cream kind of girl–just as likely to be seen running across town in frozen rain with a waffle cone as the next guy, so long as there is a local spot selling delicious vegan ice cream. Go Lightly, nestled on the corner of South Fullerton and Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, is where you will now find me running for ice cream in rain, sleet, sun, or snow.

When you walk into the shop, you are surrounded by eco-friendly and animal-friendly products. Up front and center is the ice cream freezer, showcasing several different flavors made of soy or hemp. I’ve had plenty of soy ice cream from the grocery store, which usually is too sweet for my liking. Hemp ice cream, though, was a completely new experience for me.

I asked Go Lightly owner and vegan/green-living afficionado, Jen Chaky, about the origin of the ice cream, which she says is homemade off-site. She was more than happy to offer a sample, but I like to live dangerously: I purchased a size “Little” cup ($4.50) of an off-beat combination of Hemp Blueberry, Hemp Maple Walnut and Soy Cookies & Cream.

Not one to pretend that vegan replacements of dairy products are perfect and always delicious, I’ll admit that most soy ice cream I’ve eaten is normally slushier than it is creamy. The Soy Cookies & Cream ice cream had a little bit of a slushy consistency, but it redeemed itself with its plentiful chunks of chocolate cookie throughout. The hemp ice cream is surprisingly as creamy and delicious as the “real stuff.” The Blueberry was fresh and tasted natural, not like fruity ice creams and sorbets that usually have a lot of artificial flavoring and unnecessary sugars.

Hemp Maple Walnut, my favorite.

The “best in show” flavor was definitely the Hemp Maple Walnut. Creamy, flavored with maple, and packed with walnuts, I enjoyed it so much that I went for a full cup of the stuff the next day. While staring at the ice cream case and drooling over that Maple Walnut, Jen told me and other prospective ice cream buyers that all of the flavors were gluten and sugar-free, sweetened with agave. The hemp ice creams were soy free, too. You can’t go wrong with healthy, guilt-free and delicious ice cream, especially if you have a diet that prevents you from eating foods with sugar, dairy or soy.

Just like I had gone back the next day for more, I see myself going back again and again regardless of the temperature outside. Go Lightly is located at 4 South Fullerton Avenue and is open Tuesday through Sunday, so it’s the perfect spot to grab a delicious vegan dessert after a meal downtown.

9 replies on “Go Lightly Answers My Scream for Vegan Ice Cream”

  1. I thought your interview with me was the first and last of your writing ventures, Jenn? You’d better watch out, you may be the bug. And that would screw up your earning potential.

  7. Went there Saturday with my wife. $9 for two little cups of ice cream (and I use that term loosely). Next time I stop at Applegate Farms.

  9. Awesome, awesome, awesome. The maple walnut, cookie dough & choc peanut butter were fantastic. Tried the strawberry balsamic the other day & it was sublime. Sophisticated ice cream! You can’t expect it to taste like the cow milk based ice cream *or gelato*
    This stuff is cleaner and lighter tasting. It is a whole different, and I think way better, experience.

    Also, the owner is really lovely and nice. Makes you feel right at home. I can’t wait to go back.

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