Afternoon ice cream: Braum's

It seems most afternoons when we are out and about and engaged in some sort of water activity, we find ourselves stopping for fro-yo or [less commonly] ice cream, to cool off and recharge. Our usual stop is the [potentially--if you don't smother it with chocolate sauce and chips like a certain daughter I know...] healthy Peachwave on 15th & Bryant (Edmond). I have lately, however, been going through sporadic bouts of wishing I was vegan again. I met my hubby in 2002 when I was a full-fledged super-energetic strict vegan. During my first (and only) Air Force deployment to Pakistan, I sort of let that fall by the wayside due to there being pretty much no dining options on our little air base (all the fruit/veggies either arrived wilted or covered in some sort of sauce). Now that I am blazing through my 30's, I guess I am looking for that energy kick again. Definitely a much more efficient way of eating in terms of maximizing nutrient benefits. That, and maybe I feel like I need my own food issue, now that hubby has diagnosed himself with celiac disease and we have been adapting to a more gluten-free lifestyle. We are already largely lactose-free, since I am the only one of the four of us with no form of lactose intolerance.

Anyway, my point in bringing that up was that is that I thought Braum's would be a good option to spur me along in the vegan direction because I assumed they serve sorbet. They in fact, do not.

Rather than bypass ice cream altogether, I opted for a fro-yo heath bar mix-in (big sacrifice, I know). Plus, I have heard a lot about Braum's famed mix-ins and was curious. The girls each got a cone of their favorite (Ha--chocolate, V--vanilla). The ice cream was certainly delicious, but the most impressive part of the dining experience was the price tag: $3.91 for 2 cones and a mix-in!! Usually a trip to Peachwave costs us between $11-$13 for 4 bowls (granted, we fill them pretty full...). But this was still a perfect-size snack, although I am going to try to interest myself in chains with more vegan-friendly options (in theory).

Girls with their ice creams (Ha looks like she means business!):

Yummy vanilla fro-yo & heath bar mix-in:

Another unique thing about Braum's is that it is part ice cream shoppe, part grocery store & burger joint.

Here is Ha with a handful of Laughing Cow cheese, her favorite, which has been sold out lately at Walmart & Target:

UPDATE: on a new & exciting note, I discovered two local (Edmond) fro-yo shop that cater to vegans: Splash Frozen Yogurt at Santa Fe & E. 2nd St.  Urban Spoon link
Lushberries Yogurt at 3217 S. Broadway  Urban Spoon Link