I am an ice cream girl. All the way. Giving up dairy two years ago meant switching to coconut ice cream, and believe it or not- I thoroughly enjoy it. Partly because it’s creamy and still has that density that we’ve come to expect from ice cream. It’s also healthier than ice cream because guess what: it’s sweetened with agave as opposed to hidden hoards of white refined sugar.
Ice cream embodies my childhood comfort-blanket, totally & completely. I have never ever met someone who loves ice cream more than my dad. He could probably hold a Guiness Record on the number of ice cream cones he’s chowed down. That is no joke, really. I remember him taking me for ice cream almost every single day; either after school or before bed (yep, a mother’s dream: “Honey, let me take the girls for ice cream right before bedtime, we’ll be back in twenty.”). Somehow my mom didn’t mind. And somehow we slept just fine, neither of us ever being overweight, either. This was all-natural, (real cream) ice cream. Real deal stuff folks, no gimmicks.
I was addicted to peppermint candy, rocky road, rum & raisins, good old vanilla, & blueberry frozen yogurt all served on big, warm waffle cones. The smell of the fresh waffle cones was far more overpowering than the sight of the ice cream varieties. I will never forget that smell. I wish I could trap it into one of those pendant necklaces and sniff on it whenever I’m having a bad day. Oh I totally would. And the best part, when they came up with drive-through ice cream service. My dad would take us in our pyjamas all the time. I was probably 15 and still having ice cream with him on the ocassional Friday night. Not a care in the world about who saw me hanging out with my old man. Looking back, I am very thankful for all those ice cream cones we shared.
I have a problem with most store-bought ice cream. What people now consider ice cream is definitely something else. It’s now made with “milk-like” ingredients. Artificial stuff. Some of it doesn’t even have cream! “Pseudo ice cream” (as I’ve come to call it), is tricking everybody. And no one seems to notice. So the next time you’re at the store, here’s a little challenge for you…. Go to the ice cream aisle, pick up what you would generally go for, take two seconds to read the label and then tell me what you find. If you read anything along the lines of “milk-like ingredients”, you may want to rethink your choice of “ice cream”. If you’re going to eat ice cream, go for the real stuff. My kids love ice cream & I take them our local neighbourhood shop where they eat real Kawartha’s dairy products. It’s not about deprivation, it’s about making better & more informed choices.
I introduce to you, make at home, sherbet (not really ice cream) popularly known among health circles as “nice cream”. Why “nice”? Am not entirely sure. Perhaps because it’s nice to your body? The trick to good nice cream: the fruit must be frozen, or it won’t work. You also need a decent blender or food processor. Literally 3 ingredients & it’s dairy-free, refined sugar-free & gluten free.
Strawberry Banana Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 full cup ripe, frozen strawberries (you could use blueberries, too)
- 2 large, ripe frozen bananas sliced (cut & peel before freezing)
- 1/4 cup almond milk OR for a thicker consistency: add 1-2 tbsp of vanilla coconut yogurt and an extra frozen banana.
Instructions
Start by “pulsing” to break down the larger chunks of fruit and then blend on high until smooth. Enjoy! It stays well in the fridge for up to 2 days. Remember: ripe bananas don’t taste as good a few days in, this has no preservatives.
*If you want sweeter “nice cream” try a pinch of stevia or 1 tbsp of agave or raw honey. This also tastes great on top of chia pudding! When eating it solo, I topped mine with toasted coconut, bee pollen & fresh figs. Trust me, it’s deliciousness all around. If you need a super simple recipe for chia pudding, I’ve got two on the blog archives. 🙂
Nieve de Fresa y Banano
Ingredientes
- 1 taza de fresas congeladas, también pueden usar blueberries
- 2 bananos congelados en rodajas (pelar y cortar antes de congelar)
- 1/4 taza de leche de almendras o si lo quieren bastante espeso: usen 1-2 cucharada(s) de yogurt de coco sabor a vanilla O agreguen otro banano congelado.
Instrucciones
Tirar todo a la licuadora y pulsar por 20 segundos. Licuar en “High” hasta que todo se mezcle bien y tenga consistencia de “sorbete”. No mezclar demasiado, puede quedar aguoso.
Si quieren algo un poco mas dulce, se puede endulzar con stevia o con una cucharada de miel pura o agave. Yo no le pongo nada adicional, pues si la fruta esta bien madura y dulce, no lo encuentro necesario. Que lo disfruten!
Sabe delicioso sobre budin de chia! Si quieren una buena y super simple receta para budín de chia, tengo dos en los archivos del blog bajo “chia pudding”. Si lo quieren comer solo, al mío le puse polen de abeja, coco tostado e higos frescos Quedo, Deli!
