To the casual observer, this might look like ordinary, slightly melty chocolate ice cream.
Not so!
It is, in fact, made of a few simple ingredients, none of which is milk! This is actually banana ice cream!
That's right!
I'm sure a lot of you have heard of this, so this is most likely not the revolutionary discovery I'm making it out to be. It just feels like one because I've been meaning to try it forever, and when I finally got around to it this evening, I promptly ate all of it. At once. I never eat ice cream--now I may never go back--and here I am downing an entire bowl of this delicious chocolate creaminess!
Basically, here's what it is. Frozen sliced bananas, placed into a food processor, are loudly blended until the consistency is sort of sticky and creamy. Personally, I proceeded to add a tablespoon of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder, a dash of vanilla and maybe a tablespoon or two of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
Notice how many of these ingredients are specifically unsweetened. However, when the dish was finished, you would have no idea that there was absolutely no added sugar. I might be biased, because I love bittersweet things, but this was so perfect without anything put into it.
So, for anyone who is:
- Vegan
- Lactose intolerant
- Watching their sugar intake
- Interested in trying this amazing treat
This is essentially a gold mine. On top of that, I'm pretty sure this is way healthier than a regular serving of chocolate ice cream, considering that it's minimally processed and has only one main ingredient (plus any flavoring you want to add--it's just as delicious by itself). Also, I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but that is a decent sized serving, and I'm almost positive it's only a little over 100-120 calories (again, depending on the individual ingredients). Let's see those sugar-free yogurts and teensy "healthy" snack packs of cookies top that!
Did I mention it's really cheap? A pound of organic bananas is a tidy 69 cents at most stores where I live, and one is all you need for one serving--so, you can get seven or eight of these for less than a dollar all by itself. A giant box of unsweetened cocoa isn't too bad, maybe $2 or $3, if you find it on sale! Vanilla is nice, but not essential, and I found mine for $1.99 at Fry's. The almond milk is the only thing I can see being slightly pricey, but we buy it for $2.99 every couple of weeks and it seems to last forever. One or two tablespoons certainly won't use it all up! If you also felt like shopping around for in-season fruits to add to this, you'd find yourself swimming in possibilities.
Did I mention it's really cheap? A pound of organic bananas is a tidy 69 cents at most stores where I live, and one is all you need for one serving--so, you can get seven or eight of these for less than a dollar all by itself. A giant box of unsweetened cocoa isn't too bad, maybe $2 or $3, if you find it on sale! Vanilla is nice, but not essential, and I found mine for $1.99 at Fry's. The almond milk is the only thing I can see being slightly pricey, but we buy it for $2.99 every couple of weeks and it seems to last forever. One or two tablespoons certainly won't use it all up! If you also felt like shopping around for in-season fruits to add to this, you'd find yourself swimming in possibilities.
Now, shortly after finishing my dessert, I'm eagerly plotting my next attempt. The possibilities are suddenly endless. I almost fainted when I realized I could chop up some pineapple and orange, toss it into the food processor and make my own little healthy Dole Whip. What else? Peanut butter, mint, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chunks, whatever! I'm pretty sure unless you go insanely overboard, no matter what you choose to do with this recipe, it'll be infinitely better for you than ice cream...plus, as I said before, look at that bowl! I got to eat that entire thing. Okay--Marcus did try a bite, proclaim he wasn't a fan, then promptly ask for four more. Actually, right now I'm making him his own. The bananas are in the freezer. The things we do for love.
Anyway! Please, try this if you have the time and ingredients sitting around!
The original recipe is right here, and there are step by step instructions with pictures and other flavor suggestions.
So, there you go! Banana ice cream. It's really fun, leaves a lot of room for creativity, and I kind of like that I get to wait for the bananas to freeze for an hour or so...it gives me just enough time to look forward to what I get to eat!
If you try this, please tell me how it goes! What combinations did you try? Did you like it? Does it compare to regular ice cream, or do you prefer the original?
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