How and Why to Make Banana Ice-Cream
/Eating a healthy plant-based diet does not mean you have to be deprived of dessert. Especially good dessert!
I eat this dessert on a weekly basis and I LOVE IT! It’s cheap, quick and kids can’t get enough! They love eating and making it.
Which is great because it’s so much healthier than traditional ice-cream. Let’s break down why.
Banana ice-cream is a completely guiltless dessert! It’s abundant in disease fighting properties such as phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. It’s full of magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, folate and so many others!
Banana ice-cream is naturally low-in-fat, contains zero cholesterol, zero saturated fat, but contains 6 g of fiber! The fiber, along with the bulk of this food, is going to leave you feeling full and satisfied after you eat it. This means you’ll eat less food later in the day—without forcing yourself too!
It’s contender, ice-cream on the other hand, adds to the disease-promoting standard American diet (SAD) and health outcomes.
Ice-cream is high in saturated fat — 9 g in one C and in cholesterol – 58 mg in one C. Our bodies do not need to consume saturated fat and cholesterol. They are non-essential nutrients. We don’t need to eat them in order to survive.
More importantly, eating the saturated fat and cholesterol, increases blood levels of cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in your body. The Institute of Medicine recommends you “consume as little as possible as increased risk exists at levels above zero” (IOM, 2002).
This means you should rarely eat animal products including ice-cream. Cholesterol is only found in animal foods and saturated fat is more prevalent in animal products. This is one reason why I recommend that if you eat animal products, eat no more than 3 ounces of organic animal foods a week. They are a treat, not an everyday dish.
And I haven’t even mentioned all the sugar in traditional ice-cream! It’s an addictive blob of fat, sugar and cholesterol. So keep ice-cream out of your house and treat your body with something it appreciates… banana ice-cream.
IOM. Report: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Institute of Medicine. 2002. Accessed Oct. 2014 at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2002/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Energy-Carbohydrate-Fiber-Fat-Fatty-Acids-Cholesterol-Protein-and-Amino-Acids.aspx
Trisha’s Banana Ice-Cream
All you need are two ingredients -- bananas and plant-milk, but it can easily be spruced up for more of a treat.
Ingredients:
- 3 frozen bananas (directions below)
- < one cup of plant milk
Makes 2-3 servings
How to freeze bananas:
Peel ripe or slightly overly ripe bananas (the 50% off bananas at the store) and break into small chunks. Place in a ziplock bag and put in the freezer for a few hours. Let freeze until hard.
Directions:
Add frozen bananas to a blender (see my favorite blender below).
Start by adding around ¼ C of plant milk (general rule: 1/8 C per banana) and begin to blend. (The trick is to add the least amount of liquid possible needed to mix. You want it thick, like the consistency of ice-cream).
Blend, stop and add more liquid as needed, pushing the mixture down with a spoon during each pause in blending.
Once you have a thick consistency, you’re ready to serve. Add toppings and enjoy!
Additional Optional Toppings
- Fresh fruit -- strawberries and blueberries are my favorite
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (add on top, not while blending--you’ll get more taste but less calories and fat from the PB)
- 1 tablespoon of walnuts or other nut
- 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut
- dash of cinnamon
Recipes Hints
- For chocolate ice-cream, add of raw cocoa powder
- For strawberry ice-cream, add frozen strawberries to the blender
- Freeze left-overs in a thin plastic container for ready-to-eat banana ice-cream anytime!
- Water can be used instead of plant-milk
- For greater weight loss or those w/ heart disease or DM, eat the plain recipe (it’s delicious as is) or use fresh fruit as your topping vs. nuts and other high-fat plant food
On top of warm fruit compote
Other Ways to Enjoy Banana Ice-Cream
- On top of oatmeal in the morning
- On top of warm fruit compote
- As a snack or dessert
My favorite blender:
The Master Prep Ninja -- $39.99 at Bi-Mart stores
Act Now!
It’s time to put this knowledge into action!
When are you going to make banana ice-cream? What topping will you put on it?
How did you like it? Report back and share with others what you thought!
Comment below with your answers. And if you liked this information, please share it with a friend!
xo,
