Foods We Love: Vegan Ice Cream

Spring has finally arrived in Northern Vermont – well, at least it’s trying. We still have our share of 30 degree nights, but oh those 60+ degree days! They hint of the incredible Vermont summer to come and turn my thoughts to one of my favorite summer treats – ice cream. A growing intolerance for dairy products has limited my indulgence to the occasional soft serve, but this incredible recipe for Vegan ice cream that appeared in a recent issue of Treehugger is so good, I don’t think I’ll be missing the “real thing” at all.

Sweet and Creamy 5-Minute Vegan Ice Cream
Makes about three 2-scoop servings.

Equipment: Food Processor or Blender

Ingredients:  3 very ripe bananas

Instructions
- Peel the bananas and cut them into 1-inch pieces.
- Put them in a freezer-safe container, pop them in the freezer and leave them overnight until
  they are frozen solid.
- The next day, break the pieces apart (it’s easy, just break them apart with your hands) and put
  them in a blender or a food processor.
- Blend until totally creamy.
- Serve immediately or return mix to freezer for an hour or two to chill futher.
- Scoop into bowls or cones.

Depending on your machine, you may need to pulse it 10-15 times, allowing the pieces of banana to be chopped up before finally letting the blender or food processor do it’s thing. And you’ll have to push down what gathers on the sides every so often. But after about 3-5 minutes of blending, you have ice cream!

Banana ice cream is a perfect base for all sorts of different flavors and toppings. If you want to try different flavors, test these out. Just add the ingredients to the food processor or blender as you’re blending your frozen bananas.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip
Add 1 cup frozen chopped strawberries and 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Cinnamon Peanut Butter
Add 2 Tablespoons peanut butter and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Pecan
Add 1 cup chopped pecans and 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Mango Peach
Add 1/2 cup frozen chopped mango and 1/2 cup frozen chopped peach

Raspberry Almond
Add 1 cup frozen raspberries and 1/2 cup chopped almonds

Chocolate Banana
Add 2 tablespoons of vegan chocolate sauce

Strawberry Pistachio
Add 1 cup frozen chopped strawberries and 1/2 cup chopped roasted, unsalted pistachios

Photo: floridecires