Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

I was having a sweet craving this evening… actually it was going on all day and I was trying to come up with something I could make with what I had on hand. Finally, the idea for this hit me. And oh did it hit the spot… the tahini adds an extra smoothness to this so it’s even more like real ice cream than most frozen banana-based non-dairy ice creams. The vanilla extract and rapadura go so nicely together, creating that sweet, vanilla flavor.

Even if you eat dairy, it’s worth trying this for it’s own sake. Totally guilt-free desserts, I love ‘em! Try some of my other raw vegan ice cream recipe too.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
3 frozen bananas
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp rapadura sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
1 tbsp water
1 teas organic vanilla extract (or vanilla pod if you have it)

Instructions:
Peel the ripe banana and break it into pieces into blender. Add the tahini, rapadura, water and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth. Add the frozen bananas and blend again until smooth and creamy.

If you want this to be an all-raw dessert, be sure to use raw tahini. Often the ready made tahini is made from lightly toasted sesame seeds. I’ve had trouble finding raw tahini in New Zealand, but you can buy grinders and juicers with attachments that allow you to create your own. I love tahini so much, and it’s such a small part of most of my recipes that I just use the best organic tahini I can find, even though I’m trying to eat a mostly raw and living food diet.

Eat immediately!

Serves 2.

Kitchen tips: To cleanup I added about half a cup of water to the blender jug (no soap, just water) and blended on high until most of the remains had been ‘water blasted’ off the sides of the jug.

Zoe loves Vegan Vanilla Ice Cream

I poured this ‘vanilla banana milk’ into a bowl for my dogs and Zoe loved it! She lapped up every last drop and came to see if there was more of this yummy stuff left.

Zoe works hard, her day-job is in excavation. It’s hot, thirsty work. A cool, thirst-quenching treat like this is just the thing after a hard day’s work.

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Espresso Non-Dairy Ice Cream

My very favorite ice cream is coffee ice cream, and nothing else even comes close. Not only is it very difficult (read: impossible) to find good coffee ice cream in the shops here in New Zealand, but now that I’m not eating dairy, ice cream is off the menu… or is it? NO! Because there is a healthy, delicious, non-dairy, non-soy alternative. And it takes about as long to make as it takes to get a tub of ice cream from the freezer and serve it up. But the best part is, it’s so healthy, it’s virtually guilt-free.

I love this non-dairy ice cream, in all it’s variations, so much I don’t think I’d be satisfied going back to eating ice cream made from dairy.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
3 frozen bananas
1/4 cup brewed & cooled espresso
1 tablespoon coffee chicory essence
1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
1/2 teas vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions:
Break bananas into pieces and add to blender. Add all other ingredients and blend on low until until the banana starts becoming smooth, then turn the speed up until thoroughly blended.

If you brew the espresso earlier in the day, or save some from your morning coffee you can make this delicious treat in about 5 minutes for dinner or lunch. In fact, it’s you can still make a nice cold dessert even if the espresso is still warm.

Many health experts argue that coffee is actually healthy because of the high level of antioxidants it contains. As much as I’d like to believe that I know from my own experience that coffee is addictive and too much is definitely not good, for my body at least. But I love it all the same.

If you don’t like coffee, or are trying to give up, you could use a healthy coffee substitute instead. Roasted chicory is one option, but I’ve also seen, though not yet tried, roasted maca root. Raw maca has a sweet, rich, malty flavor which I imagine is enhanced by the roasting, so I’d certainly love to try some! Both chicory and maca are very nutritious and healthy in their raw state. Roasting, like all forms of cooking will destroy some of the nutrients, including vital enzymes. But it’s a trade-off if you feel coffee is not good for you. The caffeine in coffee can certainly have a detrimental effect if you tend towards insomnia.

This is a great raw vegan ice cream recipe to use as a starter and just play around with the ingredients to create a delicious concoction of your own. What variations have you come up with? Leave a comment and let me know.

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Green Smoothie

Today’s green smoothie (breakfast of Champions!) came out really creamy. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure enjoying it. I’ve got 2 superfoods packed in this one, goji berries and goldenberries (a.k.a. Incan Berries and Golden Inca Berries). Just for a change I decided to add some spice – cinnamon and ginger, it’s a subtle but nice change.

Ingredients:
4 kale leaves (stalk removed)
bunch of curly parsley (any kind will do)
4 sprigs apple mint (alternatively any other fresh mint)
2.5 cups kombucha (alternatively use filtered water)
3 frozen bananas
1 handful frozen goldenberries
1 handful dried goji berries
2 good shakes of powdered cinnamon
pinch of celtic sea salt
pinch of powdered ginger

Instructions:
Put all the greens into a blender. Add kombucha up to the 2.5 cup mark on my blender jug. Blend, starting on slow and gradually turning up the speed until the liquid starts turning green (at first the liquid is still clearish, with green leafy bits in it, but I keep blending on high until the bits start liquefying).

Add the rest of the ingredients, breaking up each frozen banana into about 3 pieces. You probably don’t have to break the banana if you have a super-blender, like the Vita-mix.

The banana and goldenberries will thicken the mixture, so add more kombucha or filtered water until you smoothie is the consistency you like.

This will make several large glasses, and will keep in the fridge for the rest of the day if you want to drink it throughout the day.

Tip: The quickest way I’ve found to de-stalk the kale is to grab hold of the thick end of the stalk with one hand, wrap my thumb and index finger around the stalk near my ‘holding’ hand with my palm facing toward the leafy part and then just sliding my thumb and index finger up the stalk to pull off the leafy part.

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Banana Mocha Non-Milk Shake

I created this as a non-dairy alternative to my former favorite, espresso milkshakes. Now, I may be biased, but I’d say espresso milkshakes pale in comparison to this baby! This is a favorite afternoon pick-up drink in my house.

I also find this satisfies my sweet cravings, and is a lot healthier than having a chocolate bar.

Ingredients

1 cup brewed espresso
1 cup rice milk, soy milk, or nut milk
4 medium frozen bananas
1 T cacao nibs, cacao powder, carob powder
1 teaspoon raw agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon natural vanilla essence
generous shake of ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Brew the espresso ahead of time and allow it to cool down. I usually make it in the morning and put it in the fridge until afternoon when I make my shake.

Break or cut the frozen bananas into several pieces. You may have to experiment to see just what size your blender can handle.

Put the banana pieces into the blender and add all the other ingredients. Blend until smooth. Serve.

Makes 4 servings

Banana Mocha Non-Milk Shake

Where to Find High Quality Ingredients:

• Cacao Nibs 16oz. (Peeled, Raw/Organic)
• Cacao (Chocolate) Powder 16 oz. (raw, organic)
• Cacao Beans (Raw, Organic) 16oz.
• Agave (Amber) Nectar 16 oz
• Agave (Dark) Nectar 16 oz
• "Real Raw" Organic Agave Nectar (Platinum), 13.25oz

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Banana Blueberry Ice Dream

I was craving something sweet at night, but I wanted to stay on my raw food diet because I feel so much better on it. Fortunately I’d put some bananas in the freezer a couple of days earlier so whipping up this cold, creamy dessert took a matter of minutes and was a big hit. Even the dogs loved licking the bowl! One of the things I love most about a raw food diet is that you get to eat such satisfying desserts and you don’t have to feel bad… in mind or body. There are few things that are as simple, quick and easy to make as a raw vegan ice cream recipe, so these are a good way to introduce kids to raw foods and preparing them.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana
3 frozen bananas
1-2 handfuls of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 teas natural vanilla essence
Raw Agave syrup to drizzle on top (optional)

Instructions:

1. Break the un-frozen banana into roughly quarters and put into blender.
2. Break or cut the frozen bananas into roughly quarters (smaller chunks if you have a whimpy blender) and put into blender.
3. Add blueberries and vanilla essence to blender.
4. Blend on the lowest speed until creamy. If you have a ‘pulse’ function you can use that until the frozen banana chunks have been broken up.
5. Spoon into serving bowls and drizzle with agave syrup to taste.

Makes 2-3 servings

Tip:
To freeze bananas, peel firm but ripe bananas and put them whole into a plastic ziplock bag. Seal the bag most of the way, then squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can and finish sealing the bag. This helps to prevent ice crystals from forming. Pop them in the freezer and that’s it. Once frozen they are ready to use when you want and besides making a delicious, guilt-free ice dreamy dessert they are great for adding to smoothies.

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Banana Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 banana, chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 kiwifruit
1-2 handfuls frozen blueberries or mixed berries
3/4 cup apple or pineapple juice
1/2 cup organic yogurt, soy yogurt, or kombucha

Instructions:
Cut the kiwifruit in half, and using a spoon scoop out the flesh.

Add all ingredients to a blender or smoothie maker. Blend well.

Notes:
Use soy yogurt for a vegan smoothie, or kombucha for vegan or raw versions of this smoothie.

Serves 2

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