Faux Ice Cream

I am a huge ice-cream fan. When I was a child, it was the first treat I had once I was gone from the careful watch of my parents (thanks grandparents!). In college, more than one meal was a pint of Chubby Hubby from Ben & Jerry’s.

But sometimes you want to eat ice-cream without dealing with all of it’s lovely additives – sugar, cream, oh my! It’s not the healthiest of treats, sadly. Nor is it very kind to those with lactose problems (not me, but several of my friends and one family member. They get sad when faced with such delicious dairy treats like ice cream or macaroni and cheese).

I’ve talked about the joys of frozen bananas before and how creamy they can make a smoothie. Incredibly, this trick works perfectly well when it’s just a banana; it blends into a thick, creamy mix that tastes incredibly similar to frozen yogurt or slightly melted ice cream. Since you all know that I’m a fan of the chocolate-peanut butter, it’ll be no surprise to see what I did with my frozen banana – added cocoa powder and topped with peanut butter!

 Faux Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 frozen banana cut into 1-inch segments

1-2 tablespoons water or milk

Optional

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 tablespoon crunchy peanut butter, melted

Equipment

Very strong blender or food processor

Place banana in food processor or blender with milk or water and blend until smooth and creamy. If making a chocolate flavor, add the cocoa powder before blending. This should take about a minute or two. 

Serve in a bowl, topped with melted peanut butter or other any other topping you prefer.