© Jaymi Heimbuch
One ingredient + One blender + Five minutes = One batch of thick, rich ice cream.
If there's one thing I love, it's ice cream. Especially if I can eat it without feeling like I'm clogging up my arteries. So I'm grateful for this miracle fruit we so often take for granted: the banana.
Yep, the secret to creamy, sweet (and yes, vegan!) ice cream is all in bananas. See, this fruit is unlike so many others. When you freeze it, then put it in a blender, it doesn't just break apart like ice and turn to slush. There is more sugar than water so it actually sticks together and is gooey, the exact same consistency as rich, dairy-based ice cream. But it's just fruit. That's it!
So, want to try it? All you need is three very ripe bananas. Peel the bananas and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Put them in a tupperware 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, you can just break them apart with your hands) and put them in a blender or a food processor. Blend until totally creamy. It makes about three 2-scoop servings.
Now there's some patience needed for blending. 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! And banana ice cream is a perfect base for all sorts of different flavors and toppings.
© Jaymi Heimbuch
You can eat your ice cream as soon as it's done blending -- it will definitely be cold enough but just starting to get melty on the outside edges like in the photo above of the ice cream I just pulled out of the food processor. Or, if you like it really firm like I do, put it back into the tupperware and into the freezer for an hour or two to get really good and cold again, then scoop it into bowls or cones.
© Jaymi Heimbuch
Here, I've made strawberry banana ice cream -- just two ingredients: frozen banana and frozen sliced strawberries.
© Jaymi Heimbuch
And look at that lovely pink color! I added a sprinkling of hazelnuts and a dash of cinnamon as toppings. You can try so many different ingredients that add variety to this ice cream.
7 Variations:
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. There are countless options -- just a quick glance in my spice cupboard and fruit bowl gave me these 7 ideas (and many more... cardamom, cloves, carob chips, nutella, pineapple, walnuts, macadamia nuts.... so many ideas!). Anyway, try these out for starters.
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
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