This yummy alternative to ice cream has been a favorite this summer. Easy to make, using one ingredient, banana nice dream is sugar and dairy free. Other ingredients can be added to the basic recipe, creating a variety of flavors.
The main ingredient is ripe bananas. My grocery store often has bags of very ripe bananas offered at a discounted price. I buy up the fruit at that time. They are great used in smoothies as well.
Making banana nice dream is easy:
Cut up ripe bananas and freeze in gallon sized freezer bags. I cut up four bananas and freeze together in each bag.
Place frozen banana chunks in a good quality blender or food process and blend on high speed. I have done better using a processor. Stop frequently to push mixture down off of the sides, and keep blending.
Be patient. The bananas will become coarsely chopped. Keep going. Suddenly the mixture changes, becoming the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
Eat immediately, topped with fresh, cut up berries or other fruit. Or store in the freezer for a firmer consistency.
For variety, other frozen fruits can be added. Berries, cherries, mango or pineapple chunks are all good additions. Or a half a teaspoon of vanilla can be added to the frozen bananas, for more of a vanilla ice cream taste.
I recently made blueberry nice dream by adding 2 cups of frozen wild blueberries to the chunks of bananas. The process was the same. Suddenly the mixture changed and the bananas and blueberries blended together into a cold and creamy treat.
It is nice to have healthy alternatives to standard desserts and treats. I haven't missed ice cream, like I thought I would. I used to be a frequent visitor to Andy's Frozen Custard. My favorite treat there was a blueberry concrete. The fruit made it healthier, right? Wrong. The sugar and dairy products were not good for me, and I knew it.
It wasn't just about watching my calories or my weight. Sugar fed the inflammation in my body, making my joints stiff and painful, and it gave me severe indigestion. Milk is a mucus producer and kept my sinuses clogged, and it upset my digestive system as well. It amazes me, looking back from this place on my healing journey, that I continued to eat what I wanted to eat, knowing I wouldn't feel well afterward.
How do I feel after eating banana ice dream? I feel good…good emotionally that I am taking care of myself, and my body thanks me for not putting things into it that will create poor health.
Banana nice dream…it's a delicious win/win!
