Faux ice cream? That’s right! It’s a bit magic what happens, when healthy frozen banana and a bit of cocoa powder are combined together in a blender or food processor. The result, a luscious creamy frozen treat, it's healthy ice cream. No sugar, no cream, NO GUILT!
I wish I could take credit for this ingenious healthy ice cream concoction but it’s something I just learned about a couple of weeks ago at the weekend long International Food Bloggers Conference (IFBC) here in Seattle.
Chef Devin Alexander ( host of America’s Chefs on Tour” on PBS, Cookbook Author, and Chef on NBC’s The Biggest Loser- whew! She’s busy! ) is responsible for this two ingredient ice cream wonder. She’s also working with Ninja Kitchen Products (one of the sponsors of IFBC) and they were demoing the new Nutri Ninja Blender System with Auto iQ . In my opinion the mac daddy of all blender products, and now at the top of my most coveted kitchen items list. The Auto iQ takes all the guess-work out of blending to perfection. One touch and the Ninja blends everything at exactly the right speed, for the exact right amount of time. Oh, I would love that!
Chef Devin told us about how it’s possible to blend just frozen bananas and unsweetened cocoa powder together and come up with something to “crush your ice cream cravings”. She calls it “True Love in a Bowl”.
I thought no way is this going to taste like ice cream. I mean come on! there is no CREAM, not only is there no cream, there is no dairy at all? . Whoa, I was seriously surprised! Magic happens when frozen bananas get whizzed around in a blender! They turn super creamy, and you can literally watch their transformation. One minute they just look like smashed bananas ..keep blending ..because all of a sudden they become smooth, creamy richness. Combined with the cocoa powder…I now understand why Chef Devin calls this dish “True Love in a Bowl”. I call it healthy ice cream LOVE! Serious LOVE! No, more like serious crazy MAD LOVE ! ( o.k. you get my point…this stuff is insanely good!)
I have a few ideas for variations to try next…how about:
Healthy” Chunky Monkey” - blend bananas and top with dark chocolate chunks (or chips) and some crushed walnuts
Banana with Peanut Butter and Honey
Banana with Cinnamon and Honey
Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Banana
Nutella and Banana
Top with sliced fresh fruit, chopped nuts, crushed graham cracker, dark chocolate chips, granola…etc.
So many options! What would you add?
recipe from Devin Alexander www.devinalexander.com
Faux Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 bananas frozen ( peel and cut into 1-inch pieces freeze for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight)
- 4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder more to taste
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, add the frozen bananas and sprinkle the cocoa powder over the bananas.
- Blend on medium for approx. 2 min. until bananas have become a creamy ice cream like consistency. (keep watching and keep blending, it will look like they are not forming a smooth consistency and then magically they transform). “Ice Cream” will have a similar consistency to soft serve ice cream. If you’d like a slightly firmer “ice cream”, scoop into a dish and put back into the freezer for a few minutes.
Be creative and top with chopped nuts, fresh fruit, crushed graham crackers, dark chocolate chips, granola .. etc.
Caterina
This was delicious, easy and healthy. Thankyou.
For only me, I used 1 banana and a bit less than 1Tbsp cacao. Within 2-3min start n stop in Ninja it came out looking a bit too runny but still held shape. Will do 2min next time. Thanks so much x hit the sweet spot. X
AJ
THANKS! I am working from home today and was having trouble staying away from the sugary treats on hand for my son. This TRULY hit the spot!
I am going to keep some in the freezer as an after workout treat. :+)
Thanks again!
Gemma
Such a clever and yummy recipe! Who would have thought that using only two ingredients you can get a delicious, healthy dessert?! Amazing! I love how creamy and chocolatey it looks.
xoxox
Tine
Yummy! Looks so delicious 🙂 Love the facts that bananas are so versatile 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche
What a great "ice cream" recipe! It looks SO delicious and the best thing about it is definitely how healthy it is! Great recipe.
Monika
I love how simple this is! Love it, very clever and tasty idea!
Lisa @ Whisk & Cleaver
This was one of my favorite treats at IFBC! I love the varations you suggest, I think my kiddo would go for the nutella option for sure.