HMF - Dairy Free Ice Cream

HMF = Hungry Mama Food
This is more of a Hungry Mama Snack, but ironically, is also a Lite Mama Snack depending on how you make it. I got the idea from Annessa at Flourish. She got the idea from a Whole Foods Recipe, so this is one of those recipes that has been passed around and tweaked, but it's because the idea is brilliant! It's ice cream without the "cream". Frozen bananas stand in for the creamy part and you can flavor it however you like. For me, I needed a dairy free protein/fat boost every day, and this shake is the vehicle! You may just want a healthier substitute for your nightly bowl of ice cream or you might want a frugal treat. This is all of those.

You will need:

• freeze one ripe (but not mushy) banana in chunks in a small ziploc baggie to have ready when you want it*
• 2 tsp. peanut butter or almond butter (to add protein, I add more like 2 Tbs., but I confess it tastes more like a health shake and less like ice cream when I do this)
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder (don't add more, trust me! It will not taste more chocolaty)
• about 1/3 c. liquid - I use rice milk, but use any kind of milk or milk substitute you have
• 2 Tbs. melted coconut oil (optional - I add this for the extra fats, if you don't want extra fats, no matter how healthy, just don't add it!)**
• Add sweeteners if you wish. I don't need it, but you can make it sweeter with liquid stevia, sweetened rice milk, sweetened peanut butter or just plain old sugar.
  

Now, I don't have a blender. I've burned out three cheap ones now, and I don't care to invest three digits for a fancy one, so I just use my KitchenAid food processor. A blender would probably work better though. So, throw the banana chunks, the peanut butter and the cocoa powder into your blender or food processor and whirl it around until it breaks up the banana chunks. Add the liquid through the hole in the top, adding just enough to make it smooth. If you add too much, it tastes more like a Wendy's Frosty, which, to me, is not a bad thing!! :)

Then spoon it out into your bowl, and enjoy guilt free!


* the spartan among us will wash out and reuse those baggies, so I recommend the heavier weight freezer bags to withstand repeated washings
** if you add the coconut oil in as a solid, it will make your ice cream taste grainy, and who wants grainy ice cream? Melting it solves that problem. Even though it is a bit counter-intuitive to add warm liquid to make ice cream, it works. :)