Peanut Butter Nice Cream (Vegan, WFPB, Kid-Friendly)

Hey babes,

Holy guacamole, it’s been a while! Explains why it’s so quiet around here. Really though, life has been crazy busy. As if working and raising kids wasn’t enough excitement, I started nursing school! I can’t promise I’ll be ramping up to super consistent until summer, but after everything I’ve seen in the hospitals that could’ve been prevented by a better diet (and eliminated unhealthy foods and habits), I felt like I couldn’t stay away.

But enough of that diatribe. Back to the reason you’re here: FOOD!

So lately, it has been an unwinnable battle to get my kids to eat fully plant-based. They simply will not. We’ve compromised to be plant-focused, and that’s been acceptable. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t sneak in the good stuff every chance I get. Point and case, ice cream.

The little loves ice cream, popsicles, all frozen goodies, really. We keep Outshine popsicles in the freezer, but sometimes she just wants something creamy. Hmmm, what frozen plant would make for a creamy, healthy treat?

Oh yeah, bananas!

On top of having a delicious, creamy texture, bananas are probably the cheapest fruit in most markets ($0.54/lb in the current climate), and it is a lot healthier than people give it credit, especially when you compare it to the whole milk, sugar, and cream used to make traditional ice cream. Bananas are a good source of potassium and magnesium, both of which contribute to heart function. Additionally, the soluble fiber in bananas helps you feel fuller faster (especially when combined with the 8 grams of protein in the PB powder). And and, if that wasn’t enough, bananas have been shown to reduce post-exercise fatigue and soreness, which is great both for hard-working adults and kids that run around playing all day.

Lucky for us all, I regularly freeze bananas when my kids deem them too spotty for consumption (I probably have three gallons in my deep freezer). Here’s a pro-tip though. I used to just throw the bananas, peel and all in the freezer. Rookie mistake.

Slice them up, put them on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and let them freeze before you put them in a container. Throw some in the food processor, add some almond milk, pick something else for added flavor, and boom, Nice Cream. My little loves peanut butter. We eat plenty of the good old fashioned peanut butter around here, but when cooking or making smoothies, I prefer to use the powder to cut out the oil without sacrificing the protein or fiber. If you prefer the standard PB, be my guest!

Oh, a fair warning, though. You want to have a pretty sturdy food processor for this one. I have a Ninja and it handles it just fine, but I destroyed an Oster once making this recipe. Proceed with caution if you have a plastic food processor bowl.

We like to top with peanuts, sometimes sugar-free chocolate syrup, sesame seeds, chocolate chips, or fruit. This week, my little topped hers with peanuts and little dragonfruit cubes. Try your own twist and let me know how you like it!