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Frozen banana ice cream is an excellent alternative to sugary desserts for those who’d like to transition their children to a lower-sugar diet. The natural sugars in the bananas make it sweet enough to pass as dessert for those used to eating sweets, while the complete lack of processed sugars makes it better for our bodies. Try some of the different flavor combinations below–or invent your own!–until you find one that you and your kiddos like. You will be so thankful to have a food that your kids crave and is actually good for them!
Sometimes we eat it as a snack and sometimes it is simply part of lunch, but one thing is always for certain: the bowls are licked clean! It is one of the easiest treats in the world to make: simply peel 2-3 bananas, cut or break them into 1-2 inch pieces, freeze the pieces, and put them in a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth (this amount will make about 2 servings).
If you have a single-serving processor such as a Magic Bullet, like I do, you may have to puree, then stop and shake the container, then puree, then shake the container, and so on until all of the bananas are blended.
It will take the banana pieces at least 4 hours to freeze, so I generally put them in a container in the freezer the day before I plan to make the ice cream. If you’re not the plan-ahead type, simply cut up several bananas once you’re done reading this post and store them in the freezer so they’ll be ready whenever you want to give it a try! Once you use up those banana pieces, refill the container with more pieces and put it back in the freezer for the next time you get a hankering.
My girls and I love to add nut butter to our banana ice cream. We’ve discovered peanut butter and sunflower seed butter to be especially delicious. Adding a tablespoon or two of nut butter to the blender along with the banana pieces adds a bit of fat and protein to make the snack more satiating. Half an avocado, virgin coconut oil, and/or coconut flakes will have the same effect. Other frozen fruits such as blueberries and strawberries taste good too. If you’re sticking with plain bananas, adding a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a touch of heavy cream or whole milk will enhance the flavor.
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I used to do this decades ago & forgot all about it. Today I would add Trader Joe’s or Golden Star coconut milk (they are the thickest, ‘purest’ (no chemicals or guar gum) & tastiest. Golden Star is unbelievably thick), Hershey cacao chocolate powder and Wyman’s wild blueberries from Walmart freezer. Thank you Cori Day for the great reminder. I went icecream crazy last summer & nearly killed myself.
Chocolate, cacao and cocoa are not recommended by WAPF.
For why to avoid chocolate, cacao and cocoa, see pages 51 and 52 of the book Nourishing Traditions.
also, https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/faq-miscellaneous-food-questions/
Q. Please tell me why cocoa (chocolate) is or is not a good food.
A. Chocolate is a tough one. I do not want to tell you that you should never eat chocolate, nor will I say that I have never eaten chocolate myself. But it should not be consumed habitually. It is somewhat addictive, enhances the sensitivity of endorphin receptors (thus can cause a let down afterwards), contains a caffeine-like substance and also needs to be sweetened. So try not to make a habit of it. We do not allow products with chocolate at our conference or in our shopping guide.
Thanx. I probably overdo the chocolate. I learned to do the banana ice cream from Mom 60yrs ago. She raised 8 kids in one 3 bedroom house with one bathroom & one refrigerator & help from Adelle Davis’ cook book.
Oh yes I know of a dozen problems with Adelle Davis’ work now that I’ve read it, but she was the best in her day other than Price & Pottenger, of who we didn’t seem to know at the time.
I agree re chocolate. It was chocolate icecream I was becoming slave to. I was not strongly opposed to it until that really very scary experience with it last August where I just kept eating more & more, no matter how full I already was, and began to realize I was actually going to kill myself with it if I didn’t stop it. And when I finally tried to stop, it was impossible the first time – after a couple days I was Back at it & worse than ever & getting even more concerned. Once I did stop, it kept coming up in my mind day & night & felt like a very powerful urge trying to kill me, but that I could not stop except by all my resources & growing fear of it. This was the first I recall of any such experience, but I realize it is not unusual to be addicted this way to so many things, including sugars & carbohydrates. Only after 2 weeks abstinence did the chocolate icecream nightmare end.
Like my presently 94 year old aunt always sez “moderation is the first & foremost rule of health”. When will I ever learn. As with God, with moderation all things are possible – without it nothing.
We have tried this, it is featured at the end of an episode of “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” as “banana swirl.” But, my 5 year old daughter loves to make it from time to time, but she doesn’t like to eat it. So, thank you for the add-in suggestions, we will try those and see if she likes it better.
I thought peanut butter is bad because of phytic acid. Why did she put it in?
A little phytic acid is fine, just like any toxin or poison. All plants are loaded with these things & nothing gets rid of them all. Also the liver needs these toxins to make bile. Unless your liver is ruined from excess refined carbs & alcohol, these toxins are fine when minimized.
Cocoa is bad all over, but I haven’t seen anything on WAPF re CAROB, which is just the opposite, good all over.
Hello DrJim! I read your comments under several other articles and realized that you are well aware of ash and its health benefits. I have a few questions at the end of this comment.
I read that ancient gladiators drank an ash tonic that helped them recover from training, heat and intense fight. I found this in one research.
“To figure out what they ate, the researchers examined the remains of 22 gladiators using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratio analysis.
Carbon can tell us about the plants these people ate, while nitrogen offers hints of their animal protein consumption. The gladiators were eating a pretty varied diet, the analysis showed. Some went heavier on the grains and greens; some ate more meat.
When the same tests were run on the remains of 31 regular folks from that era and region, they found the same sorts of variation. In other words, gladiators seemed to be eating the same way as everyone else.
But the researchers also decided to look at the trace elements of strontium and calcium in those old bones. And that’s where a huge difference jumped out. Compared with the regular Joes, the gladiators had a much larger ratio of strontium to calcium.
“This is strong evidence that the gladiators were consuming something high in calcium to replenish their calcium stores that other people weren’t and that didn’t show up in the isotopes,” says Kristina Killgrove, a biological anthropologist at the University of West Florida who studies imperial Rome through ancient bones.
The researchers wondered: If the gladiators weren’t eating more meat than their contemporaries, then where was this calcium boost coming from? A nearly 2,000-year-old encyclopedia offered a tantalizing clue.
In his Naturalis Historia, published in the first century, Pliny the Elder wrote: “Your hearth should be your medicine chest. Drink lye made from its ashes, and you will be cured. One can see how gladiators after a combat are helped by drinking this.”
Using ash in food and medicine wasn’t limited to the Romans. The Hopis used ash from burned plant leaves and pea pods to prepare blue cornmeal foods like piki bread and bivilviki dumplings. The ash provided essential elements like calcium, manganese, copper and iron.”
“If it was the ash beverage, though, what would it have been like? As a mixture of vinegar, water and ash it sounds pretty gross. Or maybe not, writes Live Science: “With some good vinegar, the drink might have tasted like refreshing lemonade, Kanz said.“”
Can you please tell me which ash is better to use, since on some sites it was said about plant ashes, on others about bone ash, and wood ash? And also, where can I buy it, organic and of good quality, without any toxins and harmful substances, in order to be safe to drink?
Also, which vinegar to use, I think gladiators used wine vinegar, from red wine, for example?
And also, do you have something to add to this drink recipe? And what other recipes using ash do you know?
Thank you very much in advance for your reply!
Hi Shon.
For mineral ash the best is leaves, stems & flowers of most any plants, including oak, of maple, of fruit tees. The same for other plants like burdock, goldenrod, comfrey, & most other leaves stems flowers of herbs & plants.
The drink would be in lemon, lime or orange water to taste. Add a bit of baking soda to soften & sweeyen the acid of the citrus while also helping to neutralize systemic acidity.
The ashes of stems & leaves of deep rooting plants, bushes & trees are used as you would salt on your food.