The other day we were at story time at our local library and one of the kids had a sippy bottle full of strawberry milk. It had the distinctive bright pink color of the Strawberry Quik I drank as a child. I found myself surprised that stuff was still being sold (I thought it went the way of Tang – is that still around too?).… Continue reading
fruit-sweetened
Fruit-Sweetened Banana Cardamom Ice Cream
Another hot afternoon means another round of ice cream at our house. We’re all enjoying having a cool, healthy treat on these hot summer afternoons. Today’s flavor of choice? Banana Cardamom. The bananas provide the sweetener, and the nut butter adds a richer mouth feel (as well as some healthy fats) that you wouldn’t otherwise get without adding cream. Here’s how I made it:
Banana Cardamom Ice Cream Recipe
2.5 cups Milk of choice (coconut milk works excellently for this, but dairy or almond milk would also work)
4 Bananas
½ cup Almond Butter (peanut butter would also work, but adds a distinctive peanut taste)
2 teaspoons ground vanilla beans (read about them HERE)
2 teaspoons ground Cardamom
¼ teaspoon Salt
Process Bananas and spices in a food processor or blender until thoroughly combined.… Continue reading
Healthy Snack: Homemade Super Berry Trail Mix
My rapidly growing boys are constantly hungry and – honestly – as a nursing mama, so am I. As a result, I carry snacks in my bag wherever we go. Yes, even heading to restaurants or when we’re leaving after just finishing a meal, I always carry something (because I’ve needed snacks in just those very situations).
I try to make sure the snacks I carry with me meet two characteristics:
- I want them to be healthy.
Fruit-Sweetened Carob Peanut Butter Ice Cream
I will start by saying that carob is not chocolate. It doesn’t taste like chocolate. It won’t ever taste like chocolate. The similarity is that both powders are brown. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise (I am a fervent lover of dark chocolate). That said, I think carob is an interesting and great flavor – as long as no one is trying to pass it off as chocolate, and we use it in a variety of recipes.… Continue reading
Apricot Almond Coconut Snack Bars
After the success of the Simple, No-Bake Sesame Snack Bars (recipe HERE), I decided to try a variation for the apricot-lover in my house. These were also no bake, very simple to make, healthy, and a great treat or snack.
Each time I make something like this, I try to use a variety of nuts, seeds, and fruits, as each of the various components have a different nutritional profile which, in turn, imparts to us a wider range of benefits.… Continue reading
Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
Another warm day tells us that summer is definitely just around the corner. And when warm weather comes, a cold afternoon treat feels just about perfect. I had one request for Banana Ice Cream (recipe HERE) and one request for Chocolate Ice Cream (recipe HERE), so we decided to combine the two and make Banana Chocolate Ice Cream. It’s fruit sweetened, so there’s no added sugar, it tastes great, and it’s very simple to make.… Continue reading
Green Piña Colada Smoothie
With today’s sunny weather, my boys and I were happy to sit on the deck and enjoy a drink in the sunshine. We don’t have a beach near by, but this drink brought the tropics to our Rocky Mountain home.
It’s full of tropical fruity goodness, including bananas, pineapple, and mango. It has a dose of healthy fats from the coconut butter, which in addition to coconuts many health benefits also lowers the overall glycemic index of the drink.… Continue reading
Easy Fruit-Sweetened Banana Ice Cream
What do you do when your kids are asking for spur of the moment ice cream? Find a way to make it with whatever you have on hand, of course. We had no cream in the house, so this is more of an Ice Milk recipe, but we call anything that’s a frozen ice-cream-like dessert ice cream in our house.
I try to keep our sugar consumption low, so this ice cream is entirely sweetened with fruit.… Continue reading