nuts about nuts: Nutty Not Naughty Ice-Cream

Irresistible ice-cream? Not any more. No matter what food lifestyle you follow, you can create healthy, dairy free, ice-cream in minutes.

NUT FACT: 

Did you know that technically cashew is not a nut but a seed? It comes from the cashew fruit, except—unlike most fruit—the cashew seed lives on the outside. You can see pictures of this unique fruit online. The fruit itself leaves a dense coating on the tongue.

RECIPES:

Fruit Ice-Cream

Put the following ingredients in a high-speed blender:

-1-1/2 cups of almond milk*

– 2 bananas

– 1 tsp of vanilla

– sweetener of your choice (I use 15-20 drops of Stevia or maple syrup)

– 1 cup of frozen fruit

I usually use strawberries or blueberries, but the sky’s the limit!

Blend until smooth and then simply pour into your electric ice-cream maker. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, pour the mixture into a rectangular glass container and pop it into the freezer for approximately one hour.

Coconut Milk Ice-Cream

For an even creamier version, use coco“nut” milk. Put in the blender:

– 1 can of full fat, organic coconut milk

– 1 cup of frozen fruit

– 1 tsp of vanilla extract

– sweetener of your choice

Follow the same steps above to make it into ice-cream. 

* You can also look at our high-speed recipe on how to make almond milk

Spicy Pecan Ice-Cream

Now for a completely nutty version, you can also try this recipe:

– 2 cups organic pecans

– 1 1/2 tsp Celtic salt

– 1/2 tsp organic cayenne pepper (adjust it to how spicy you like it)

– 4 cups raw cashews (soak them for 4 hrs. and then drain them)

– 2 cups filtered water

– 1 1/2 cups grade B maple syrup

– 1 tsp vanilla extract

Line  a baking sheet with parchment paper for the pecans. Pre-heat oven to 375°F degrees.

In a glass bowl, place the pecans, 1/2 cup of the maple syrup, 1 tsp of Celtic salt and the cayenne; mix it all with a spatula.

Spread the pecans on the baking sheet and bake for 4-6 minutes until toasted. Remove from oven immediately and let it cool.

Place the cashews, water, the full cup of maple syrup, vanilla and 1/2 tsp. of salt in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Pour cashew mixture into the ice-cream maker.

When the pecans are cooled, you can put them in a food processor and pulse to make small chunks or chop them on a cutting board.

A few minutes before the ice-cream is done, mix the pecans.

Store in freezer.

* You can also use walnuts instead of pecans. In which case the recipe will be called Spicy Walnut Ice-Cream.