Fruity Nice Cream Sundae

Sometimes you just ~~need~~ want an ~~ice cream~~ nice cream sundae.

There was a time in my life that I went out for an ice cream sundae without fail every single week. Even in the winter! I've had a life-long ice cream addiction that veganism has nearly broken. Why? Well, most vegan ice cream ~~sucks~~ is just ok. The ice cream I am was addicted to is was the real deal. The cream of the crop.

I made myself stop eating ice cream for several reasons:

Its full of refined sugar.
Its often full of additives I cannot identify.
Its not vegan.
Its addictive and made me feel sick after eating it.
The dairy industry no longer gets my dollars.
The temporary satisfaction it provides isn't worth the days of bloating and discomfort.
It gave me nightmares.
It made my asthma worse.

For all you ~~diehard~~ ice cream fans, I apologize. I know when something isn't sitting well with me and I listen to my body. If ice cream is ok with you, I respect your choices in life.
Today's recipe is for what I reach for when that ~~undeniable~~ ice cream craving hits. I like to whip up a batch of nice cream. For those of you unfamiliar with "nice cream", I'm referring to homemade fruit "ice cream". The name is a little misleading since its mostly made of blended frozen fruit. For best results I highly recommend using a food processor. A blender or stick blender will work in a pinch but you may have to add a little liquid (nut milk or coconut water) to make it blend smoothly. I find this really waters down the flavour and texture.

Nice cream has been a favourite of mine for many years. A lot of its early proponents said that it had to involve a nut butter to be creamy and decadent. I totally disagree. I find its just as good fat free, just blended fruit and a touch of sweetener if necessary (particularly for sour fruits like raspberries).

I make nice cream all the time for breakfast and dessert. I find it almost as satisfying as real ice cream without the nasty side effects.

To make this recipe into an ice cream sundae, I made a raw chocolate magic shell to layer between two nice cream flavours. The shell is so easy to make, especially in the summer when coconut oil tends to liquify.

For ice cream flavours I chose vanilla and raspberry. For the vanilla I blended frozen banana with vanilla extract and a raw sweetener until smooth and thick. For raspberry I just blended frozen raspberries and stevia. For the chocolate coating I stirred together liquid coconut oil with raw cacao powder and raw honey (which I know is not vegan but I consume it occasionally for its beneficial impact on my chronic inflammation). Feel free to use maple syrup or coconut nectar in its place.

This "sundae" is not quite the real deal but its pretty damn delicious and healthy. Give it a try!

Nice Cream Sundae

Raspberry Nice Cream

1-2 cups frozen raspberries
stevia to taste

Add your raspberries to a food processor and blend until totally smooth and creamy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides and continue blending. Once blended, add a little stevia, blend and taste. Add as much as needed to sweeten it to your taste.

Vanilla Nice Cream

3 frozen bananas
1 tsp liquid sweetener (raw honey, maple syrup, coconut nectar, agave)
teeny tiny pinch pink salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until totally smooth and creamy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides and continue blending.

Raw Chocolate Shell

2 tbsp liquid virgin coconut oil (heat solidified coconut oil in a pan over low heat until melted)
2 tsps or more raw cacao powder
1 tbsp liquid sweetener (raw honey, maple, agave, coconut nectar)
teeny tiny pinch pink salt

Whisk or stir all ingredients together until totally smooth.

ASSEMBLY
Grab a two clean jam jars or wide short glasses and add some raspberry ice cream to each, filling each container half full. Top with a couple spoonfuls of chocolate sauce. Fill the rest of the containers with the vanilla ice cream and top it with more chocolate sauce. Place in the freezer for a few minutes to harden the chocolate sauce. Enjoy.

Duze

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