Banana "Ice Cream" - Written by Emily F.

My sweet tooth often fights with my desire to eat healthy, and it usually ends up with me and a big plate of chocolate cake. So, imagine my delight when I discovered this recipe for ice cream on the internet. All you need are frozen bananas and a food processor. Seriously, that's it.

Someone with more food science knowledge than myself might be able to explain it to you, but for some reason frozen bananas create an amazing creamy texture that's just like ice cream! Here are the instructions:

1. Freeze bananas. I usually have a zip lock full of banana pieces in my freezer because they are great for smoothies too. It's easier if you break them up into thirds or fourths before you freeze them.

2. Put bananas in the food processor. I used about two and a half bananas for my small food processor, but you can use more or less depending on your situation (and hunger!). If you are feeding more than one person you probably want at least three or four bananas.

3. Turn the food processor on. It might make some awful noises at first while it tries to break up all the frozen bananas. Don't worry, that's normal. Keep it running until you end up with ice cream! You might need to stop it and scrape the banana off the sides if it gets stuck.

30 seconds in - crumbly pieces of banana

1 minute - starting to get a little softer

90 seconds - see it starting at the bottom?

2 minutes - ice cream!

At this point it has the consistency of soft serve. If you put it in the freezer it becomes more like ice cream. Also, if you want to spice it up a little, you can mix something in at this point. I have loved bananas with peanut butter since I was little, so I added a small spoonful (still trying to be healthy!) and turned the mixer back on for a few seconds.

You could also try little cut up pieces of fruit (strawberries?) or nuts - just imagine you are at Amy's Ice Cream, or Coldstone, or Marble Slab - and dig in to a refreshing and healthy dessert perfect for this ridiculously hot weather.
 
Thank you Sofia for letting me share more delicious food with you!