Tag Archives: raw ice cream

Day 70: Weekly Update.

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By now, you have probably figured out that I am bananas for hemp this week.  I had ice cream for dinner again last night, and this time it was Hemp Ice Dream :].

Raw Hemp Ice Dream

  • 3 frozen, unpeeled, ripe bananas
  • 1-4 tbsp hemp protein powder (I used 2 tbsp Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro 70)
  • 2 tbsp raw, organic coconut flakes (I also sprinkled some on top)
  • 2 tbsp raw cacao nibs
  • 1 tbsp raw agave nectar (optional)
Blend frozen bananas with a tiny bit of water until beginning to mix.  Add all other ingredients, process until as creamy as desired.  Top with a pinch of coconut flakes, and/or other garnishes as desired.  Serve and enjoy immediately.
Trust me when I say this was delish.  The color was really cool, like a neutral oatmeal shade, with natural flecks running through.  This raw vegan ice cream is a healthy way to satisfy your taste buds and get high levels of potassium, manganese, omega 3s & 6s into your body, as well as a complete plant-based protein.
I have been doing a lot of reading, researching, and contemplating.  This week seems to have found me in an introspective state.  I’m planning on listening to music & creating some art.  And selling some stuff on eBay.  I’d like to get rid of a lot of my stuff!

Day 46: Raw Vegan Banana-Mango Ice Cream.

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It’s still stupid hot, so I made a ballsy preemptive move by cutting up and freezing an entire flat of mangoes for ice cream this morning:

It was a messy ordeal, but when I tasted the banana-mango “ice cream” I made for dinner tonight, it was totally worth the half hour of juice running down my forearms:

Raw Vegan Banana Mango Ice Cream

  • 3 ripe, peeled frozen bananas (I froze mine overnight)
  • 3-4 ripe, sliced frozen mangoes (remove the skin before freezing!) (you can buy pre-sliced frozen from the grocery store if you don’t want to deal with the mess.)
  1. Put mango & banana in a blender or food processor
  2. Blend until creamy (if using a Vitamix, your blender’s motor will change sounds)
  3. Serve immediately & enjoy!
AMAZING.  The color was so lovely in person- a decadent, warm shade reminiscent of traditional french vanilla ice cream.  I am crazy stuffed.  It probably makes enough for two people, but I’m a pig and ate it all myself.  It’s such a trip that it’s simply frozen fruit; it tastes sinfully creamy and rich!  Mangoes are real cheap right now, so give it a go and let me know what you think :]

Day 44: Adults Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast.

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Ice cream breakfasts are the stuff of kids’ fantasies… and a raw vegan’s reality.  WAT, you might ask?

With the summer heat, all I’ve been wanting are light, cooling foods.  While frozen food isn’t to be enjoyed for every meal (it’s harder on your digestion and may inhibit B vitamin absorption), it IS refreshing to eat, I don’t know… daily.  Haha.  After writing yesterday’s entry, I felt compelled to blend up a bowl of spinach ice cream.  It’s the first time I’ve used my Vitamix to make it, as opposed to a food processor, and I’ll admit that the sound of the straining motor was really scary.  I kept reminding myself, 7 year warranty, 7 year warranty… it all turned out delectably okay, though!

  • freeze 3-4 peeled ripe bananas (I did overnight, but several hours works too.  Ripeness is crucial for sweetness!).
  • add 2-3 cups chopped baby spinach (depending on how green you’d like it).
  • blend (or process) until creamy (if you’re using a Vitamix, the motor will change sounds).
  • serve & enjoy immediately!
Simple, right?  I never, ever imagined I’d be eating ice cream for a meal and a) not feel guilty about it, b) know I was eating something healthy, and c) have made it myself.  Furthermore and FYI, this recipe is child-made, parent-approved; I fed some to my mother, who loved it (“oh my god”), as well as my stepdad, who hates anything green.  He said it “just tastes like bananas.”  Hook yourself up!

Day 43: Weekly Update.

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Another week down!  Cooked food is becoming more and more of a foreign concept.  It’s almost odd to see others preparing and eating it (not that the idea of cheese pizza doesn’t make my mouth water).  I’ve been very lucky to have the support of my friends and family as I continue this raw journey: thank you so much, I love you!

I thought I’d give you a rundown of a few of my current favorite fruits:

  • Cantaloupe: I had always kind of considered cantaloupe to be shitty hotel buffet leftovers, but I’ve discovered a real appreciation for it!  The color, texture, and musky flavor have really grown on me, and a big melon has become my breakfast of choice. I just cut it in half and go at it with a spoon.  +10 pts for convenience!  Cantaloupe is an excellent source of both Vitamin C & A, as well as potassium and beta-carotene (among other vitamins). The antioxidant content is highest in fully-ripened fruit, so wait a day or two if you can before cracking into one!
  • Pineapple: Whenever I ate pineapple before, I’d get canned.  However, there’s just something so exotic about eating a freshly sliced fruit!  I’ve learned that you can and will get battery mouth if you eat these babies too soon, so use care when choosing them, picking one that’s golden and fragrant as opposed to green.  I’ve been loving pineapple in the first half of the day.  Lately my meals have been mono (one variety at a time), but I love the taste of pineapple with banana, kiwi, or mango.  Because pineapple is an acid fruit, it’s best to eat it with other acid fruits as opposed to sweet ones (for optimum digestion).  Due to its bromelain content, pineapple has anti-inflammatory properties (good for my sprained ankle!).  It’s also a super source of the trace mineral Manganese and Vitamin C.
  • Mango: Mangoes are messy, and take a bit of work to get at, but are so delicious once you do.  I’ve been enjoying them as a mono meal, usually around lunchtime.  I find that the high water content can be too much before bed, but if I can stick to one or two, that’s okay.  It’s generally preferable to eat fruit with a higher water content earlier in the day.  As a meal, I will eat up to eight, but five is more my norm. Mangoes are an excellent source of antioxidants like Vitamin A and flavonoids like alpha- and beta-carotene.  I’ve been planning on using mango slices as a mix-in for banana ice cream… pics to come.
  • Bananas: I have expounded at length upon my fondness for bananas; you can read more here and here.  Bananas are my ultimate fruit.  I use them as a base for my green smoothies, and they make amazing ice cream when frozen.  In fact, with the summer heat, banana & date or banana & spinach ice cream has been a common snack and even MEAL these days.  The portability, convenience, and versatility of the banana is unrivaled. Bananas are an outstanding source of potassium, and their tryptophan will calm you TF down.  As a beta-blocker, they’ll help lower a rapid heart rate (mine went from 96 bpm to 53 bpm), ease palpitations, and lower high blood pressure.  I think I’m in love.

I’ve also been a big fan of dates, kiwis, white peaches, tomatoes (cherry, grape, roma), and crookneck squash.  My favorite green remains baby spinach for its creamy texture, but I am also surprisingly loving sprout salads.  Collards are a big part of my green smoothies, as is red leaf lettuce and romaine.

Gah, all this fruit talk has me craving some banana ice cream…

Day 21: Weekly Update.

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Three weeks: I’ve survived a restaurant, movie night with a friend, and a visit with another friend over coffee and pastries- thank god for the convenience of carrying fruits in a tote!

When I was a smoker, I’d wake up with gnarly morning breath, no matter how many flossings, brushings, or Listerine rinses I’d do before bed.  I honestly just kind of learned to live with it.  Obviously, after quitting, I wouldn’t wake up feeling like I’d just licked an ashtray, but I still had that common morning breath.  Well… I DON’T ANYMORE.  Only my cat can say for sure, but I wake up now with a neutral mouth.  Even before brushing my teeth in the evening, my mouth tastes sweet.  This is most unexpected, but pretty neat.  I have also noticed that my underarms don’t ever smell like B.O..  I know that’s kind of TMI gross, but come on.  Everyone smells a little gamey sometimes.  I don’t anymore though!!  Not after sleeping, not after exercising, not at the end of the day.  That’s not to be confused with not perspiring; I do perspire, but it’s scentless.  After a long powerwalk, my shirt might be damp, but it smells neutral.  This is pleasant for me (and those around me, I’m sure).  For the record, I use Tom’s of Maine Fluoride-Free toothpaste and  Crystal deodorant (I like the original stick and the pomegranate roll-on).  I tried Tom’s of Maine lavender deodorant, and while I loved the scent, it actually made my underarms feel wet :[ and I'd end up being sweaty and smelly even if I wasn't doing anything!  I brush my teeth twice daily with my Dr. Tung's ionic toothbrush, and scrape my tongue with my Dr. Tung's tongue cleaner (both outstanding).   I should floss more often.  I apply my Crystal deodorant after showering.  So usually just once per day.

Remember the banana ice cream?  My friends have been experimenting, and one came up with the BRILLIANT idea of blending baby spinach with his frozen bananas, yielding creamy spinach ice cream!  Yes, sounds scary, and is definitely green, but if you've made a banana/spinach green smoothie, you know that the flavor is both mild and delicious:

He froze 2 ripe bananas overnight, then put them into a food processor with about 2 cups of spinach.

It looks a little chunky as you blend, but persevere, because soon...

You will end up with a frozen dessert which is not only HEALTHY...

...but also DELICIOUS!  You CAN have it all!

I have been getting really good feedback on the green smoothies!  Everyone who is trying them loves them.  My friend Erin just wrote to me:

I have been seeing all the smoothies you have been drinking and decided to put spinach and avocado into my own smoothie today...tastes awesome!

My cousin has been blending and experimenting with his banana ice cream.  He tried it with sunflower seed butter, YUM.  All this typing about it is making me hungry.  Lastly, I gave my mom a taste of my OG banana ice cream, and she told me it was too sweet for her (she doesn't have a sweet tooth, she has a "savory" tooth)- all it was, you'll remember, was blended, ripe, frozen bananas.  They were so sweet that she thought I had added a sweetener!  I hope this will inspire you to experiment with your own fruit :]

I’m going to reduce my intake of milk thistle to a total of four capsules, so two in the AM and two in the PM.  I feel like it’s working, and I’ll probably take that amount for two weeks.  I hope you have a wonderful beginning to your week!  If you make your own ice cream or smoothies, please post pics in the comment section… would love to see what you come up with.

Day 10: Bananas for Bananas.

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So, I picked up the results for the blood test I took two weeks ago.  I will be using the results as a baseline, asking my doctor to check my levels again in about 6 months as a comparison for us between eating vega*n and raw vegan.  Everything was within in the normal range… and remember how I was talking about how bananas are beta-blockers, and that I eat a LOT of them, and that my anxiety has significantly decreased?  My pulse was 53 BPM.  The last time I was there (about three weeks ago, on the start of this journey), it was 96 BPM.  I commented on the difference (my blood pressure was also lower, but I can’t tell you what it was exactly), and my doctor asked if I was taking a beta-blocker (!!).  I told him I was just eating a lot of bananas.  So there it is, proof that bananas can help lower both blood pressure and a rapid heartrate, and temper anxiety.  Thanks, potassium!  I think I’m in love.

As such, I was STOKED to come across a huge amount of discounted bananas at Smart & Final.  I picked up about 45lbs on which to feast over the next few days or so.  I was so excited, I promptly came home and blended a five-banana smoothie (about 3/4 cup water + five bananas, topped by a sliced organic strawberry from the garden):

YUM.  I got lucky in that the bunches I bought were not overripe; in fact, they’re just approaching the freckly stage, so I have plenty of time to enjoy them ALL.  They were just a little banged up, but hey, that part peels right off, and I blend a large portion of them anyway.  I’m thinking that maybe tomorrow or the following day, I’ll freeze some of them and make some raw “ice cream.”  I’m also considering preparing some kind of date or agave/cacao concoction for toppings.  DOUBLE AND TRIPLE YUM.  I will obviously post pics, along with the recipe I choose (for the ice cream, I’m just going to peel some of the really ripe babies, cut them into quarters or so, and freeze them in a ziplock overnight.  I will then just blend the heck out of them until they get to a creamy, soft-serve texture.).

I have been trying to broaden my horizons beyond the giant tubs of organic baby spinach I’ve been picking up on sale at Von’s, and, since said sale just ended, it was a perfect time to spend some time in the garden picking collard greens, red lettuces, other lettuces I’m not sure what to call, and edible weeds:

-Apologies for the photo quality.  I have a hobby as a photographer, but I happen to be an incredibly OCD one.  This means I have to take iPhone pics if I ever want to post them quickly.-

We call it “Maggie’s Farm.”  Kind of cool, right?  I think so.  I’ll take some photos of the topsy turvy planters in a few weeks once they start yielding tomatoes.  Maybe a before and after.  (Yes, I LOVE them.)  Anyway, I had to blend those greens with, you guessed it, four bananas.  As I’ve said before, I’m just not a greens person.  I simply can’t eat that quantity plain.  However, I will say, that when blended, I crave them.  I have even dreamed about them.  Since drinking green smoothies daily (hmmm, I’m going to say about three weeks now?), my hair, skin, nails, sleep, concentration, and mood have improved.  I know it will only get better.  I currently drink a blender-full daily.  I am craving one now that I’m typing about it, actually…

I’m going to keep it short and light following the seriousness that composed yesterday’s cancer post.  BTW, my uncle’s surgery went really well.  Enjoy your day, and let’s make some banana ice cream!