Cooking With Claire: Banana Ice Cream

Okay so banana ice cream isn't so much cooking as it is creating a concoction of some sorts, but I've had the time lately to be making yummy/healthy things for dinner/snacks/etc that I'll be sharing here and there as part of "Cooking with Claire" :)  

Now for the most exciting discovery of the day...

ATTN: anyone on a diet, giving up "sweets", or just needing a smooth, cool treat - this is for you!  I've seen this floating around Pinterest and decided to give it a try. You can find the post that I based ours off of HERE.

STEP 1: Slice & Freeze

Slice bananas and put onto cookie sheet or any flat surface and place in freezer.  It usually only takes about 1-1.5 hours to freeze (we used 3 bananas). They weren't rock solid when I took them out, which is fine because it will be easier on the blender. Speaking of which...make sure you cut up the banana slices before freezing and don't try to cut up/use a banana that's already frozen.  It just doesn't work and kills your blender.

STEP 2: Blend

You can see, above, that for the first 30 seconds or so the bananas will be in a granulated state.  Just keep blending and you'll notice them magically turn into this creamy mixture.  It'll make you wonder if some little ice cream fairy came and poured some cream in there...no ma'am!  Pure banana it is :)

STEP 3.5 (optional): Add more flavor

Devin seemed intrigued by the idea of banana ice cream but he gave me the stink eye when I told him I wanted to add some peanut butter and cocoa to it.  So, I just took a little ice cream out into my own bowl and put a spoonful of pb and a 1/2 tsp of cocoa into my bowl and stirred until well mixed. Delicious. What's that Devin? You want to try? Here you go...Devin approved. 

So, if you were to add PB & cocoa, you could start with about 1.5/2 Tbsp peanut butter and 1 T cocoa.  Add more or less to your liking.  The nutritional facts below calculate these amounts.

It would also be delicious with some strawberries, or for an even healthier version - oatmeal.  But I just love oatmeal in everything so, try at your own will.  

STEP 4: Store or Eat. or store and eat. or eat and store. 

This ice cream is very "soft serve" so if you don't eat it all right away it might get a little too melty for your liking.  Throw what you don't eat it in the freezer to keep it firm.   3 bananas gave us about 10 oz. 

Pricing:

THIS RECIPE -  3 or 4 medium bananas = 1 lb @ .54 (that's what I pay, anyway). Since this is the only ingredient, that makes it $0.054/oz.

BREYER'S ICE CREAM - 48 oz in a normal carton.  The cheapest you can usually get this w/o a coupon is $2.50.  That makes it $0.052/oz. 

WHAT? This isn't cheaper than ice cream at the store?  Why did I waste your time?  

...price isn't everything when it comes down to GUILTLESS ice cream!

Nutrition:
Without add-ins: 1 serving = 3 oz. (3 servings per recipe) Calories 108.5; Total fat 0.6 g, Saturated Fat 0.3g, Polyunsaturated 0.2 g, Monounsaturated 0.2 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Sodium 1.2 mg; Potassium 467.3 mg; Total Carb 27.7 g, Dietary Fiber 2.8 g, Sugars 14.6 g; Protein 1.2 g.  (Okay, it's like eating one banana)

With 2 T PB & 1 T Cocoa (added to whole recipe): Serving = 3 oz. (3 servings per recipe) Calories 176 g; Total fat 6.2 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Polyunsaturated 0.2 g, Monounsaturated 0.2 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Sodium 51.5 mg; Potassium 494.8 mg; Total Carb 31.0 g, Dietary Fiber 4.1 g, Sugars 15.6 g; Protein 3.9 g.

    (I used regular JIF creamy PB and store-brand cocoa powder for baking)

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