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Some things in life just aren’t worth giving up.
For me, ice cream is one of those things.
As any aspiring health nut knows, it’s the combination of sugar and fat that leads to gaining fat (think donuts, pizza, nachos, and yes… store-bought ice cream).
But there’s a loophole, you see. We found a way to make delicious, creamy ice cream that won’t torpedo your fat loss results. The trick is to make it yourself using real-food ingredients that are naturally low in sugar.
Don’t worry, it’s easy. I promise. (Scroll to the bottom for the recipe, recently featured on ABC Television!)
Most commercial ice cream is packed with unhealthy junk like added syrups, emulsifiers, gums, and chemical coloring and flavoring agents. It’s a far cry from the sweet cream our great-grandparents once churned by hand.
For example, here are the ingredients for popular Edy’s Grand Mint Chip Ice Cream:
Skim milk, cream, sugar, chocolate chips (sugar, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali (dutched cocoa), fractionated palm kernel oil, cocoa, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavor), corn syrup, whey, molasses, natural flavor, acacia gum, guar gum, yellow 5, blue 1, carob bean gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum
For starters, there are 5 emulsifiers in this concoction, including:
Acacia gum, guar gum, carob bean gum, carrageenan, xanthan gum: A recent study affirms my “gut instinct”—emulsifiers like these can irritate our guts. Why is this bad? Messing with the gut microbiome may be contributing to the rapid increase of metabolic syndrome and other chronic inflammatory diseases like Crohn’s and colitis.
Corn syrup: Unless you see a USDA Organic or Non-GMO verified label, 90+% of corn in the U.S. is GMO and likely to be Bt GM corn.
Soy Lecithin: 93% of soy grown in the U.S. is “Roundup Ready,” which means it can withstand being doused in Monsanto’s Roundup pesticides and live, while the weeds around it die. So, not only is this substance genetically modified, it’s also slathered with toxic chemicals.
Yellow 5 and blue 1: I just can’t say enough bad things about artificial colors. But let’s start with the fact that Yellow #5 has been solidly linked to hyperactivity, migraines, anxiety, and even cancer and has been banned in some European countries. In fact, only 7 colors are still approved by the FDA (and that’s because of Big Food Lobbyists) because former colors like Orange #1 were literally making kids sick. The question lingers—how was that allowed in the first place?
Natural Flavor: The thing about natural flavors is that you have no idea if you’re getting secretions from a beaver’s anal glands or actual vanilla. A lot of different “natural” chemicals and strange products (like crushed beetle) are hidden behind that label. A little won’t kill you, but organic natural flavors are generally safer.
Sugar: Everyone knows that sugar is bad for us—it kicks off craving cycles, spikes insulin, makes you store fat, gives you headaches, bad skin, leads to diabetes… Unless “cane sugar” is specified on the label, you’re likely consuming sugar from beets (95% of sugar beets are GMO).
HOW WE EAT ICE CREAM WITHOUT GETTING FAT
Can you believe we eat ice cream almost every week?
You’re darn tootin’. This low-sugar ice cream is easy to make at home with just a few ingredients ingredients and a trusty ice cream maker.
Cool and creamy, with just enough dark chocolate to soothe the savage beast, mint chip ice cream is truly a dessert for all occasions, all ages, and every sweet craving. Garnish with a bit of fresh mint and a dash of cacao powder. Life is grand, don’t you think?
- 4 (16-ounce) cans full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk (organic)
- 8 medjool dates, pitted (organic)
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon organic 100% stevia extract, to taste
- ¾ cup organic dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cup organic macadamia nuts
- Add coconut milk, dates, peppermint, vanilla, salt and stevia to the blender, and blend on high until dates are well incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
- Taste mixture, and add a small amount of stevia, if needed, to reach desired sweetness.
- Add half of the chocolate chips and half the macadamia nuts and blend until they’re broken into small pieces.
- Add the remaining chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and stir.
- Transfer mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Serve immediately or freeze in an airtight container (after freezing, let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before enjoying).
We made up a whole batch for Kurt’s family and the crew of ABC’s My Diet. Be warned – this ice cream disappears fast! 🙂
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What’s your favorite ice cream flavor? Share it with us in the comments below and we’ll see if we can make it for you.
Share this with your friends!
Lisa says:
Strawberry! Is there a good recipe for making a healthy strawberry? Also can you use something other than an ice cream maker?
Angie says:
You can make ice cream in a Vitamix. Just Google the instructions.
You can also make ice cream in a Champion juicer but you’d probably have to blend the ingredients first then freeze them in ice-cube trays. We make fruit ice-cream in the Champion: just put frozen fruit through with the “blank”, and delicious ice-cream comes out the other end. I doubt it would store very well, so make only what you can eat.
Alyson says:
For strawberry, omit the peppermint extract, chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts, and add strawberries instead. Since strawberries are naturally sweet, you could probably add in half the amount of dates.
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, place the mixture in a cold pan and chill in the freezer for about 20 minutes. As the edges freeze, beat the mixture with a spatula or beater to break up the frozen chunks. This will help make it smooth and creamy. Then return it to the freezer.
Continue to stir the mixture vigorously every 30 minutes until it’s firmly frozen, about 4 to 5 times until mixture is smooth and creamy. If ice cream becomes too hard, place it into the refrigerator until it becomes soft enough to beat and continue the process.
Enjoy!
Holly says:
Does this recipe taste very coconut-y?
Courtney says:
Can you omit the dates if you cannot find them?
Abel James says:
Sure, just use a real food sweetener of your choice (to taste).
Courtney says:
Thanks so much!
Jay says:
Can I make this in the blend tek blender on the ice cream setting?
Alyson says:
We have a Blendtec, so I made a batch of this over the weekend to try it out. The Blendtec’s ice cream setting whips the ice cream mixture for about a minute, and if you’re using real cream it’ll whip it into a nice thick creamy custard (which they call “ice cream” even though it’s not cold).
I tried this with the coconut milk ice cream mixture, but it doesn’t work the same. You’ll need an ice cream maker, or if you don’t have an ice cream maker you can do this…
1. Combine the ice cream ingredients in the blender. Chill mixture in a container over an ice bath. Meanwhile, freeze an empty freezer-safe shallow metal bowl or metal baking pan.
2. Place the cold mixture into the cold pan, and put back in the freezer for 20 minutes.
3. Check on it, and as the edges start to freeze, stir the mixture rapidly with a whisk or spatula to break up the partially frozen ice cream (you can’t over-beat it). Return to the freezer, and stir vigorously every 30 minutes, until firmly frozen.
4. If it becomes too hard, place it into the refrigerator until it becomes soft enough to beat and continue the process.
5. Bam. Ice cream.
Robyn DiCarlo says:
If anyone is eating gluten free I just wanted to let them know the dates that are recommended are processed in a facility that produces wheat. I got mine at nuts.com which are gf. Great recipe btw!
Alyson says:
Thanks for the tips, Robyn!
Here are some more suggestions of places to buy nuts:
Living Nuts: http://shop.livingnutz.com/category.sc?categoryId=10
Wilderness Family Naturals: http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/category/nuts-and-seeds-s-d-nuts-and-seeds.php
(they’re more expensive, but they’re organic and they sprout and dehydrate their nuts and seeds.)
Kaye Banister says:
Plain old chocolate, maybe dutch. And vanilla
Beth says:
Favorite icecream is Chocolate chip Cookie dough
Karl says:
If you are using dates for sweetener, can’t you just add coconut sugar or agave?
Alyson says:
Sure, that would work! Stevia works well for some recipes, too… it seems to accentuate the flavor of strawberries nicely. We have a recipe for Strawberry Banana Ice Cream sweetened with stevia in this month’s meal plan in the Fat-Burning Tribe (http://fatburningtribe.com/)
We don’t typically use agave for these reasons: http://fatburningman.com/agave-nectar-is-a-scam/
Let us know if you make this recipe and what sweetener you use!
Patrick says:
What are the chances of you working up a recipe for chocolate with salted caramel?
Abel James says:
They’re getting better and better, Patrick. 🙂
Ashley says:
Chocolate Peanut Butter or just plain Peanut Butter!! Yum ??
Craig says:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough please!!
Elaine says:
This is very similar to the recipe I use for making ice cream…love it! I’ve found it’s best eaten right away (very creamy) vs. freezing and having to melt down (can be lumpy b/c it’s not as creamy). Any tips for getting it to stay creamy after freezing?
Barbara says:
Add 2 Tb of Vodka as last ingredient !
Abel James says:
Lol that would work!
Alyson says:
Agreed. It’s always best right out of the ice cream maker. I haven’t tried it, but maybe letting it sit on the counter to defrost for 15-30 minutes to soften, and then putting it in the blender might make it creamy again. Let us know if you try that, or if you have any good tips for us.
Mary says:
How about dark chocolate caramel?3
Lance says:
But can you make Cookies and Cream (like Blue Bell)? ? That gets me every time…
Diana says:
Sounds great but I don’t own an ice cream maker.
Can you figure one out that tastes like Ben & Jerry’s Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz? I had to stop eating this because I like it so much and one serving always seemed to add to another and another, the next thing I knew, the whole pint was gone ???
Abel James says:
Yes, we’ve made coffee ice cream before and will see if we can whip up a recipe. Thanks Diana 🙂
Lisa says:
How about raspberry dark chocolate chip? That would be delish!!!?
Abel James says:
Ooo yes – raspberries!
alison says:
Chocolate peanut butter swirl!
But what if you don’t have an ice cream maker?
Alyson says:
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can combine the ingredients in the blender and chill it in a container over an ice bath. Meanwhile, freeze an empty freezer-safe shallow metal bowl or metal baking pan.
Place the cold mixture into the cold pan, and put back in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Check on it, and as the edges start to freeze, stir the mixture rapidly with a whisk or spatula to break up the partially frozen ice cream (you can’t over-beat it). Return to the freezer, and stir vigorously every 30 minutes, until firmly frozen.
If it becomes too hard, place it into the refrigerator until it becomes soft enough to beat and continue the process.
P.S. I like your name. 🙂
purelytwins says:
We love mint chocolate chip! We make ours out of avocado!
Alyson says:
Yum! I bet that’s delicious. I bet a little spinach in the mix would give it a nice green color, too.
Gianna says:
Hello… I tried making this today and the coconut milk seemed to separate and never emulsify in the blender. It looked like curdled milk. Once putting it in the ice cream maker the fat from the coconut milk ceased and it was chunky… it never became creamy at all. Any idea why this would happen? The peppermint extract I used was in an oil… could that have made that much of an impact on the recipe?
Alyson says:
Hi Gianna, this happened to me, too, the last time I made this. I think it does have to do with adding the peppermint extract in there. I found that if I just continue to blend on high-speed the coconut milk turns into a thin even mixture, and churns up nicely in the blender. Hope that helps!