Guyssss, I love Summer, but why is it so hotttt! You know, having a nice bowl of ice cream now and then really helps me keep my body temperature down, but it can be a daunting task to go out and buy it at the store all the time. On especially smoldering days I can’t even get it home in one piece, it’s already half-melted when I finally stuff it in my freezer. Solution: learn to make your own!
P.S.: This is technically a sorbet, because it’s dairy-free, but it really tastes like creamy ice cream!
The Internet is flooded with ice cream recipes, but most of them include an ice cream maker as part of the process, which made me feel like the last person on Earth that doesn’t have one yet. I mean, I guess it makes sense to have one, because homemade ice cream is obviously a much healthier choice than store-bought, and it’s apparently really easy to make, too. I ended up reading dozens of articles on how to properly make ice cream without the machine, and while it’s definitely slightly more time consuming, I decided to go for it.
At first I wanted to make a traditional cream/eggs/whatever ice cream, but decided to take a different approach. I’m sure you’ve all used this ingredient in your smoothies, and in baking, but as it turns out it also makes fabulous creamy ice cream. If you guessed bananas, you’re absolutely right!
A few days ago hubs and I stopped by our local Walmart to grab some allergy medicine for him. While he was in the pharmacy aisle, I quickly ran through Fresh Produce and Paper Goods to pick up some bananas and a tub of Wet-Nap wipes [they were pretty easy to find – look for the sign that says Napkins]. I felt like I was going to need those 🙂
Guess what, I got home and my bananas didn’t melt. Yay!
So, from what I gathered online, the first thing we do here is peel and cut our bananas, then freeze them for several hours [ideally overnight] in an airtight plastic bag or a freezable container.
Next, we take them out of the container [they should be rock solid], and blend, blend, blend until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth, with consistency of soft serve ice cream. It might take several minutes, but the result is worth it, trust me. I only have this small one-serving blender but it worked just fine 🙂
At this point, you can decide to leave the mixture as is, or spice it up by adding extra flavors to it. My favorites are cocoa powder, strawberries, almond butter, cookie dough, chocolate chips, Nutella, and caramel. I think that 1 tbsp of “extras” per 1 banana is a good ratio, but you can obviously experiment and find what works best for your taste buds.
I always make a mess when working with bananas, even if I try to stay neat, that’s why wet wipes are always on the table. I quickly wiped my hands with Wet-Nap and continued loading my frozen dessert with more cocoa powder.
Now we pulse, blend, or stir everything together a few times lightly, move the mixture into an airtight glass container, and freeze. Give it a few hours, and your delicious banana ice cream is ready!
To sum it up…
Ingredients:
Fresh ripe bananas
Directions:
1. Peel and slice bananas
2. Freeze overnight in an airtight plastic bag
3. Blend until creamy
4. (Optional) Gently fold in any additional ingredients.
5. Transfer the mix into a glass container and freeze again.
6. Enjoy!
What I learned from this experience:
1. Thoroughly blended frozen banana tastes like a lovechild of banana gelato and fro-yo with the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Who would’ve thought?
2. Things can get messy once you start experimenting with extras. If you are a messy cook like moi, you should definitely keep a moist kitchen towel tub of wet wipes around, so you can take less trips to the sink and focus on the cooking process. I actually really enjoyed Wet-Nap wipes for this. I used them in the past, but these are stronger and softer than before, and even moisturize hands with aloe vera.
3. I found out Wet-Nap also offers printable coupons on their site for $0.55 off any single product [while supplies last], making them an even better deal than they already are; this tub, for example, is only $1.97 to begin with at Walmart’s everyday low price.
4. It’s actually cheaper per ounce to make banana ice cream at home than to buy similar high-quality natural frozen product at the store.
5. And above all, it’s healthy! Bananas are a good source of Potassium, Vitamins B6 and C, fiber, manganese, copper, and even biotin, which promotes beautiful hair and skin. Talk about a true beauty treat!
