I love ice cream! So cold, creamy and delicious on a hot day. I’ve always thought that to make ice cream at home you need a machine of some sort, and I have fond memories of hours spent cranking an ice cream maker out in the back yard when I was a kid. It seemed like a complex process, involving a lot of ice and rock salt. Recently a friend of mine assured me that it’s easy to make ice cream using what you probably already have on hand in the kitchen, no machine or rock salt needed! I couldn’t wait to try. This easy recipe is so healthy and simple, you’ll be able to whip up a batch of homemade ice cream any time you’d like.
You’ll need a can of coconut milk, fresh fruit, and a little sweetener. That’s it! I found a recipe for orange creamsicle ice cream at the Super Healthy Kids website, and did a little playing around with it. The recipe calls for just oranges, but I was in the mood for something tropical…so I added mango and banana to the mix. Yum! First you chop the fruit and freeze it, so you’ll need to plan ahead a bit. This is a job that kids love! Have them pick the type of fruit and help you wash and prepare it (most ripe fruit is easily cut with a butter knife). Then, freeze it on a plate for a couple of hours…why not make a variety of fruit combinations and keep them frozen to use later? You never know when you’ll be craving ice cream!
After the fruit is frozen, put half of it in a blender or food processor with the can of coconut milk and the sweetener (I used a little maple syrup). Blend until pureed, then add the rest of the fruit and blend again. This way, you have control over the fruit chunks in your ice cream…you can blend it very smooth, or leave some pieces if you’d like. Pour your ice cream into a freezer-safe container and then freeze it until it’s solid. Then, scoop it out and serve it! Smooth, delicious ice cream…without dairy, eggs, processed sugar or additives. Yum!
- 3 cups fruit, chopped and frozen (I used 2 small mangoes, a banana, and an orange)
- 1 can (1 3/4 cup) full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (to taste)
- Peel and chop the fruit. place it on parchment paper and freeze for 2 hours, until solid (I learned the hard way that you'll want the parchment paper, as the fruit will freeze to the plate otherwise).
- Once the fruit is frozen, put 1/2 of the fruit chunks in a food processor. Pour in the can of coconut milk and add the maple syrup, and puree until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the rest of the fruit and pulse again. If you'd like your ice cream smooth, just blend until all the chunks are gone. Or, leave a few if you like a more chunky texture!
- Put the ice cream in a freezer-safe container, and freeze until solid...about 2 hours. Allow it to warm up a bit before scooping.
- If you like softer ice cream, just stir the ice cream every 20 minutes as it's freezing and then serve before it's solid! This makes a wonderful soft ice cream.