Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do
~ John Woode
Today is Earth Day – a celebration of nature and an opportunity to enhance our awareness and appreciation of Mother Earth.
Pan-Canadian events include earth day planting, litter clean-up & recycling (more affectionately known as a “Trash Bash”), meatless Monday challenges, tree talk & tours, local food challenges and, a personal favourite, earth day yoga in the park.
One of the best ways to honour Mother Earth and support planetary sustainability, is to enjoy foods that are as close to nature as possible: whole foods found on the farm, in the orchards and in our gardens.
Natural foods provide the greatest concentration of nutrients for our bodies – vitamins, minerals, fibre, enzymes and antioxidants. These same foods also tend to be easier for our bodies to break down, digest and metabolize. Whenever we start tinkering with nature, we begin whittling away at the vital elements that help keep us healthy and whole.
Food doesn’t have to be complicated (nor flavourless) to be good for you. The recipes featured at Inspired Edibles tend to be simplistic – sometimes embarrassingly so – but the focus is on whole foods that have been minimally processed and refined. Tasty, Achievable, Healthy.
Here is an example of a yumilicious snack/dessert that took me about 7 minutes to pull together (I exaggerate. More like 5 minutes ;-).
All Natural Almond Butter and Banana Ice Cream
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2 fresh, ripe bananas, peeled
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¾ cup almond butter, smooth or crunchy
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1 + ½ cups milk, or alternate milk beverage
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2 tsp pure vanilla extract
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Handful of chopped almonds for garnish
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Place bananas, almond butter, milk and vanilla in a blender and blend until smooth.
Transfer liquid (it will be the consistency of a smoothie – and could also be enjoyed this way) into a container and store it in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours.
Note: Because this ice “cream” does not actually contain cream, if you freeze it for more than 1 or 2 hours (depending on the temperature of your freezer) it will freeze like ice and become rock hard. To avoid chipping your tooth, best to freeze the mixture for a shorter duration, until desired consistency is achieved.
Scoop almond butter and banana ice cream into serving bowls and top with scattered nuts.
Enjoy!
You might also like: All Natural Frozen Banana-Lemon Cream
Thanks for Your information.
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Oh well, still worth the experiment, and now we know. Thanks for dropping back with the news Jennifer – have a great evening.
Great post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I am impressed! Very useful information specifically the last section :) I care for such information much. I was looking for this certain info for a long time. Thanks and good luck.
Yipes- The idea did NOT work! Do NOT try to run the mix through a fro yo machine! It was similar to the experiment I did using all fresh strawberries in a yogurt recipe (and no sugar syrup)- too much liquid apparently makes it too thick upon freezing. Oh well- still great for a smoothie!
This is pure earthly magic – it looks superb :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Excellent combination….choosy selection
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Yay! It’s almost like a magic trick :)
Thanks so much France… that’s what I aim for and I am so grateful to have wonderful followes such as you and Josh cheering me on! Much appreciated :)
I’m so touched you think it was perfectly scooped ;-) I ended up having a heck of a time because I lost track of freezer time and it was harder than I wanted when it came for picture taking…but the sun was out and the show had to go on (that and running hot water on the scoop is always helpful ;-)
Have a great day Charles!
Thanks so much for dropping by Nish – much appreciated!
Haha, this might just be the solution you’re looking for… hope you enjoy it Jen and that the sun is shining again! :)
Thanks MJ ~ yes, we much guard against tooth chipping indeed ;-)
Thank you so very much Kristina; I’m thrilled to hear that the post resonated with you. Almond butter and banana is one tough to beat combination! ;-)
Thanks Karen ~ not a bad deal, I’d say ;-)
Also love my PB, but yes, this is a nice change-up! :)
Sounds like the perfect plan to me – let me know how it turns out and thank you so much for dropping by Jennifer!
Thanks so much! I appreciate you coming by :)
Well, of course I posted it just for you, what do you think!! :)
Thanks so much Ally – isn’t simplicity a wonderful thing? ;-)
thanks Angie…. I hope you like it if you give it a try :)
Haha, Thanks CJ!
Thanks so much for dropping by Alice – love seeing new visitors at Inspired Edibles!
Thanks Yummy!! :)
indeed… you can always leave the rock hard version out on the counter for a while or pop it in the fridge to thaw ;-) Thanks so much for the Top 9 nod – much appreciated!
I think it would be divine with fresh strawberries and many, many other wonderful combinations you dream up! Thanks Chris :)
Thanks Alyssa! It does look full bodied doesn’t it? Amazing the things you can do these days…. thanks for the compliment on the scoop, I love it too!
Hee.hee, I love it!! thanks Erika ;-)
Oh, how nice to commemorate your dad’s birthday with a special ice cream… I love the idea of remembering those we love with things they enjoyed best…
The ice cream scoop is an antique that my mom gave me… When my parents bought property many, many moons ago, there was a little five & dime store on the land – inside the store was a treasure trove of (now) antique confectionary wrappers; boxes; and some precious utensils and implements such as the ice cream scoop. I just love it and it’s such a nice memory of those days… thanks Anne! I had some nice light when I was snapping on that day… can’t beat natural light.
Me Too Michelle, me Too!! :)
Hee.hee, I love your explosive enthusiasm Kim – you’re warm and wonderful!! :)
Yay for simple & delicious!! Thanks Eliot. (your cat image always makes me smile… I don’t know what I would do if you changed it…)
The banana lemon cream I posted was made from frozen, but this time I decided to do the inverse and it seemed to work well and was a nice change though both are great ~ Thanks CJ.
Thanks so much Georgia ~ suddenly, I can’t stop thinking about all the possibilities… :)
Thanks for your enthusiasm Eva – how nice! Ah, the weather, I assume it’s not much better/brighter in TO these days… ugh! It will change soon :)
Oh, you must try… you’re in for a BIG treat!! It’s a win/win for sure… ;)
Thanks so much Sarah ~ I hope you had a beautiful day too!
Hee.hee, thanks Sissi! You know I’m the Queen of Quick in the kitchen… anything labourious doesn’t usually happen over here ;-) I hope you like it if you give it a try!
I think you’ll really like this Amy – and with your creativity, I can imagine the amazing combinations you will come up with!
Thanks KoKo – it is a nice mix, isn’t it… I hope you’re having a great day!
Well, let’s just say this is a loose interpretation of ice cream – you would not be able to pull off the conventional form quite the same way without the machine – having said that, I don’t eat much in the way of old-fashioned ice cream so this is a really nice option. Yay for nice weather – and yay for beautiful San Francisco! :)
Me Too!! :)
Ah, the yard… what a concept… our dog has left us with mounds and craters of dirt….we are far too permissive with our little girl… how nice that you’re having beautiful weather – glad someone is!! ;-)
Thanks Baking Serendipity – it’s fun just to change things up now and then, isn’t it. I enjoy finding new ways of enjoying old faves too. Have a great day!
Hi Kristy! It is simple indeed… I bet it would be a great project to do with the kids – my kids love it!
Thank you so much Bianca! The great thing too is that you don’t need an ice-cream maker… it’s really DIY :)
Hi Amy – thanks so much for dropping by… I love this combo too and there’s no limit to the different ways you can change it up – love that banana can serve as the texture for this ice ‘cream’ ;)
Thank you so much for the lovely compliments Sally! How nice that you planted a tree to commemorate Earth Day – great idea!
Ah, I work at it every day Lisa… simplifying my over active mind is the toughest one of all… Happy day to you!
Agreed… we drank a bit of this mixture in smoothie form before tossing it in the freezer – delish! (though quite hearty – maybe ideal after a work out)
Thanks for dropping by Keira!
Oh fantastic. I love almonds and bananas. Great way to make an “ice cream” without actually using cream.
I love the simplicity of your recipes Kelly. That’s why I come here. Food that is natural and unprocessed is already tasty and needs very little help. I love the sound of this banana almond butter ice cream!
Hi Kelly – this looks really great, and perfectly scooped! I bet a drizzle of honey would complement the almonds perfectly. You’d never know it was cream-less from the look of it!
“1 + ½ cups milk, or alternate milk beverage” – I guess soya milk wouldn’t be such a good think to use on Earth Day. I heard that the massively increased demand in this as it becomes more and more popular in the west is causing no small amount of environmental damage… or maybe I’m thinking of something else entirely…
Congrats on making it to the Top 9!! :D This ice cream sounds amazingly yummy! Bookmarked this recipe :)
I was kind of bummed about earth day this year. I had to work and it poured down rain. I’m still feeling like I need a little Earth Day love in my life!
Great way to celebrate Earth Day! I love the use of the almond butter rather than heavy cream and thanks for the warning! :)
I love your Earth day post about eating as close to nature as possible! This ice-cream sounds de-licious! I love the almond butter- banana combo, yum!
A five minute prep for a delicious ice cream sounds great.
Sounds like a great alternative to using peanut butter. Looks delicious!
Ooo, Kelly- you gave me an idea! We have a Frozen Yogurt Machine at our deli… I’m thinking, if I run the mix through the machine, it might make it creamier. Other folks with some kind of ice cream machine might also do likewise.
We make our own Fro Yo mixes, but usually sugar-sweetened. This healthy-style recipe would be perfect for staying in shape! Thanks for the post!
Great idea! Congrats on top 9!!
Okay I am truly convinced you posted this wonderful ice cream recipe just for me lol. I LOVE this.. and its so right for me :)
Oooh yes, loving the creativity & simplicity of this recipe. Delicious!
xo
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It’s quick and delicious dessert. I am glad that you have decided to share it!
OMG – Look at you, you foodbuzz top niner … Super-Major Congrats!
Wow that looks yummy.
This sounds tasty and healthy! Great post!
That ice cream looks perfect. I have tried making it without an ice cream maker but ran into the rock hard problem. Thanks for the tip. Delicious. Congrats on Top 9.
Kelly, you’re so right, often simple is the very best! This ice cream looks wonderful and so…. easy – I love that it uses milk and no ice cream maker and 5 minutes, well there’s really no excuse to not make this :) Do you think it would work with fresh strawberries?
This looks just as sinful as full fat ice cream. And I love your ice cream scoop!
Simple, natural ice cream made with ALMOND BUTTER?! I think I’m in love…
Kelly….simple and delicious and perfect! I always have butter pecan ice cream to commemorate my dad’s birthday and so I had some over the weekend. But I think I’m going to start adding banana to the mix. Your photos are beautiful…..and tell me about that ice cream scoop. It’s really pretty! : )
LOVE how easy this is!
Yummmmmmmmy.
I’d like a bite this very moment.
I actually smell it! Xxx
Hope you are well, K.
Simple and delicious. This looks fabulous!
I have made banana ice cream out of just frozen bananas before but this looks so much better.
What an inspiring idea for ice cream! This looks so delicious, Kelly! I love the flavors that you used, too.
What an incredible dessert, Kelly, I absolutely LOVE everything about it. Bananas are amazing frozen and blended, they have the creamiest texture, and the addition of the almond butter is wonderful. I will try this recipe when we finally get some warmer weather to stay.
This looks so good…
I have to try almond butter yet…
But I am sure this ice cream will make my kids os happy and it will be healthy for them as well!!
gorgeous! this would make for a very happy earth day any day… lovely post!
5 minutes to obtain such a beautiful dessert? And no ice-cream maker? I’m totally mesmerised! Banana and almond milk sound like a perfect combination (actually I have never used almond milk… I must buy it one day. Thanks for one more inspiring healthy sweet treat! And thanks for reminding the banana lemon cream (have I told you I love the plate and the bowl?).
Ooooh, yummy! I don’t own an ice cream maker so I will most definitely be trying this :)
Oooh, I am loving the flavour combo here!! Such a winner!
Wow so easy to make and it’s ice cream! I own an ice cream maker but I assumed it’s hard to make ice cream without the machine. Looking at this recipe, it doesn’t seem like that at all! What a nw wonderful recipe. I love the flavor. I’m so happy we finally started to have warm weather here in SF!
I love that this doesn’t require an ice-cream maker!
I totally agree that foods don’t have to be complicated! I celebrated Earth Day working in the yard. It was beautiful here. I love your celebration with an almond butter banana ice cream! It looks delicious!
This looks so good! I’ve been making a lot of pb/banana smoothies lately, but I love the freezing step and almond butter substitution!
How fun is this recipe! The kids would love this!!!! And I love how simple it is – Happy Earth Day indeed! And I love the quote up top (and the pictures too!). :)
Thanks Leaf, it was a gift from my maman ~
I love almond butter and banana together, and I can just imagine how great the combo would taste in ice cream form! Great recipe!
thanks Daphne! You could always try the ice cream maker but my sense is that the texture is largely attributable to the lack of fat in the recipe. You could try substituting some cream for the milk or adding in some avocado (yes ma’am) to the recipe and see how you make out! Please let me know if you try…
that looks amazing! I love this idea- I wonder if I could churn it in the ice cream maker to make it more creamier?
Looks tasty, and I love your ice cream scoop!
Now this is my type of ice cream! Almond butter and bananas are wonderful together…love it :)!
Beautiful post, and beautiful photos, and wonderful recipe, perfect for the day.
We planted a tree today, actually hubby did… now I’m craving banana ice cream… ;-)
Happy Earth Day!
Yes indeed this is a yummylicious treat! I’m all about simplicity in all aspects of my life not just cooking! Great looking pics too! Happy Earth day!
Almond and Banana is such a good combo… A cross between a smoothie and ice sound like my kind of thing..