I'm calling this post "Sweet Cherry Vanilla Nice Cream and Other Quick Mama Eats."
As Stephen King would say, "Hello, Constant Reader." If you're still with me now, I appreciate it! As a new mom, I've been trying to post something food-related once per month, so thanks for sticking with me!
This recipe came to be out of necessity and a bit of vanity. First -- let me tell you -- our air conditioning has been broken for the last month! That is something serious where we live, in the deep south. It was tolerable at first, but the temperature in our house last Friday was 84 degrees, just as an example. Our warranty company is dragging its feet, BUT, by the time is post is live, our a/c should be running. (We have a window unit in the baby's room and I've been sleeping in there on the floor!) We needed something to keep us cool, so nice cream is a good way to go. The vanity part is the healthiness of it. I've lost all of my baby weight, but things could be tighter around my middle ;-)
If you're unfamiliar, the term "nice cream" is used by vegans to describe non-dairy ice cream. It often uses bananas as a substitute and requires no ice cream machine.
In other news, with limited time on my hands, here are a few go-to things that have been my favorite to eat as of late:
- Baby Bliss Balls & Smoothies
- Oatmeal Squares from Fork & Beans
- Overnight Oats (1/2 cup oats, protein powder, liquid stevia, almond milk, peanut butter)
- Asian Brussels Sprouts
- Canned Soup, especially Amy's Organic and Campbell's Oh Yes! brands
I've also started delving into the world of baby food making -- Little Ru is almost at that point! A friend recommended the book Whole Food Baby by Michele Olivier (there's a blog too!). It is phenomenal! She has many cool baby food combinations like asparagus/mint and green beans/cilantro. It's not all vegan, but I highly recommend checking it out.
Okay, back to the nice cream. I hope you love it and it cools you down on a hot day!
Sweet Cherry Vanilla Nice Cream
3 frozen bananas, cut up into slices
1 cup Woodstock sweet cherries, frozen*
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
organic liquid stevia, to taste
1 T. vanilla-infused bourbon (learn more about infusing your own liquors!) or vanilla extract
almond milk, for blending
*To lessen the banana taste, add more cherries!
Directions
In a food processor, combine the sliced bananas and cherries. ***NOTE*** If your processor is not that powerful, I suggest you do the bananas first with a little bit of almond milk until smooth, then add the cherries. Process the fruit with almond milk until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
Once everything is smooth, add the other ingredients and process to combine.
In a loaf pan or shallow bowl, pour the nice cream out with a spatula and smooth.
Freeze it for 4-6 hours -- it should then be scoopable. When you refreeze it, you'll have to let it sit out on the counter for five to ten minutes to be able to scoop it again.
Cheers!
-Aileen