Ice-Cream and Giggles

You may find this surprising, but I only started eating and liking rhubarb about 2 months ago. My dad has been growing rhubarb for years, but I would never touch it. It think it might be because it resembles spinach too much!

I decided to make this jam to fill some pop tarts, and it evolved from a rhubarb jam to a rhubarb - strawberry - apple jam because we had heaps of strawberries and apples in the fridge that needed to be used up! It results in a not too sweet jam that is perfect to eat on its own or fill pop tarts with!

Prep: 15 minutes, cooking: 15 minutes, soaking: 1 hour. Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes.

Makes around 2 ball jars worth of jam, approx 1000ml.

You will need:

2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
320 grams of rhubarb, washed and chopped
330 grams of strawberries, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chia seeds

Method:

1. Mix apple, rhubarb, strawberry, lemon juice, coconut sugar and water in a saucepan. Have on medium heat and let simmer for around 15-20 minutes until cooked and the rhubarb has started to dissolve a bit.
2. Add mix to a food processor/blender and puree the mix.
3. Pour mix into a large bowl, add chia seeds and stir in well. Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour until a jam is formed.

Yep, another cake! Ice-cream, vegan, banana, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and it is healthy! Here is pretty much another reason why bananas are a magical fruit: they make ice-cream, popsicles, smoothies, cakes, they can be used as an egg replacement in muffins, pancakes, cookies, donuts, and! You can even dehydrate bananas to make crepes. If you don't like bananas for some odd reason (or you're allergic, in which case I feel sorry for you), you are really missing out! But in the future I will try and make a soy or coconut cream based cake, to cater for everyone's needs!

You will need:

3 small frozen bananas (separated)
1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup raspberries


+ a spring-form tin, approx: 5 cm high and 12 cm in diameter.

1. Strawberry layer: combine banana and strawberries in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a small spring-form cake tin and spread out evenly.
2. Blueberry layer: combine blueberries and banana in a food processor until smooth. Pour on top of the strawberry layer and smooth out.
3. Raspberry layer: combine raspberries and banana in a food processor until smooth. Pour on top of the blueberry layer and smooth out.
4. Place in freezer for 1-2 hours.
5. Serve!

Okay, so the title kind of of super long, but it really does capture what this recipe is all about: raw vegan and gluten free chocolate tarts, covered in blueberry sorbet and topped with strawberries and banana, and more chocolate sauce. It is also refined sugar free. Delicious, I know. I made this during a breakfast experiment (I am trying to incorporate fully raw meals into my diet), and it is so yummy, I had to share it here! However, I wasn't taking progress shots like usual, because it was an experiment, so not only is some of the measurements a little vague, but I only have the one iPhone photo, so I hope that's okay!

Makes 4 chocolate mini tarts, approx. 20-30 minutes to make.

You will need:

For the chocolate tart:

5 pitted and soaked medjool dates (soak in warm water for 5 minutes!)
1 large handful of almonds
1 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp maple syrup

1. Combine all ingredients for the tart in a food processor until sticky and forms a ball.
2. Between two sheets of non-stick baking paper, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until around 5 mm thick. Using a large circular cutter, cut out 4 mini tarts. You might need to cut two, roll dough back together, and start again.
3. Place these tarts on a plate and in the fridge until ready.

For the blueberry sorbet:

1 large handful of frozen blueberries
1-2 tbsp water/coconut water

1. Combine blueberries in a food processor with water, add more water as needed. Scoop out into a bowl and place in freezer until ready to serve.

For the chocolate sauce:

approx 2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp cacao powder

1. Place maple syrup in a small bowl. Slowly add the cocoa powder and mix until it reaches a smooth consistency. You might not need all the cocoa powder.

Assemblage:

4 chocolate tart bases
blueberry sorbet
3 chopped strawberries
1 chopped banana
chocolate sauce

1. Place one large spoonful of blueberry sorbet on top of each tart base.
2. Layer the strawberry pieces and banana on top of the sorbet.
3. Coat with chocolate sauce!
5. Serve!

Oh my goodness. You know how great Neapolitan Ice-Cream is? Well, now imagine it in a cookie sandwich. So scrumptious! I used Oreo's as the sandwich, the lazy way out as I couldn't be bothered to make cookies, but the chocolate biscuit went so well especially with the strawberry part of the ice-cream...note to self: make strawberry ice-cream sandwiches with Oreos! I made this with one of my leftover Neapolitan Ice-Cream cups, and simply sliced it and used cookie cutters to get the cross-section of the ice-cream to put in between the cookies. Too easy!

Makes 4 sandwiches, approx 5 minutes to make (if you already have an ice-cream cup prepared).

You will need:

1 Neapolitan Ice-Cream Cup
4 oreos with the filling removed (or biscuit of choice, just keep in mind you will need 8 biscuits for the 4 sandwiches).

1. Slice your ice-cream cup into 4. Using a cookie cutter which is similar in size to the Oreo, cut out circles of Neapolitan Ice-Cream.


2. Place your circle in between two Oreo's. Done!

Neapolitan Ice-Cream is one of those quintessential desserts: though simple in design, merely layers of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, it is really effective at combining the best flavours of ice-cream together, so that you can either enjoy each separately, or all of them together. I decided to recreate a healthy, but no less delicious, version of this traditional ice-cream and to serve it in cute little mini cups, so they are kind of like cupcakes, but made of ice-cream! Moreover, this only uses three ingredients: banana, strawberries, and cocoa. This means no added sugar with all the benefits of eating bananas (e.g. high in potassium, rich in pectin which aids digestion and makes you more alert), strawberries (e.g. boosts memory, eases inflammation and anti aging properties), and cocoa (e.g. high in magnesium and antioxidants). So really, what may look like a delicious treat, is actually a healthy dessert in disguise!

Serves 4, approx. 15 minutes preparation and 2-3 hours freezing time.

You will need:

4 frozen bananas
4 strawberries
4 tsp cocoa/cacao

+ 4 cupcake patties/cups

1. Chocolate (bottom) layer: mix 1 frozen banana with 2 tsp cocoa in a food processor until smooth. Using a piping bag, pour the chocolate layer into the bottom of four cupcake patties/cups. You might need a spoon to help smooth it out.


2. Vanilla (middle) layer: pulse 1 frozen banana in a food processor until smooth. Place in a piping bag and pour on top of the chocolate layer of all four cupcake patties.


3. Strawberry (top) layer: combine 4 strawberries or more with 1 frozen banana until smooth. Place in a piping bag, and pour on top of the vanilla layer, using a spoon again to help smooth out the ice-cream.


4. Place in the freezer for an hour. You might want to use cling wrap on top of each ice-cream cup to reduce the ice-particles forming on top of the ice-cream.
5. For the top "icing" layer: combine 1 frozen banana with 2 tsp cocoa until smooth. Using a piping bag with a decorated nozzle, in a swirling motion (outside in) decorate the top.


6. Place in the freezer for another 1-2 hours.
7.When ready to serve, remove the ice-cream cups so you can see the beautiful layers!

Have you ever lusted over a nutella pizza? Well, what about a vegan nutella ice-cream pizza? Well, if you have, you are in for a treat! Imagine a fresh pizza base, creamy nutella ice-cream, strawberry and banana all in the one wonderful mouthful! And do you know what is the best part about this recipe?

It's healthy.

I mean, the base is really only flour, yeast and a dash of oil. The ice-cream is only banana, hazelnuts and cacao, topped with strawberries and banana. Which means:

No added sugar!

A delicious treat made from fruit, nuts and cacao!

In regards to the pizza base, this is my go-to recipe for all things pizza. You can use it if you want, or use a premade base, which you will need to do especially if you want a gluten-free base. I have tried to make this pizza base recipe gluten-free before, but it failed and wouldn't rise. So feel free to use your favourite pizza base recipe!

For the pizza base (makes one pizza), adapted from "Better Homes and Gardens: Best Bread Machine Recipes."

1/2 cup water
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups of bread flour
3/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1. Add all ingredients to a bread making machine according to manufacturers instructions. Select cycle, and when complete, remove dough from machine. Punch down, cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll into a base.
2. Pierce with a fork! then bake for roughly 10 minutes on 180 degrees Celsius or until golden brown.

N.B. If you don't have a bread making machine: add warm water + yeast and salt to a bowl, let sit for 5 minutes until yeast reacts. Then sift in the flour and mix with hands, add olive oil, mix again until combined. Cover bowl with glad wrap and let it sit to rise for an hour to two hours. It should almost double in size.

For the ice-cream:

2 large frozen bananas
4-6 tbsp vegan nutella (I used this) 

1. Combine ingredients in a food processor until combined. If it won't mix, add a dash or almond milk or coconut water until it reaches a smooth stage. It is a good idea to make this just prior to serving, so it is in that soft-serve stage which makes it easier to spread over the pizza base.

Assembling:

Pizza base, nutella ice-cream, approx 5 strawberries and one banana.

1. When pizza base is cooled down, with a spoon smooth on the nutella ice-cream.


2. Add your chopped strawberries and bananas to the ice-cream. Serve immediately, before the ice-cream starts to melt! You can always stick it in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before serving, but not for too long as you don't want the pizza base to freeze!

After recently buying Coyo (Coconut Yoghurt) for the first time, I decided to try it in a watermelon-strawberry smoothie. It turned out into a wonderful creamy drink, and since it is made from frozen watermelon, it really is the ultimate thirst quencher for a hot summer day. Coyo is yummy, however, since it is hard to get (I had to go into the city to a specialty store), and expensive (400g = $10!), this is probably more of a rare treat rather than a weekly indulgence. You could probably use coconut cream in place of the yoghurt, or even a soy coconut yoghurt, but you really do want something coconut based, as the coconut flavour really does complement the watermelon and strawberries, making it taste of a tropical paradise!

Serves 2, approx. 10 minutes to make

You will need:

2 cups of frozen watermelon, cut into cubes
1/2 cup of plain Coconut Yoghurt
1/2 cup of chopped strawberries
3/4 cup of coconut water

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Divide between 2 glasses, serve!

Not only are strawberries delicious, but they have a myriad of health benefits, such as they lower the risk of heart disease, help to burn stored fat, have anti-aging properties, and are low in calories! And did I mention they are delicious? Most strawberry flavored ice-creams and sorbets are however just that: flavored, not made from real strawberries, and if they are, they are packed full of sugar, egg whites and preservatives. However, it is so easy to make your own strawberry sorbet from only two ingredients! Two ingredients you say? Just strawberries and coconut water! It could not be more easy! I (almost) feel bad for posting it as a recipe! I mean, not only are you filling yourself up with all these vitamins and health benefits of strawberries, which is incredibly delicious, but it is also easy! Incidentally, this recipe is also raw for those brave raw vegans!

You will need:

2 cups of frozen strawberries
1/2 cup to 3/4 coconut water (water will work just as well)

1. Combine strawberries and 1/4 cup of water in a food processor. Slowly add more water until mixture is smooth.
2. Serve immediately or place in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour in the freezer to let it harden up.

I love ice-cream (can you tell?). And considering most of these recipes are super healthy, why not try having these ice-creams for breakfast? Considering I haven't done a "proper" post for strawberry ice-cream with a banana base, I thought today I would demonstrate how you can incorporate ice-cream as a breakfast alternative; bananas and strawberries aren't exactly a terrible food to eat, and bananas are great for the morning as it has that energy to sustain you throughout the day. The effort involved probably calls for a weekend breakfast, I mean, when you have to get up at 6am for work or uni on a weekday, who has the time to get that food processor out, combine the ingredients and maybe wait 30 minutes for the ice-cream to harden in the freezer before you even consume it? If I am honest, most days I am running out the door with a thermos in my hand and toast in the other. Also, if I am super honest, I had this recipe for lunch instead of breakfast! Ice-cream for all meals of the day, yes please!

You will need:
2 frozen bananas
6 or more strawberries (I used 6 as that is all I had left!)
1 tbsp almond milk

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. If it won't mix, add a dash more almond milk until it does. If you are feeling fancy, why not add some protein powder, maca powder or any other super-food powders out there!
2. If you feel the mixture is too sloppy, put in a bowl, cover with glad wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. If you think it is perfect, serve up!
3. If you are having this as a breakfast, why not add some muesli, chia seeds, buckinis and goji berries? I layered mine with rolled oats, buckinis, then the ice-cream, more buckinis, chia seeds and then a strawberry on top.

So I went a little overboard with the toppings in this recipe, but don't worry it is super yummy! However I would advise making this a dessert to share between two: just between us, I couldn't finish it all by myself! However, I wanted to prove that it is possible to make a vegan banana split! The only thing missing of course is whipped cream; I did try to make some whipped cream out of coconut cream but my attempt failed. My sister thinks I should leave the coconut cream can in a freezer overnight, then drain water and whip with a mixter. What do you think? Has anyone managed to perfect an easy vegan whipped cream?

You will need:

One banana
3 scoops of vegan ice-cream: I used two scoops of vanilla and one scoop of strawberry
3 tbsp of melted vegan chocolate
1 tbsp of shredded coconut
Handful of your preferred nuts
1 cut up strawberry.

1. Slice your banana in half and place flat open on a bowl or plate
2. Put your scoops of ice-cream on top of the banana
3. Drizzle your melted chocolate all over the banana and ice-cream
4. Sprinkle with your favourite toppings! I used shredded coconut, strawberries and walnuts, though I did go a bit overboard as you can probably tell by the photos!