When my ears heard the words “50 calorie ice cream” I stopped to listen. It was a promo for an afternoon talk show and I wasn’t home to catch the segment. I nearly forgot about it and then I read the same phrase online and figured enough was enough. What was this miracle that they were referring to? A little searching lead me to many sites about a low-calorie, one-ingredient ice cream. It seemed too good to be true, but then I learned this dessert oasis was nothing more than pureed frozen bananas.
The word was that this one ingredient would create a sweet treat that was just like ice cream. Not believing what I was hearing, I had to find out for myself.
There were several recipes online, if you can call one ingredient a recipe. I stuck to the ones that did nothing more than freeze bananas and blend them, just to be a purist.
I started with ripe bananas as they are softer and sweeter, and sliced them into medallions. I shouldn’t have just dumped them into a container to freeze them, but instead I should have laid them flat on a plate. My only trouble with this recipe came the next day when I opened up the frozen block of bananas. I had a heck of a time breaking them apart in order to get them into the blender.
After I smacked a brick of bananas around my kitchen for a while, I got them into the blender. A food processor would also be a good blending option. It takes a bit and I had to use a rubber spatula to scrape down the rouge bananas but eventually the bananas took on a very creamy texture and looked just like ice cream.
I served it up and found my only issue with this frozen treat. Many places advertised it as “50 calorie ice cream.” One ounce of bananas has 25 calories. A 50 calorie serving is only two ounces, and, come on, who eats that small of a portion? Four ounces is only 100 calories and fills up a mug to the top, that seemed much more reasonable.
On its own, the treat was great. It really did taste like ice cream. Bananas have the tiniest bit of natural fat and that allows for the creamy texture. While the creamy treat didn’t need anything else, I went ahead and topped it with some strawberries, blueberries, and a few raw nuts. I served this combo to my entire family and everyone approved. My son inhaled it and came running back for seconds.
The portion I served had five ounces of bananas, one ounce of strawberries, one ounce of blueberries, and just four grams of raw nuts. The whole treat was 174 calories. 174, delicious calories. This will be a new staple in our home for sure.
Also Read:
Healthify Your Banana Bread with Truvia Baking Blend
Paleo Dessert Recipe: Banana Ice Cream with Chocolate Topping