Healthy Ice-cream

[amcollard]

Hi everyone, I’m looking for a nice recipe of a healthy ice-cream. Summer is coming and I love Ice-cream, but I would like to find a healthier alternative to it. Do you have any ideas? I think that it is possible with sorbet but is this possible with ice-cream? Thank you!

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

If made with milk, and sweetened with natural fruit, such as ripe blueberries, strawberries, etc., with egg yolk acting as the thickening agent, this might just be possible. I don't think you can find a way to make vanilla any heathier, as you need to use sweetener, and even the no-calorie sweeteners have negative health aspects to them, often times, more serious than the negative health aspects of natural sugar.

Commonly, either starches, or egg yolks are included in ice cream recipes to control ice crystal formation, and to add body to the ice cream. I'm wondering if you could do that with pectin. If so, then you could make great ice cream using fiber (as pectin is a fruit fiber), increasing the fiber content in your diet.

Gelato is made with milk rather than a cream and milk combination, resulting in smaller ice particles, and denser consistency. It is also served slightly warmer than is ice cream, allowing the tongue to better taste the flavors of the gelato. So I'm thinking that a home made gelato, using pectin as the thickening agent might give you healthier results. Using fruit as the sweetening agent would not only provide the sweetness needed for the desert, but would give you all of the wonderful, nutritional value of both the fruit, and milk, with added fiber from the pectin. Can you imagine a gelato made with liquified blueberries (run raw blueberries in the blender before adding to the gelato base). I'm thinking that this would make a truly healthy ice cream, or gelato desert. But then again, this might also be termed a sherbert. In any case, I will be trying out the idea.

[Dawgluver]

Google "two ingredient ice creams". Here's one that sounds good: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/tw...ter-ice-cream/

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Originally Posted by Dawgluver

Google "two ingredient ice creams". Here's one that sounds good: Two-Ingredient Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe | Two Peas & Their Pod

+1

It's a winner. I have made similar ice creams, but with frozen bananas, milk, and strawberries. There is no reason you couldn't use other fruits such as blueberries, raspberries (seeds removed) Sarvice berries, cherries, pineapple, etc. You could even add Nutella or fold in chopped pecans, or walnuts into the mix, or add hot fudge to the frozen bananas. I'm thinking lime juice and coconut would be a great flavor combination with the frozen bananas as well.

The frozen banana is the magical part of this frozen desert. When pulverized int the blender, its high starch content gives it a smooth and soft texture, like a really great ice cream. The other ingredients simply add a little extra body and liquid (or fat in the case of peanut butter), and flavor. The frozen desert must still be very cold, and the milk must be just on the verge of freezing (32.5 degrees F) for the milk to add a little extra texture to the desert, turning it into a fruity gelato. But without the milk, this frozen desert is wonderful, and wonderfully easy to make.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

[Aunt Bea]

The fruit/banana idea is great, try a simple chocolate covered banana.

Chocolate-Covered Bananas Recipe | Martha Stewart

Good luck!

[Dawgluver]

I watched an episode of Rachel Ray where a guy made banana Nutella two ingredient ice cream. It looked yummy.

[Suthseaxa]

How difficult is frozen yoghurt? I mean is it possible to make it creamy without an ice cream maker etc?

[CraigC]

I remember the film "Nanook of The North" from grade school, which was about Eskimo life. They made "ice cream" with snow, blueberrys and fish oil! Now that has to be very healthy, Omega 3s and all!

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

What do you consider unhealthy about ice cream? Milk, cream, eggs, sugar, flavorings, and extracts are all healthy ingredients, unless you have some kind of food allergies.

[Cooking Goddess]

I'm guessing the fat and sugar content, SLoB. However, I'm a big believer in "everything in moderation". I think if you have a small portion of a really rich, quality ice cream, you tend to be so much more satisfied than if you eat an entire carton of the cheap stuff.

[liliedu13]

it's not really an ice cream because it's fruits but i love this recipe