Recently we decided to go on a healing diet (the GAPS diet) to help our son get past a few health issues he was experiencing. This meant cutting out all processed foods, and even the foods we use when cooking from scratch like starches and sugars.
We are about 2 weeks into the diet and his symptoms have completely gone away!! Yay!! However, the diet recommends staying on track until all symptoms have been gone for at least 6 months before returning to a traditional diet (Nourishing Traditions style, not processed foods style 'traditional').
So in the meantime we are enjoying the weight loss benefits and finding ways to really enjoy our new way of eating!
One of the things I do each week is make a big batch of homemade almond milk for my son to drink with breakfast each day. Thankfully he enjoys it as much as the raw milk we normally drink and hasn't complained at all! Dairy isn't allowed for a while on the diet stages...
But as much as he enjoys the almond milk, being 2 he doesn't quite understand the idea of no dairy and he has been asking me for ice cream frequently since we started.
I find this particularly amusing because he's only ever heard the crew on Daniel Tiger's Neighorhood talking about it and has never actually had ice cream himself.
However, I also love an excuse to test a new recipe!
Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream Recipe
Armed with my homemade almond milk, I faced an immediate challenge in creating this recipe... The lack of significant fat content. Without the full fat nature of whole milk, or even coconut milk, I was concerned that the ice cream would simply turn into a large (albeit delicious) ice cube in the freezer and never be creamy again once frozen.
So I decided to add something that stays fairly soft even when frozen. Bananas!
This worked out perfectly and while it has a slight banana taste, which my husband was afraid of, he said the taste was so faint and the overall ice cream was so delicious that it wasn't going to stop him from eating it by the bowl!
Tips for the Creamiest Almond Milk Ice Cream
The best way to eat this ice cream in the creamiest state it can be, is to make it in an ice cream maker and eat it as soft serve right away.
If you do decide to freeze it, just be aware that you will need to let it counter thaw for about 20-45 minutes (depending on how soft you like it) before serving.
It WILL be a block of ice when you take it out of the freezer. Don't be alarmed! It will thaw out nicely and be delicious, just give it time!
Even after thawing, it is still slightly icy, so if you don't like that you can always turn it into a milkshake to overcome that! We like to blend the frozen ice cream with a splash of almond milk and a half banana. You can even add additional things at this point, like peanut butter or homemade marshmallows!
A note on the cacao: If you use raw cacao as I have in the recipe, the 1/2 cup measurement is fine and will lend a rich chocolate flavor to the dish. If you are using cocoa (especially dark chocolate cocoa), you need to reduce the measurement to 1/4 cup.
You may also like my recipe for low-carb almond flour Thin Mints!
Chocolate Almond Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Almond Milk
- 4 Medium Bananas Ripe
- 1/2 Cup Raw Cacao (If you are using cocoa, reduce amount to 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Freeze in ice cream maker and serve right away or...
- Freeze in freezer safe dish for at least 4 hours before serving. Allow to thaw for 20-45 minutes for creamiest texture if serving from the freezer.
Liz (Eight Acres) says
Yum! I experimented with something similar when I was avoiding dairy. I used coconut milk. I found that you can add lots of different frozen fruit as well for different flavours, particularly I tried strawberries, pineapple and mango with the banana and it made lovely “ice cream”.
Victoria says
Ooh, sounds delicious! I bet adding some strawberries to this recipe could be delicious!
Jonathan says
Never had ice cream himself? What kind of monster are you? ;)
Victoria says
Haha, that definitely made me laugh ?