Pumpkin Spice Nice Cream Smoothie

 

Welcome to another installment of the nice cream chronicles! This nice cream recipe incorporates all the flavors of pumpkin pie without the calories and you can eat it, guilt free, for breakfast! Also, as if pumpkin pie had anything on this nice cream smoothie, yeah right, I've included a chocolate layer and a vanilla layer so it's like pumpkin pie a la mode with chocolate! Who could ask for a better breakfast? You guys know I love my superfoods and this creation includes raw cacao, coconut cream and maca! In addition to the banana and dates, this meal is one cleanse friendly, taste explosion that is perfect for Fall! 

 

For those of you who are wondering what nice cream is, well, nana nice cream is an ice cream made purely of frozen bananas. No added sugar needed since bananas are loaded with low glycemic sugars when ripe so make sure to freeze your bananas when fully ripe and covered in spots.  Once the bananas are frozen, you blend away and get this amazing soft serve that you can eat right away or put it in the freezer to harden and you'll have sweet, delicious, body lovin', soul jivin' nice cream!  This creation is a particular favorite of mine because it soothes my pumpkin spice craving.  Have fun and enjoy!

* Freeze your bananas peeled and broken into pieces so they are easier to blend.

Here's what you're going to need:
Pumpkin Spice Nice Cream Smoothie (makes 2 servings):
8 frozen bananas, diced
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut cream
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice*
2 Tbsp. maple syrup (optional for those days when extra sweetness is required)
1 Tbsp. maca powder
2 Tbsp. raw cacao powder
2 dates, pitted, chopped
1 fresh banana sliced

Method:

1. Add your bananas, coconut cream and maca powder to a food processor fitted with the "S-type" blade. If you have a weak food processor, take caution as these bananas might break your equipment. You need a solid piece of kitchenware to accomplish this task.  Another option is to use a high speed blender such as a vitamix or a regular blender that you will need to stop frequently and stir but will get the job done.

2.  Process until creamy.  Divide mixture in half, leaving half of the nice cream in the blender and half into a bowl.  From the bowl, divide in half again and place in another bowl.  Put both bowls in the freezer while you make the pumpkin layer.

3. To your food processor, add the pumpkin puree (option to use raw sugar pie pumpkin as well to keep fully raw), pumpkin spice, and optional maple syrup.  Process until incorporated. Scoop pumpkin spice nice cream into a bowl and place in the freezer.  Rinse your food processor.

4. Add one bowl of nice cream to your food processor.  Add the raw cacao powder and process until well combined.

5.  Take your mason jars and scoop the chocolate layer into each of them.  Use a spoon to smooth down the surface of your chocolate layer.  Then remove your pumpkin spice layer from the freezer and add a layer to each jar.  Add a row of sliced banana to the inside of each jar and press them gently against the glass. Finally add your coconut layer.  Garnish with sliced bananas and chopped dates and enjoy right away! 

 

 

It was pouring down rain while I made my smoothie but the sun came out just as I finished and it was so beautiful outside I had to take pictures on the dock.  I sat down right there on the pier to eat my smoothie and this gorgeous rainbow appeared across our little cove.

 

 

After the storm cleared and I finished my smoothie, I went for a hike since maca makes me feel like a combination of Rainbow Brite and the Energizer Bunny so I had to go burn some of my plant induced energy with a little activity.  The calm after the storm left the water so beautiful.

 

 

 

 

I hope you guys all get a chance to try this amazing smoothie.  If you decide to make just one, the left over nice cream will keep well in a freezer safe container and makes an excellent dessert.  Enjoy and thank you for vising my little blogosphere!  Sending you all light, love and loads of nana nice cream!

 

 

 

* Pumpkin Spice is a combination of spices that you can buy as a blend or you can use this recipe to mix up your own:

 

4 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. Allspice

1 tsp. nutmeg







Spiced Pear Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl

 

Having had a serious sweet tooth all my life, cutting back on processed sugar has been a fairly new decision. When my mom was diagnosed with epilepsy last February, we made a decision to change our diets. Countless hours of research had given us the notion that a diet free of gluten and refined sugar could help the body regain its natural balance and could help reduce seizures.  Armed with this new information, my mom, sister and I all decided that we would make the change.  Years ago, my mom and sister had gone from vegetarian to vegan to support me when I made the switch. Now it was my turn. Just as I had loved cheese and learned to let go with never looking back, so too have I let go of cane sugar and wheat.  My sister had always been sensitive to wheat and being gluten free was a decision she made a few years prior.  However, giving up sugar was completely new ground for us and I felt confident we could live with little to no processed sugars. 

 

Eating food as unprocessed as possible has been a goal of mine since I developed from a junk food vegan to a plant based, whole foods vegan. Refined sugars are toxic and they are added to everything! I don't want it in my body, affecting my blood pressure and my mood.   Instead, I chose to rely on coconut nectar, stevia, maple syrup, and date syrup.  There was a big problem though.  I love ice cream!  Who doesn't love creamy, sweet, delicious ice cream! Well, I do!  I don't have an ice cream maker and I'm not too keen to wait for hours while my ice cream churns. Also, as a vegan my ice cream bases are limited to coconut, almond, cashew, and rice.  Raw nuts are definitely part of my diet but they are so expensive and full of fat (albeit, good fat) that I try to be selective in my consumption of them. Then, I heard about banana "nice" cream.  Who would have thought that frozen bananas would taste like ice cream?!! Plus, all I needed was my food processor and I could have sweet, creamy ice cream in minutes.  It's a match made in vegan heaven for this sweet toothed nutrition junkie! 

 

The combinations are truly endless and nice cream will now begin to make an appearance in my blog.  Stay turned for new creations but for now, I'd like to share my Spiced Pear Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl!  With pears coming into season and the slight scent of Fall in the not too distant future, this spiced nice cream was the perfect creation.  My neighbor was kind enough to gift me some of the pears from his beautiful tree!

 

In the picture above, the nice cream is shown with chunks of fully raw chocolate on top but that is not part of this recipe.  I had some on hand and added it to the top but I promise to blog a nice cream recipe with chocolate in it very soon!  I hope you guys like pears! Let's get started!

 

Spiced Pear Nice Cream Ingredients:

• 6 frozen bananas (tip: peel your bananas and chop them into 1/4 pieces before freezing)
• 1-2 cups pears, skinned, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• a small squirt of lemon juice
• 8 medjool dates, pitted, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. almond butter (you can also use peanut butter but it won't be raw, still yummy though)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. water
• pinch of Himalayan salt if using unsalted butter

Caramel Method:

 

To a food processor fitted with the "S-type" blade, add the dates, almond butter (or peanut butter), vanilla and salt. Process slowly and add the water as needed to create a smooth, liquid caramel consistency.  Once blend, place your caramel in a mason jar and set aside.  Don't rinse the food processor.

 

Nice Cream Method:

 

To the food processor add the frozen bananas, pears, and cinnamon.  Process until creamy.  At first the bananas will break into small pieces, keep scraping down the sides and processing. I promise it will turn creamy!  If you don't have a strong food processor, use with caution because it could damage weaker/small food processors.  If you want to use a blender, use a high speed blender. Or use whatever blender you have on hand and add about 1 Tbsp. liquid (water or almond milk would work) to make the blending process easier.  Once you have creamy banana pear nice cream, pour into a loaf pan, cover and place in the freezer.

 

To swirl:

 

Bring a sauce pan of water to a boil.  Once boiling, remove from heat and place the mason jar of caramel inside.  This is just to warm the caramel so that it is easy to swirl.  Whisk it a bit to help it warm and once it is pourable grab your nice cream from the freezer.  Pour the caramel on the nice cream in a line lengthways.  Then use a butter knife in a wave pattern to pull the caramel though the nice cream in a swirl.  It gets easier with practice.  If it doesn't look like a swirl, you'll still have an amazing tasting nice cream!!

 

We always finish ours right away but it should keep for a couple of days in an air tight container in the freezer.  Enjoy!

 



 

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