Homemade nice cream & frozen treats
Better than Ice Cream!
Summer fun and beach activities especially, often go hand in hand with frozen treats, like ice cream and popsicles.
So in this little roundup post, I’d like to give you some healthier options, that are even better than the regular versions.
If you search the internet, you’ll find plenty of homemade ice cream recipes. I’ve tried quite a few, and in my humble opinion, I don’t think they’re worth the effort unless you have an ice cream maker.
It doesn’t seem to matter how many times you stir the mixture during the freezing process, you just don’t get a very good result without an ice cream maker.
So let me share some much simpler ideas with you here, guaranteed to be a hit with kids and adults alike.
A little bit of prep makes frozen treats easy
One of the easiest ways to make a healthy frozen treat is to simply blend up frozen fruit.
Bananas work very well as a base ingredient, then you can mix in other fruits like berries and mangos.
You can really use just about any fruit you like, as long as you follow a couple of basic common sense rules.
The most important thing you need to do is prepare the fruit before you freeze it – that means, peeling, hulling, removing stones, pips etc, washing and chopping it.
That might sound obvious, but the first time I froze a punnet of strawberries I forgot about hulling them.
It wasn’t a disaster, but I had to take extra time to partially defrost them so I could hull them and then they were good to go!
And believe it or not, I have heard stories of people freezing whole bananas in their skin.
I imagine you could probably peel and chop them after they’ve defrosted a bit, but it’s a lot easier done before the banana’s frozen.
Banana nice cream
You can buy frozen dessert makers from department store chains like Kmart, Big W and Target very cheaply – I used to have one that did a pretty good job.
You don’t really need one though, a powerful blender or food processor will do the job just as well.
As long as you keep a supply of frozen fruit in your freezer, you’ll always have a fast, healthy treat or dessert on hand.
I highly recommend experimenting with different fruit combinations for different flavours.
And you can add ingredients like yoghurt, honey, peanut butter or ricotta cheese for a creamier consistency.
Add some texture and crunch with chocolate chips, nuts, granola, sprinkles etc.
Start with this easy BANANA NICE CREAM recipe.
Make your own homemade fruity popsicles
The other great way to use frozen fruit is to make delicious fruit icy poles and popsicles. You can buy the moulds from department stores and kitchen shops.
Making your own means you don’t need to buy the commercial versions that are full of extra sugar, artificial flavours, colours and other additives.
The simplest way to make icy poles/popsicles is to squeeze a bag of fresh oranges, pour the juice into moulds, and freeze.
Experiment with fruit and fruit juice combinations you think you’ll like. You’ll also get some recipes with your moulds when you buy them.
Remember that most juices you buy will have added sugar. They may also contain preservatives, colours and/or be made from reconstituted powder.
It’s worth the effort of squeezing the juice yourself, to keep your icy poles and popsicles lower in sugar and generally healthier.
Try these MANGO ICE CREAM POPS. All you need is a couple of fresh mangos, some honey and cream.
You can easily swap out the mango for strawberries and make delicious strawberries and cream popsicles.
Try these choc banana Paddle Pop style popsicles
If you’re an Aussie who loved Paddle Pops as a kid, then you’ve gotta try these CHOC BANANA POPSICLES!
Chocolate protein powder combined with cacao powder gives these popsicles a delish chocolately flavour.
If you don’t have chocolate protein powder, don’t worry, just use plain or vanilla and then double the amount of cacao powder.
Along with extra protein, Greek yoghurt gives the popsicles a bit of tang, but you can substitute cream or coconut cream if you prefer a sweeter taste.
For a frozen healthy breakfast treat …..
You have to try these MANGO CHIA BREKKIE POPS.
These are a twist on my 3-ingredient mango ice cream pops that you might like to try as a healthy breakfast option.
They’re especially delicious after a workout or a run on a hot & sweaty summer morning.
You’ll find plenty more simple, flavour-packed recipes here on my blog that work beautifully for post-menopausal bodies.
If you haven’t already, I recommend grabbing a copy of my free Post-Menopause Breakfast Makeover.
Your body responds differently now to food, stress, sleep and movement, so the old “just eat less” rules don’t work anymore.
The Makeover Guide shows you how to build satisfying breakfasts that support your post-menopausal body, for sustainable weight loss.
You can read more about it here:
Post-Menopause Breakfast Makeover
Or click the button below to dive straight in.
Don’t forget to pin this roundup for reference!
