Even though the temps have already skyrocketed, the first OFFICIAL day of summer was yesterday! Hot summer days can only mean one thing (okay, not just one thing, but for sure this thing)…ICE CREAM!! There may be some people who are just not that into ice cream. Maybe dairy isn’t your gig. Perhaps you prefer to indulge in no sugar added frozen treats. Or maybe that doesn’t describe you at all and we can find you face first in a pint of ice cream (no shame!). No matter which way you roll during the hot summer months, this recipe is for YOU!

This “nice cream” recipe has minimal ingredients, no added sugar, and it can be customized to suit your palate. First I’ll share the basic recipe, then I’ll offer some suggestions for how to mix it up! Give some of these a try and let us know how you like them.

Banana “Nice Cream” Basic Recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 banana, peeled, sliced, and frozen (Peel and slice before freezing! Trust me.)

1-2 T almond milk, coconut milk or regular milk (your choice!)

To make it:

-Put ingredients into a food processor and process until you have a creamy, soft-serve texture ice cream. It will make a crazy loud sound and the banana will bounce around initially, but then it will get chopped up and finally blended until smooth. If it seems like it’s getting stuck, add another tablespoon of milk until you get the right consistency.

Now all you have to do is eat it straight from your food processor tub (after removing the blade, of course), because who has time for a bowl and spoon?!

Once you’ve mastered the basic version (really, it’s not hard to master at all), give some of these variations a try:

Strawberry Banana: Add about ½ cup of frozen strawberries and a tsp of vanilla to the original recipe. So good!

Banana Mango: Add ½ cup frozen mango chunks to the original recipe

Chunky Monkey: Add 1-2 T cocoa powder to the original recipe and maybe some chocolate chips if you’re feeling like you need some chunks-o-chocolate. You could also add some chopped walnuts to stir in at the end for a truly chunky, delicious experience

Make it your own: Use the base recipe and add ½ cup of any frozen fruit (berries, peaches, cherry, etc.) and have some fun! With the extra fruit you might find that you need to add an extra tablespoon of milk but add in only 1T at a time so it doesn’t lose that creamy dreamy texture. You could also have your own at-home Cold Stone experience by getting creative with your toppings and mix-ins.

This makes for a fun at-home summer treat. Does dessert get any easier?? I think not. Enjoy!