I got the idea for this “ice cream,” made with frozen bananas as the base, from a smoothie recipe by The Blender Girl that I used to make myself for breakfast before I headed to work. Her smoothie, aptly named “Tastes-Like-Ice-Cream,” was a refreshing, sweet way to start my day, and somehow the very healthy ingredients magically transformed in my Vitamix to taste like a pistachio ice cream milk shake.
I’ve also experimented for years with making ice cream out of frozen bananas and a splash of plant milk – you just add ingredients to your blender and tamp them into the blades until they form a soft serve-like texture. You can make it plain, or get creative and add ingredients like cocoa powder, seeds or seed butter, mint, fresh fruit like peaches, blueberries or strawberries, espresso, etc. The only limitation is your imagination!
For this refreshing version bursting with fresh flavors and healthful ingredients, I added spinach, ginger, dates, matcha powder and vanilla to the frozen banana/oat milk base, and the result is a sweet and zippy, palate-cleanser. It’d be the perfect way to end a spicy meal with Asian or Indian-inspired flavors.
Enjoy!
Equipment
- High-speed blender with tamper, such as a Vitamix
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 5-6 ripe bananas, frozen and broken into small pieces
- ¼ cup pitted dates
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp fresh ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp matcha powder
- ⅛ cup oat milk
Optional garnishes:
- vegan, soy-free, nut-free chocolate chips
- matcha powder
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into your Vitamix or high-speed blender, in the order listed above.
- Secure the lid and place the tamper through the lid.
- Turn the blender on and set to the "frozen dessert" setting (it's the icon that looks like a snowflake) if using a Vitamix, or to medium on a regular blender.
- Press start and blend the mixture, using the tamper to press the ingredients into the blender blades. You may have to run through a couple of cycles of the "frozen dessert" setting to get a smooth texture.
- Once the mixture has reached a smooth, ice cream-like consistency, you can scoop it into bowls, top with chocolate chips and a dusting of matcha powder if desired, and serve, OR, place into a freezer-safe container and freeze for later (if you serve it right away it will have a softer texture than if you freeze it for a couple of hours before serving).
