Mint Choc Chip 'Ice Cream'

New Year, New Goals, can we meet them?

 

Hello male/female/other internet user,

No there isn’t a mistake. Quick, easy, no machine, minimal ingredient mint choc chip ‘ice cream’ that’s good for you? It exists and it is waiting…

So it’s a well known fact that along with January comes all those resolutions to try and be ‘healthier’ in the New Year. It’s also well known that for the first few weeks we’ll all be really committed to whatever challenges we’ve set ourselves and we’ll all congregate on social media like migratory penguins with our family and friends to support and motivate each other in order to keep on track and meet our goals.

All so wonderfully sweet.

However, what is even more really well known (but never spoken about outside the safety of our non-judgmental kitchens) is that fast forward a month or two and along will come the syrup coated pancake day, the chocolate drizzled valentine’s day and the booze fest otherwise known as St Patrick’s day. By the time Easter arrives any memory of the New Year’s goals we set ourselves only a few months ago will have disappeared faster than that Cadbury’s Easter egg i’m already planning on gifting to myself.

I think the reason for this lapse in motivation is probably due to the fact that a lot of us go pretty hardcore when trying to convert to a ‘healthier’ lifestyle and as a result bite off more than we can chew (quite literally in fact). It can be quite overwhelming to go from one extreme to the other and whilst it may not necessarily be a bad change, if we try to go cold turkey completely it can often be too challenging and the shock drives us back to our comfort zones. What I’m trying to say is that nobody’s perfect and despite what it may seem, you don’t have to make all the changes immediately.

I’ll let you in on a little secret about one of my new year’s challenges. You see, me and my friend Katy are currently doing a 21 day no-junk food challenge whereby all items such as cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pizzas, and anything merely associated with McDonalds are off limits, which whilst not being too taxing on the premise that I don’t eat a lot of ‘junk food’ on a regular basis, I already know that I am going to fail. I also have no valid excuse for this; I could say it’s because it’s two of my close friends’ birthdays before the end of the 21 days and we will be going out to celebrate (which is true), but at the same time it’s my choice to engage in the cocktail fueled binge that is sure to take place. Hence, I will be failing out of choice and due to a little lack of will power but nonetheless I am 100% positive that I am still going to enjoy every second of said failure.

I could be down-heartened by this attitude and give up on the challenge completely but, to be honest i'm not going to worry about it and here's why:

‘Good health’ although being a relevant term is more definitive when viewed over a lengthier spectrum i.e. it’s what you do long term that matters. If you live a balanced lifestyle that works for you and helps you perform at your best than an indulgence here or there isn't really going to affect that in the long run. 

I’ve always been a believer that extreme diets don’t work. The 5:2 diet is literally my idea of HELL because it basically involves starving yourself for 2 days a week, I don’t want a juice cleanse because I actually enjoy using my teeth whilst they are functioning and carbs are my favourite macronutrient so Atkins can F*** right off.  In my opinion there isn’t really a correct way of eating that can be applied to everyone as we are all different. Health is a reflection of the individual and is an umbrella term used to cover the many aspects that affect how we function both when and when not at our best. It’s fair to say that eating 3 tubs of ice cream every day is probably not ‘healthy’ as I don’t know of any human who would thrive at their best on this (and if they do exist, I am beyond jealous and in fact furious) but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily healthy (from a mental aspect) to deny yourself the things you enjoy forever. Once in a blue moon, I may attack a tub of Ben and Jerry’s with the unstoppable force of an army of white walkers but for the majority of the time I am more than happy to eat a more nutritious treat like the ice cream recipe below. 

Over the course of a year, I have converted to a more whole-food based diet but I don’t say never to anything ever (except spam because it’s just wrong) and by no means am I perfect, there are still numerous ways that I could 'improve' my diet.   

So if you too like me and the thousands of people on the planet have made it a resolution to be ‘healthier’ this year, I would advise against diving into something extremely restrictive head on because it usually isn’t very sustainable – or at least for me it isn’t. Also don’t be too hard on yourself, if you slip up/ cheat or enjoy the occasional treat, the world will not end and you’re not going to die as a result. In fact you’re probably more likely to die from walking outside and being run down by a sociopathic llama with a beetroot fetish. I encourage you to make some small changes if you want to and take things little by little. For example, if you’re a bit of a Ben and Jerry’s junkie feel free to swap out a serving of regular ice cream for this version instead. It may not seem like a big achievement but its small steps like these that are more likely to lead to bigger long-term changes.

Sorry for waffling on for ages (mmm waffles), I never intend to write this much but it seems I always end up spewing verbal crap all over the inter-web. Maybe that can be another one of my resolutions ;). I hope you try out this ice cream and if you do please let me know if you liked it or even if it made you sad inside (I guarantee it won’t).

Stay well and stay happy peeps.

X

Mint Choc Chip ‘Ice cream’

Serves 1

Ingredients

1-2 medium sized, ripe, peeled, chopped up and frozen bananas (1 for a snack, 2 for something more substantial like a breakfast)

A handful of spinach leaves

A few drops of peppermint extract

1-2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

1 tbsp dark mini chocolate chips

Optional – some sweetener of choice if desired

Instructions

Toss the frozen banana/s, almond milk, spinach and peppermint extract in a food processor or good quality blender and blend up till a smooth and creamy soft-serve ice cream consistency is reached.

Tip 1: You may have stop blending mid-way and stir a few times to ensure everything gets fully incorporated and blended easily.

Tip 2: Only add 2-3 drops of peppermint to start with and add more later to taste if desired. It’s strong stuff! I learned this the hard way the first time I made this and ended up feeling like I was being murdered by toothpaste

After blending, have a taste and see if you want to add any additional sweetening agent to the ice cream such as stevia, truvia, honey or maple syrup. If your bananas are ripe enough when frozen, they should be sweet enough.

Stir though the chocolate chips and enjoy!

I know what you’re thinking reading the above details.

'Hell No'. 

The ingredients may seem a little wacky and in all fairness spinach and ice cream are two words that really should never be in the same sentence let alone recipe post. Sounds like a guaranteed atrocity I know, but honestly you cannot even taste the spinach in this stuff. Not one bit! It tastes so much like mint choc ice cream I was beyond shocked. It’s also a great way to get some greenery into your diet in a form much more appealing than salad and if like me you crave a sweet treat every now and then (every day), it fits the bill perfectly.