Chocolate Banana Nice Cream

Hey everybody! Spring is in full bloom, and it's been getting really hot around here in Seattle. I thought you'd all like a healthy, cool, sweet treat to brighten your spring days. This treat is vegan and can be made paleo depending on the ingredients you choose! 

Have you ever had a Peanut Butter Moo'd or a Chocolate Moo'd at Jamba Juice? Or any sort of ice cream with chocolate, peanut butter and banana? Combine the ice cream with the Peanut Butter/Chocolate Moo'd and you get this, but without the saturated fat and refined sugars. This delicious vegan ice cream is so good that carnivores and vegans alike will love it. My 9-year-old brother, who is the pickiest kid I've ever met, loved it, so trust me on this one! This Chocolate Banana "Nice Cream" has only 7 ingredients, and you can choose whichever nut butter and non-dairy milk you want in order to personalize it. I personally like using peanut butter and almond milk, but if you're paleo and can't eat peanuts, you can always use almond butter. If you're allergic to nuts, you can use sunflower seed butter and coconut milk! Personalize it however you like. 

Chocolate Banana Nice Cream
Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
½ cup nut/seed butter of choice (peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) 
½ tsp vanilla extract 
2 tsp unsweetened cacao powder 
2 tbsp honey or agave nectar 
1/4 - 1/3 cup non-dairy milk of choice (almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, etc.) 
2 cups ice 

Preparation
1. Place parchment on a large plate. Peel the bananas and place them on the plate. Freeze for at least 2 hours, until the bananas are completely frozen.

2. Add the frozen bananas, 1/4 cup of the non-dairy milk (to start), and the remaining ingredients in a blender or Vita-Mix. Cover and blend on a high speed. If you need more liquid, add a couple more tablespoons of milk at a time, but be very careful - adding too much will ruin the consistency. If it's too thin, you will need more ice. The consistency should be thick, like ice cream, but it's alright if it's slightly thinner. 

3. Scoop into bowls and enjoy in the sun! 

There you go! How easy is that? Putting this together took me a total of 10 minutes, and clean up was really easy too. This would be perfect to enjoy in the sun after school, to make when you have friends over, or to make just because you feel like it. Please give this amazing recipe a try. Take a photo of what you made and send it to me using #teenscancooktoo on Instagram. Make sure you're following Teens Can Cook, Too at all the social media handles below: 

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Stay healthy!
- Madeline