The end of summer is upon us, and it’s bittersweet. Now that Labor Day Weekend has passed, many of us are resuming regular work or school hours, putting our beach supplies back in storage, and saying goodbye to cookouts and rooftop bars. But even if you do work normal hours all throughout the summer, there’s something about that post-Labor Day feeling (i.e. today, right this very second) that’s just kind of a bummer. But it doesn’t have to be.
I LOVE this time of year. It marks a transition from not liking how my violin strings sound 75% of the time (#gutstrings #humidity) to thinking they sound pretty okay 75% of the time. It means that soon, I can stop worrying about maintaining a pedicure and get my cute boots on until at least March or April. And soon, I can go apple picking and make ALL THE PIES!! But for now, it’s still technically summer for another month, and all of the perks that come with crisp, cool weather aren’t here yet. So how can one really make the most out of this weird, transitional SummerFall? Two words: fresh produce.
OK, that’s dramatic. It has been three months since my last post though, which might be a new personal record of negligence (*sobs quietly into pillow*), but I’M BACK! It feels so good to be posting a recipe again after taking some time off to get settled into my new program. This first semester at Juilliard Historical Performance, aside from being completely surreal , has FLOWN by. Between performances, lessons, gigs, being a hashtagpracticehermit, academic courses, and life in general, I’ve been a busy bee. In the last few weeks alone, my HP friends and I have performed on the radio, played for a live-streamed master class, finished a series of concerts in Boston and NYC, and are now gearing up for our tour to Holland (!) in a few weeks. I can’t believe that, at least for now, this is the new normal.
Banana “ice cream” is a huge fad now, and for good reason – you can do pretty much anything with it, and it (basically) tastes like you’re eating soft serve ice cream. And I LOVE that, for a lot of reasons. Need I count the ways?
It’s a great way to sneak in a serving of fruit, especially if you’re not a banana person. The cold temperature takes out most of the banana-y flavor. Take it from a person who’s not a fan of eating bananas by themselves.
It’s naturally sweet. Just like meee! (…If it’s a Friday and I’ve eaten recently.)
It’s dairy free, for all those sensitive tummies out there.
No fancy equipment needed. There are some fun contraptions out there specifically designed for banana ice cream, but an electric OR manual food processor works just as well.
It’s another way to use up those spotty, soft bananas.
You can add anything you want into or on top of it. Healthy Coldstone? YES. PLEASE.
My favorite part – it’s SINGLE SERVING. You use one frozen banana, and then don’t have to fight the irresistible pull of a carton.
After all this glorification of banana ice cream, I WOULD be lying to you if I said that it’s exactly the same as ice cream. Ice cream certainly has its special time and place – like, melting over the top of a warm slice of pie on Thanksgiving, or when the Mr. Softee truck comes by on July 4th. Or, when you and your friends want to cry together and watch movies based on Nicholas Sparks novels. (Ben and Jerry’s was a stereotypical post-breakup staple in college for our group of friends, second only to the Whole Foods salad bar… We weren’t very consistent.) For the other 99% of your life though, I promise that banana ice cream can perfectly satisfy your frozen dairy craving.
This recipe is so simple, I almost feel bad calling it a recipe. But I swear to you, it actually tastes like cookie dough ice cream. I ate this about 3 times last week, and regret absolutely nothing. So go forth, and go bananas.
Cookie dough ice cream alternative with a raw, vegan, no sugar added, dairy free base!
Ingredients
Scale
1 banana, frozen in coins
1/3 date and cashew bar, chopped (I used a “Cashew Cookie” Larabar)
1 tbs. dark chocolate or carob chips
~1/2 tsp. almond milk or water, if needed for blending
Instructions
Add frozen banana, chocolate, and date bar to a food processor, blending on low until bananas are smooth. If the mixture is too crumbly, add almond milk or water to assist with blending. If you want chunkier mix ins, blend bananas first until almost smooth, then add the chocolate and date bar and pulse until broken up. Serve immediately.
Notes
For easier blending, freeze the banana coins on a flat surface or spread out individually in a freezer-safe bag.
Nutrition
Serving Size:1
HEY THERE!
Welcome! I'm Sarah, a violinist, culinary instructor for musicians, and blogger here at The Hungry Musician. Click here to read more about me!
