BA-NA-NAS FOR 4TH OF JULY!

When it's HOT outside, I like the idea of desserts that are cool, flavorful, and a cinch to make! Here are two ideas: Nom Nom Paleo's Strawberry-Banana Ice Cream and Oh She Glow's Cacao-Almond Butter Frozen Banana Bites. Soooo good! Recipes are below!

As a former self-taught 'real' ice cream maker (thank you Dave Lebovitz), I wondered how Nom Nom's recipe would work with the absence of white sugar, eggs, heavy cream, and/or rum! Ohhh days gone past. Nonetheless, I followed the ice cream recipe exactly and was so excited by the results. As for the frozen banana bites, they stand on their own! I will be making each all summer long! And in the vein of full disclosure, I did try a couple other recipes in my "test kitchen" that were sub-par. The strawberry banana ice cream and cacao banana bites were clear winners.

NOM NOM PALEO'S STRAWBERRY-BANANA ICE CREAM - click this link and scroll down for full recipe. This ice cream only has four ingredients: frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, vanilla extract, and coconut cream. All ingredients go into your food processor for 2 - 3 minutes and voila, you have 4 servings of ice cream. My son absolutely loved it and ate it as soon as it was done blending as soft-serve. I had to quickly hide the rest in the freezer else there would have been NONE left to include a photo for this post! I kept yelling "Do Not Touch!" "Do Not Touch!" and caught him at the fridge *twice* trying to sneak some. Yes, he loved it that much. As for toppings, think raw coconut, chocolate covered hemp seeds, cacao nibs, or chopped almonds. All well within the limits of The 30 Clean and/or Whole 30! So yummy and so pretty for a Fourth of July dessert.

OH SHE GLOW'S CACAO-ALMOND BUTTER FROZEN BANANA BITES!! I am a chocolate girl, so I also wanted to include a banana-chocolate dessert. This one is EVERYTHING! It's bite-sized, it's cold, it's sweet, it's savory, it's crunchy, and it has just a small touch of chocolate to satisfy your cravings. Yum Yum Yum!! PS - These will keep really well in the freezer. I LOVE these.

Ingredients

2 bananas, peeled and slices crosswise into 3/4 inch wide pieces

3 T roasted chunky almond butter (yes, you need the chunk)

2 T dark chocolate chips (or, what the heck...whatever chips you have in your pantry!)

1/2 tsp coconut oil

1 T raw cacao nibs

2 tsp slivered almonds (toasted if you want to get fancy)

Directions

• Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place sliced bananas on the parchment paper. Carefully spread a little bit of chunky almond butter on top of each banana piece.

• Place in freezer to chill for at least 30 minutes (I left mine in there for a couple of hours) until the bananas firm up.

• In a small non-stick skillet, gently melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together over low heat. Stir to combine. With a small spoon, drizzle some of the melted chocolate over each banana piece.

• Immediately sprinkle the banana pieces with the cacao nibs and almond slices. Stick a toothpick in each. The melted chocolate will harden quickly -- if it doesn't, put the tray back into the freezer for 10 minutes.

• Serve! Save all the leftovers in the freezer (they will keep very well). Partially thaw on the counter for a few minutes before re-serving. You won't be disappointed!

One last note, as we all find ourselves celebrating with family in friends over the Fourth, it's peace of mind (for me) to know that The 30 Clean's July one-week reset challenge is just around the corner. My mom and I are signed up! Join us? We'd love to have you - and if you do, please be sure to reference my name so we can be on the same board. Remember, a healthy outside starts on the inside.

Happy Fourth!

xo

Lisa

#desserts #recipes