Here’s a fun throwback Thursday fact about me. My first after-school job was pumping out soft serve at Dairy Queen. Employees were allowed to eat unlimited ice cream during their shifts. I worked there for three summers and often pounded ice cream all day long. After that I moved on to Friendly’s, scooping out cones. The ice cream pounding continued. I’ve eaten a lot of ice cream. Sometimes for three meals a day during my late teens. While my metabolism and my sanity no longer allow that kind of behavior to go on, I still get a hankering for the creamy sweet stuff on occasion. Who doesn’t?
So as you can imagine, when I heard that frozen bananas can be turned into a realistic vegan and raw ice cream-like treat, I was (1) intrigued, ice cream lover that I am, and (2) skeptical, ice cream expert that I once was.
I knew bananas could make some killer smoothies, so I suppose it only makes sense, but the simplicity is almost unbelievable. One ingredient, two steps, at a cost of about $0.20 a serving. I had to give this a shot.
I was trying to decide on a flavor when my boyfriend pointed out that he loves to get ginger ice cream at Asian restaurants. That sounded quite delicious, and it went along with the whole raw, simplicity thing I was going for. The result? Holy cow, you guys! No, not holy cow…this stuff is dairy free. Holy fruit! It really is delicious, and the transformation you see in the blender is amazing. One minute you’ve got hard chunks of banana floating around. The next minute you start to see some creamy white streaks…they expand…they take over, and….woo hoo! Magical vegan ice cream.
From now on I’m keeping a stash of frozen bananas in my freezer all the time!
Ginger Banana Whips
Ingredients
- 2 bananas broken into 2" chunks and frozen overnight
- 1 " piece of ginger peeled
Instructions
- Optional step: Grate the ginger. I didn't do this, and I ended up with a few little chunks. I like this, but it might be a bit intense for some.
- If you didn't grate the ginger, place it in your blender or food processor, and blend for a few seconds, just to get it broken up before you add the banana.
- Add banana and blend until smooth, scraping bowl every so often.
- Spoon into dishes and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
Add another banana and 1/2" of ginger for every additional serving. I don't suggest making fewer than two servings at a time, as this small an amount might be tough to blend completely.
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