Make these delicious Vegan Ice Creams and Popsicles.
In 2017, the New York Times proclaimed that we had entered ‘the golden age of vegan ice cream’. It was right. Consumer demand for non-dairy frozen desserts is ever-increasing and companies are heeding the call. When considering that 75% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant, and the number of people who are concerned about the treatment of cows on factory farms and their impact on the climate crisis, is rising, it is easy to understand why vegan ice cream is becoming more popular.
Vegan Ice-Cream
You can make fantastic vegan ice cream at home with minimal effort, with or without an ice cream maker. Vegan ice-creams are essentially made of plant-based milk; almond, oat, and especially coconut milk make the creamiest ice-creams. One thing to remember when you make your own vegan ice cream is that it will turn rock hard if kept in the freezer for more than a few hours, so it should be served almost immediately.
Here is a simple recipe by Jo’Anna Vella, founder of ‘Jo’s Delights’. It is a healthy, easy and tasty quick fix for homemade ice cream, and a smart way to avoid food waste.
Recipe for Frozen Banana ‘Nice’ Cream:
Get 2/3 overripe bananas and put them in the freezer for approx. 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and cut into small pieces to fit in a blender. Add a quarter cup of your favourite plant milk. Blend on a high speed. Your nice cream should look like soft ice cream. Depending on the quality of the banana, you might need to adjust the amount of milk. Serve immediately. It can be served with chocolate syrup, biscuits, nuts or nut butter, and other fresh fruit such as strawberries, melon, figs or even dried fruit. A smart way to boost nutrition for the young ones is to add superfoods in the blender, such as mesquite, spirulina, carob, raw cacao, etc.
Vegan Popsicle’s
While ice cream is awesome, nothing beats an ice-cold popsicle on a hot summer day! Popsicles are a great option for kids as they are easy to eat and usually colourful and fun. Store-bought popsicles typically contain high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and artificial flavours. Luckily, we can make quick and healthier popsicles at home that kids will love.
There are two options to make fruit Popsicles; one is to juice all the fruits before pouring in the molds, and the other is to juice some of the fruit and keep other fruits in pieces. You can add pretty much any fruit to the ice pops! The most common fruits are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, kiwis, raspberries, apples, watermelon, mango, cherries, pineapple, nectarines, grapefruit, bananas, plums, and melon. Some fruits couple well together and it will be fun experimenting with different flavour combinations.
Some fruits are naturally sweeter than others. So, if you are making your popsicle with fruits such as blackberries or grapefruit that tend not to be very sweet, you might want to add a tablespoon or two of honey (or stevia) into the juice before you add it to the mold. If you want your popsicles creamy and not icy, you will need to add a tablespoon of corn starch. For an eco-friendly alternative to plastic molds, you can find stainless-steel or silicone ones. You can also use reusable plastic cups as molds.
Recipe for Rainbow Popsicle recipe:
For the red, use strawberries, a small slice of beet, and coconut water. For the orange, use mango and orange juice. For the yellow, use pineapple, banana, and almond milk. For the green, use baby spinach and kiwi. For the blue/purple, use blueberries, banana, and coconut milk. The trick for a popsicle with layers is to freeze one layer at a time. To save time and ensure you have no food waste, cut the fruits and freeze them in batches, to then use accordingly.
Recipe for Breakfast on-the-go Yoghurt Popsicle:
Cut small pieces of mixed berries and place them at the bottom of the mold. Add your favourite vegan yogurt filling the mold halfway. Add more berries and then more yogurt and add the stick and fill the last half inch of the mold with granola. Freeze for 3-4 hours. You can switch the recipe using other fruit combinations or other flavours of yogurt.
For vegan ice cream and other vegan and sustainable products, you can visit www.coral.shopping – a curated online store, exclusively featuring products that are good for the people, and good for the planet.
Want more healthy recipes? Click here.
