A Healthy Substitute

There are many things in my life I could stand to substitute for something healthier. I've made the switch to home cooked meals instead of eating out, veggies to dip in hummus instead of pita chips or crackers, dark chocolate (for all the antioxidants and good things like that...), soy milk instead of the cow-made kind, and other small changes to my diet.

Healthiness aside, I take my dessert very seriously. I am a 1 treat a day kind of person, someone who has tried countless times to cut down sweets to one or two days a week, which usually results in a very angry katherine.

Now comfortable with the idea that I can allow myself a treat a day (wine counts too!), I've at least tried to pick a few things that I won't feel guilty about. Soy mini chocolate ice cream sandwiches from Trader Joe's are high on the list, as is wine, a mini milky way midnight, a small handful of semisweet chocolate chips, wine or froyo.

Thanks to a successful day lurking the interwebs, I stumbled on the oh so popular one ingredient ice cream substitute - a.k.a. frozen bananas. I didn't believe that something so healthy could take the place of something so sinfully heavenly, but with several ripe bananas sitting on my counter I decided to test it out. Banana bread could wait for another day.

The steps couldn't be easier. Find questionably bruisey ripe bananas in your fruit bowl. Cut into very precise even slices (bahaha: see above), freeze for an hour or two, blend.

I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. It's ice cream! From one ingredient! Sorcery! I immediately ruined the "one ingredient" wonderment and added honey, and a few dashes of cinnamon. From here, you can either eat it as the frozen yogurt consistency it forms after blending, or throw it back in the freezer to scoop like real ice cream at a later time. You can also add a whole plethora of toppings/mixins. Nutella, chocolate covered pretzels, mini chocolate chips, berries, anything you want! So delicious, and healthy!

One Ingredient Ice Cream

• Bananas

- Cut ripe bananas into semi-even pieces. 

- Freeze.

- Blend. 

Shockingly simple.