Recipe: Healthy berry ice cream (vegan)
Are you an ice cream lover but would like to try a healthier version? Then, you have to give this recipe a try :).
Today, I would like to share with you one of my favorite recipes: berry ice cream! It will take only 5-10min to prepare it and it is sooo tasty! And one of the best parts: it is super healthy!! And if you are vegan, don’t worry, this ice-cream is completely dairy-free (or any other animal product-free for that matter)! Besides, it is of course free of sugar and artificial additives.
So, as you have probably already guessed by now, the main ingredients of this recipe are berries. And no need to worry if it is not a berry season…because here we intentionally use frozen berries. Actually, it has been shown that even when frozen, berries nutritional content (specifically the antioxidant capacity) remains pretty much the same [1].
Berries are among the healthiest foods you can eat. They are packed with many disease-fighting compounds, such as antioxidants that help your body to get rid of free radicals. Indeed, berries are among the foods with highest antioxidant content [2]. There are thousands of studies showing the beneficial effects of berries for our health. They can help to protect us against almost any disease, from cardiovascular diseases to cancer. But particularly interesting, there is a large amount of scientific studies showing that they also protect our brain. They improve memory in older adults [3] and help reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease [4-9]. For example, in this study [3], the authors suggest that a consistent blueberries intake may mitigate neurodegeneration. In another study, with 16,010 subjects, they found that berry consumption, particularly blueberries and strawberries, was associated with slower rates of cognitive decline – specifically, berry intake could delay cognitive decline by 2.5 years [10].
So, let’s protect our brain while having a delicious dessert, shall we? 🙂
Preparation time: 5-10min
Serves: 2-4 persons
Ingredients
– 80g of cashews (unsalted)
– 200ml of water
– 5-10 of dates (depending on how sweet you want your ice cream to be)
– 2 tablespoons of almond butter
– 300g of frozen berries
Preparation
1. Soak the cashews for 2-4 hours and the dates for 1h.
2. Add the cashews, dates and water in your blender. Blend everything until a homogeneous liquid is formed.
3. Add the almond butter and the frozen berries into the mixture. Blend everything at the lowest speed of the machine. Blend until it has the consistency you desire. I normally like to find some pieces of the berries in my ice cream so I blend them just for a few seconds (less than 30 seconds).
Note: I would suggest you to take the berries out of the deep freezer just before you put them in the blender, so that your ice cream is ready to eat immediately after the blending. If the berries are not totally frozen, or if you want to keep the ice cream for later, you can put it in the deep freezer for some hours. But, in my experience, the ice cream tastes better right after it has been made.
As simple as that! 🙂 Enjoy your super healthy and tasty ice cream! 🙂
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Live healthy 🙂
Ana
References
[1] W. Mullen, A. J. Stewart, M. E. Lean, P. Gardner, G. G. Duthie, and A. Crozier, “Effect of freezing and storage on the phenolics, ellagitannins, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity of red raspberries,” J Agric Food Chem, vol. 50, no. 18, pp. 5197-201, Aug 28, 2002.
[2] M. H. Carlsen, B. L. Halvorsen, K. Holte, S. K. Bohn, S. Dragland, L. Sampson, C. Willey, H. Senoo, Y. Umezono, C. Sanada, I. Barikmo, N. Berhe, W. C. Willett, K. M. Phillips, D. R. Jacobs, Jr., and R. Blomhoff, “The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide,” Nutr J, vol. 9, pp. 3, Jan 22, 2010.
[3] R. Krikorian, M. D. Shidler, T. A. Nash, W. Kalt, M. R. Vinqvist-Tymchuk, B. Shukitt-Hale, and J. A. Joseph, “Blueberry supplementation improves memory in older adults,” J Agric Food Chem, vol. 58, no. 7, pp. 3996-4000, Apr 14, 2010.
[4] B. Shukitt-Hale, D. F. Bielinski, F. C. Lau, L. M. Willis, A. N. Carey, and J. A. Joseph, “The beneficial effects of berries on cognition, motor behaviour and neuronal function in ageing,” Br J Nutr, vol. 114, no. 10, pp. 1542-9, Nov 28, 2015.
[5] B. Shukitt-Hale, “Blueberries and neuronal aging,” Gerontology, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 518-23, 2012.
[6] J. A. Joseph, B. Shukitt-Hale, and L. M. Willis, “Grape juice, berries, and walnuts affect brain aging and behavior,” J Nutr, vol. 139, no. 9, pp. 1813S-7S, Sep, 2009.
[7] B. Shukitt-Hale, F. C. Lau, and J. A. Joseph, “Berry fruit supplementation and the aging brain,” J Agric Food Chem, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 636-41, Feb 13, 2008.
[8] J. A. Joseph, B. Shukitt-Hale, and F. C. Lau, “Fruit polyphenols and their effects on neuronal signaling and behavior in senescence,” Ann N Y Acad Sci, vol. 1100, pp. 470-85, Apr, 2007.
[9] E. P. Cherniack, “A berry thought-provoking idea: the potential role of plant polyphenols in the treatment of age-related cognitive disorders,” Br J Nutr, vol. 108, no. 5, pp. 794-800, Sep, 2012.
[10] E. E. Devore, J. H. Kang, M. M. Breteler, and F. Grodstein, “Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline,” Ann Neurol, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 135-43, Jul, 2012.