Devious—but Delicious!—Dessert
When my son Kerrick requested mint chocolate chip ice cream for his 7th birthday a week and a half ago, I knew I had a challenge on my hands to come up with a dairy-free version that his older brother, Kellen, could enjoy—and a “healthy” version that I could feed to the rest of the family in good conscience. To accomplish both of those goals, I combined recipes and techniques from three different sources:
• For the ice cream “base,” I used the ingredients and methods outlined in many of the ice cream recipes my friend Wardeh Harmon has posted on her site, www.gnowfglins.com—including coconut milk and agave nectar.
• Finally, I borrowed an idea from Missy Chase Lapine’s The Sneaky Chef to tint the ice cream a pale but pretty shade of green by incorporating 1/2 cup of her recipe for Green Juice—a puree made from steamed spinach. (Yes, I really did add spinach to my family’s ice cream. And no, I did not tell them. But only because they didn’t ask. If they had, I would have been honest, but as it happened, they were too busy devouring the ice cream to be suspicious about its ingredients. They got to enjoy a sweet treat—really, it tasted terrific!—and I got to feel good about it being a bit more nutritious than the average dessert.) 
For the complete recipe, click here.
This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.
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12 comments
That is such a smart way to make the ice cream green! I love your ingenuity to make such a wonderful treat for your son’s Birthday.
Thanks so much for that recipe Sonya- I am anxious to try it out- it sounds yummy! Was it a hit with the family?
Looks great Sonya! I might give this a try. I am not a culinary expert by any means but I do love discovering new and exciting ways to introduce healthy foods into my families diet. I love your website and always learn something new. I have a couple books you suggested on hold at the library (can’t fit anything more into my small domicile). Take care! Erin
Thanks, Millie! I’m just glad the ice cream didn’t taste like spinach!
—Sonya
Tawnya, I couldn’t believe how great it tasted! And yes, everyone liked it and ate it. Kellen probably liked it the least—only because he doesn’t really enjoy mint-flavored things (which is why I’m really glad I didn’t make the flavor too strong). Let me know if you try it and what your family thinks!
—Sonya
Hey, Erin! Yes, let me know if you do try it and what your family thinks! I’m not a culinary expert, either, but I like to experiment in the kitchen, as my family can attest!
Glad you’re finding some inspiration here!
—Sonya
Talk about creativity! Nice job!
Thanks, Ren! Hey, I am right this very minute separating the whey from some yogurt so that I can try to make the lacto-fermented salsa you featured a few weeks ago. I’ve got all the other ingredients ready to go, and I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for the clear instructions on your site.
—Sonya
SOOO devious! You sound like me, sneaking kefir into foods! This is my favorite flavor of ice cream – but I never tried adding spinach! That is so creative! Thanks for sharing it in the Twister! Love, Wardeh
Yes! I love your stories about sneaking kefir into foods—something I’ll likely try someday, too. For now, I usually just work in pureed veggies where I can.
Love,
Sonya
HI Sonya,
This ice creams looks and sounds amazing! I love mint chocolate chip ice cream. I still haven’t ventured into ice cream making but it is one of the next on my list. I love coconut ice creams but would love to try using cashews. Sounds yum!
Sarah
Hi, Sarah! I encourage you to try ice creams—they are fun and easy to make, and you usually get rave reviews!
Ice cream made with cashew milk is great—the coconut milk is just a little quicker because you have to soak the cashews overnight to make them easy to blend up into milk.
—Sonya
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