Vegan Strawberry ‘Nice Cream’ Soft Serve: 5-Minutes, 3-Ingredients and Sugar-Free

Mood: You know those moods in the middle of the day or night, when you feel like, “I WANT ICE CREAM. NOW.” Yeah, well, I’m in one of those moods right now & I don’t want just any ice cream; I want a nice & creamy soft serve, or as we lovingly called it, ‘Softie’. Yes, I’m talking about the soft & pillowy ice cream that you get at your local McDonald’s or from the adorable ice cream cart/truck that comes to your neighbourhood every week. Yes, I want THAT softie. And of course, when you’re vegan, your softie options are limited if not non-existent, so I took it upon myself to recreate the softie magic, right here in my kitchen! This Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream Soft Serve, or as we vegans lovingly call it, ‘Nice Cream’ (Why? Because vegan ice cream is nicer, kinder & more compassionate than regular ice cream, duh!), can be whipped up in 5 minutes, is sugar free & involves just 3 simple natural ingredients! No fancy ice cream maker, no expensive ingredients; just pure & simple nice cream goodness:) And because it’s so ridiculously healthy, you can actually have ice cream for breakfast too, in the form of a frozen smoothie bowl:) Believe me, that’s exactly what I’m doing right now;) Soft. Creamy. Simple. Healthy. Delicious:) Happy Eating:)

Time: 5 minutes (+ Freezing Time)
Serving Size: 2 cups
Category: Dessert; Breakfast
Author: Animagus Eats

Ingredients:
Nice Cream
• 2 frozen chopped Bananas (approx. 1 cup)
• 1 cup Strawberries (preferably frozen)*
• 1/3 cup Almond/Coconut Milk
Garnish (Suggestions)
• Fresh Berries
• Cocoa Nibs/Dark Chocolate (Vegan)
• Nuts
Equipment
• Blender/Food Processor

Method:
1. Chop 2 medium sized bananas into bite sized chunks & freeze them overnight/10-12 hours. It’s important to ensure that the bananas are fully frozen, because the icy- ness will give the dessert a chilled ice cream like texture:) If the bananas are not frozen properly, then the dessert will have a more milkshake like texture (which is also delicious, FYI). Frozen bananas are a vegan’s best friend because they are the key to making great smoothies, milk shakes & nice creams:) Also, preferably, use frozen strawberries as well:)

2. Add the frozen bananas, strawberries & almond/coconut milk to a blender/food processor. Blend the ingredients until they form a nice & creamy ice cream mixture. If your blender is small like mine, then blend half the ingredients first & then add the rest later:) Taste the mixture when it is well combined & if you want it to be sweeter, then add 1/2 tbsp of Maple Syrup. However, I like the nice cream without any added sweeteners, because the fruits add a natural sweetness to the soft serve:)

3. Pour the nice cream into serving bowls/glasses & garnish with your favourite toppings:) I added Pecans, Fresh Blackberries & Dark Chocolate chunks:) And voila! Your  Vegan Strawberry ‘Nice Cream’ Soft Serve is ready:) The softie is best served chilled & best consumed immediately, because otherwise, it will melt & lose it’s frostiness (just like ice cream!). If you can’t eat all of it in one go (no judgement here), then just freeze the rest & enjoy it later:) Remember to defrost it/leave it out for about 5/10 minutes, before eating it again:) Bon Appétit:)

Notes:
*It is preferable to use frozen Strawberries because that will make the nice cream icier & frostier. You can also use fresh cold/refrigerated Strawberries, but then you will end up with a delicious milkshake instead of an icy nice cream:) I’d welcome a good old Milkshake any day though:)