Friday, May 28, 2010

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot

Out in Colorado it's supposed to be 90 degrees today. Somehow, seemingly overnight, we went from getting a foot of snow to 90 degree weather. Unfortunately, after going through the whole winter without even a hint of a sniffle, I have contracted a cold. What the heck?!

My favorite ways to soothe my symptoms (hot drinks, hot showers, hot soups) don't sound that fantastic in blazing summer heat. On top of that, it's a 3 day weekend! I've been pounding those smoothie drinks like Naked Juice, Bolthouse Farms, Odawalla, etc. that have large quantities of vitamin C. I drank one this morning that was 2000% of my RDV of C. I am determined to blast this bug right out of my body.

One of my favorite things about summer is being able to eat cold treats. I love ice cream, smoothies, etc., but I don't really feel like eating them when I'm freezing my butt off during the winter.

Alas, this is the first summer where no dairy is allowed. How will I survive? Well I found this cookbook, Ani's Raw Food Desserts, where she has some ideas for raw ice creams. Mine is a variation of one of her recipes and is sooooo good.

(Almost) Raw, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- 1 c soaked cashews
- 1 c water (not the soaking water from the nuts)
- 1/2 c dates (I used medjool)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- handful of chocolate chips (I didn't have raw cocoa nibs, so this is why it isn't raw)

In a blender, preferably a high powered one, blend cashews, water, and dates. Blend until it's a smooth consistency. If you have a normal, kitchenaid type blender like me, you may have to blend for a bit, scraping down the sides occasionally.

Once it's at a very smooth consistency, add the vanilla. Blend for a couple of seconds to combine and give it a taste. If it needs more vanilla, add it. If it isn't sweet enough for you, add more dates, etc.

Pour the finished mixture into a tupperware container. Add the peanut butter and chocolate chips and mix them in. Pop into the freezer for a hour or so. After an hour, you can transfer it to your ice cream maker, or you can just mix it up, and put back into your freezer. If you decide to do it by hand, you'll need to take it out every hour or so to mix it up. When I'm ready to eat it, I like to let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to thaw a little bit.

This made about 2 servings. P and I sat down and ate the whole batch between the two of us. Very tasty, very easy, and healthy for you too!

Unfortunately, we ate this so quickly I forgot to take any pictures of it. If you are familiar with Dairy Queen, it looked a lot like a chocolate peanut butter cup blizzard.

This recipe is pretty easy to customize for your own tastes. If you want mint chocolate chip, add some mint extract and chocolate chips. For chocolate ice cream, add some cocoa powder. Coconut? Could be awesome... The variations are endless!

Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go back to laying on the couch while watching 30 Rock. Have a good holiday weekend!

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