ANNA’S CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT ICE CREAM

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I must confess, I was rather skeptical about date-sweetened ice cream. I expected it to be like many healthy food options that you try and soon give up on because you don’t like it. It was my oldest daughter Anna who encouraged me to try creating an ice cream recipe that uses dates as a sweetener. So, we went to work together and tried different combinations of dates, nut butters, nuts, almond milk, and some with cocoa for a chocolate version. This is our chocolate ice cream recipe that resulted from our trial period - it is really easy to make and so delicious that I had to double the recipe for the second batch. It does not taste like a health food at all but actually tastes like gourmet food and still has the benefit of being super healthy. For me personally, it beats all the honey-sweetened ice cream versions I had tried before. I do like them, but for some reason I’m not that fond of honey anymore. I really love the rich, creamy taste of this chocolate ice cream. It kind of feels like spooning Nutella instead of ice cream. Yes, I was definitely once guilty of eating Nutella directly from the jar, I still have fond memories of doing that… But today in our Nutella and sugar-free phase of life, I must admit that it is easy to give in when my kids ask for more of this delicious treat since I know that all of the ingredients are super healthy and beneficial for the body.

If you want, you can make and use your own almond milk for the recipe. I will soon add a recipe to my blog, but it’s also easy to find recipes that are already available in many health food blogs! For the nut butter, I always choose one that contains a single ingredient. In this case, I went with raw cashew nuts. Introducing cocoa after my gut symptoms subsided was not easy for me. My younger girls and husband did not have any problems with it but for me it would give me headache, so I tended to avoid it, although it was once my favorite flavor and I could not get enough of it. After some trial and error, I found that fermented cocoa worked for me without causing any symptoms and I was glad to finally reintroduce it back into my diet - just like Nutella but in a super healthy way!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup cashew butter
8 oz dates (about 12)
1/2 cup whole hazelnuts
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use fermented cocoa powder since I find that it’s easier to digest)
3 cups almond milk

tools:
ice cream maker
food processor / high-speed mixer or blender
lidded container

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the lidded container into the freezer.

Add the hazelnuts to a small rimmed baking sheet and roast at 350° F / 180° C for 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and skins start cracking. Remove from the oven and rub the hazelnuts with a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove the skins. Set aside and let cool.

Cut the dates lengthwise and remove the pits.

Add the dates, cashew butter, cocoa powder, hazelnuts, and almond milk to a food processor, high speed mixer, or blender. Blend until smooth and well combined.

Add the mixture to an ice cream maker and use according to the instructions. Add the ice cream to the lidded container and freeze for at least two more hours.

You can serve the ice cream with my grain-free breakfast waffles, crêpes, grain free peach & berry cobbler, or super fluffy breakfast pancakes.

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