Recipe: Banana Cacao Nib Nice Cream

Hello, dear reader. Before we dive into today's post, I would like to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciate you. I am so incredibly grateful that you devote a portion of your time to reading my recipes, ramblings, and research. It means the world to me that someone, somewhere is remotely interested in what I have to say.

Recently, a company in Silicon Valley contacted me, reaching out to propose a potential business collaboration. Although my communication with said company was wonderfully pleasant, I declined their offer. When I sent my final response to them, I did so knowing I was saying no to several things -- advertising for "The Avocado and Me," an increased audience, and the ability to spread my message to even more people. This was quite a lot to say no to, but I knew I was making the right decision. Above all else, it is important that I stay true to the values I listed when I started "The Avocado and Me" back in November 2017. (That's insane. Oh, how time flies!) And though I definitely write about nutrition, fitness, and wellness in my little corner of the Internet, your mental and emotional health are more important. The focal point of my blog is not, and will never be, the Ketogenic diet. The majority of my audience is composed of fellow teenagers, and I am well aware that eating disorders are a widespread, legitimate phenomenon. Thus, my decision; no, but thank you very much. In light of this learning experience, I wanted to be sure to take a moment to thank you, once again, for supporting me.

I have suffered from and am working on recovering from an eating disorder. I mention this a lot, and no, I will not stop, because this particular subject should not be taboo. Alas, it is, and if I can do anything to help end the stigma and preconceived notions surrounding it, by golly, I'll do it. While I am in a much better place now than I was a year ago, my relationship with food is still something I wrestle with a bit. I am an avid advocate for body neutrality (see this incredible open letter to learn more about the term), and believe that if you want a cupcake, you should eat a cupcake. You should savor every morsel of it. But for me, there is always a little voice in the back of my head, whispering the nutritional value of that cupcake as I eat it. The number of calories, the grams of carbohydrates and sugar. There is always a little voice in my head telling me that one cupcake will mess up everything, will turn my life completely upside-down, will throw me off the rails. That little voice is what remains of my old unhealthy eating habits. That little voice, I remind myself, is not me. It is something I've struggled with, yes, but it was not and will never be my undoing. I silence that little voice every day by doing the simple things. A few weeks ago, I went to lunch at a poke restaurant with my friends. The little voice told me to order a salad base, because a salad base equates to fewer carbs. And I told that little voice to shut the heck up. I ordered violet rice instead. It was delicious, it was purple, and I regret nothing.

Today, I fought the itsy bitsy voice by creating the recipe for this refreshing Banana Cacao Nib Nice Cream, and eating it, too! A year ago, I would never, ever, ever have eaten a banana. I would've told you I don't like them (even though I do, very much), or that they have too much sugar, or that I wasn't hungry. LIES. Sure, bananas have sugar. But I really like them, I rarely have them, and if I wanted to make a banana-based recipe, I deserved to. Life is short, guys. Enjoy the food.

And so, I made the recipe. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself. It probably would've been even better with a swirl of organic peanut butter, but hey, I can always try that next time. I hope you enjoy this sweet treat as much as I do, and always remember -- the voice in your head doesn't have to dictate the way you lead your life.


Maya's Banana Cacao Nib Nice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 small/ medium ripe bananas. These can be fresh or frozen. If frozen, thaw in microwave
- A little bit less than 8 oz. milk of choice (i.e. whole milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc.)
- Plenty of ice - your going to need quite a bit to thicken up the mixture
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- a dash of cinnamon, or any other spice. Nutmeg could be good.
- Optional: a nut butter, fresh fruits (raspberries would probably be amazing), cacao nibs, chocolate chips, raw coconut flakes, raw honey

Execution
In a standard blender (I have a Blendtec), blend your bananas, milk, and ice until thick and relatively smooth. If your mixture doesn't seem quite thick enough, just add some more ice -- it's magic! Add your vanilla extract and cinnamon into the blender. If desired, add in a little bit of raw honey for extra sweetness. Sprinkle in your toppings (fruit, chocolate, coconut, cacao, etc.), stir gently, and pour into an 8*8 pan lined with parchment paper. If using nut butter, melt slightly in the microwave, drizzle on top of the nice cream, and swirl with a spatula. Freeze until firm, but not too hard. Enjoy!

I hope you have the most lovely rest of your day, my friends.

Love,
Maya

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash, Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash,
Photo by Rian Adi on Unsplash, Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash