Blueberry Banana Ice Cream Bars

Don't you just love the summer time? So many wonderful fruits available, and usually on sale! Blueberries were going for really cheap the past couple weeks at the grocery store, so I stocked up and decided what better way to use them than a cool summer treat like ice cream? With this heat, it just seemed like the perfect dessert. I decided to do something a little different than just regular ice cream, so I made a chocolate brownie crust with nuts and dates and turned them into ice cream bars!

As you can see in the photos, the ice cream is super smooth and creamy, even though its 100% dairy free. It's made with a blend of coconut milk, bananas, blueberries, and honey. So it's naturally sweet and creamy, without any heavily processed foods! It also contains no eggs, so if you're a vegan you can probably substitute the honey for maple syrup or agave nectar and I'm sure it will taste just as good.

Toasted Coconut Nut Butter Cookies

If you've read my last post, Chocolate Olive Oil Brownies with Cashew Butter-Cream Spread, you'll know I recently got a Vitamix and since then have been making fresh nut butter on a regular basis. I eat it plain a lot or with fresh fruit (especially bananas!), but I've found it is also a great ingredient to cook with. Which leads me to my latest dish, Toasted Coconut Nut Butter Cookies.

In this dish I have combined raw almonds and cashews to form a thick, creamy butter, along with some toasted coconut for a little crunch and extra flavor. The eggs alone were enough to poof up the cookies, and the nut butter helped them hold a uniform shape, so no flour was needed! They tasted kind of like chunky peanut butter cookies. I decided to drizzle a little chocolate over top too because...chocolate. I feel that chocolate makes every thing better, but if you are a big nut butter fan these cookies are good on their own as well, so feel free to leave off the chocolate sauce if you like. :)

Chocolate Olive Oil Brownies with Cashew Butter-cream Spread

 

As some of you may know, my husband got me a Vitamix for our 3 year anniversary. Isn't he the greatest?? Anywho, I have been experimenting with various nut butters since I got it, and my most recent one is cashew butter. I have had it at the store before, but I don't like that it usually has added safflower oil, salt, and whatever else they put in there. I love making my own nut butters because there is always just one ingredient....nuts! And you may be surprised, but they are super creamy just like store bought ones. Not as sweet, but you could always add a little sweetener if you like.

My husband has been asking me for brownies over the past several days, so I decided to combine my love for nut butter, cashew in particular, with his love for brownies. I must say, they turned out to be delicious! I decided to use almond flour instead of coconut flour, and olive oil instead of my usual coconut oil for the base, and it actually worked out nicely. The brownies are pretty fluffy, but they are a little dry. However, the cashew cream adds a nice moistness and compliments the brownies very well. And best of all, these brownies are gluten-free,dairy-free, and made from natural ingredients, so you don't have to feel so guilty about eating them. :)