Protein Ice Cream

If you don’t already know by now my birthday is at the end of the month and my parents thought a Vitamix would be something I’d may enjoy. umm YEAH! I use it at least 2-3 times a day. Fruit juice in the morning, post-workout protein shake and then at night after dinner if I have a hankering for something sweet I try to whip up a batch of ice cream. I had some successful ice cream attempts and not so successful. With your typical blender I use to add a lot of ice. I’ve found out with the Vitamix that too much ice will ruin the creamy consistency and make it very icy.

A long time ago before I had a Vitamix, I remember Heather from Heather Eat’s Almond Butter was always making some sweet concoction and adding in protein powder. I was checking out her recipes and sure enough I was finally able to try her protein ice cream! I had all ingredients on hand and within minutes Mike and I were enjoying this creamy concoction. I’ve already tweaked up flavors and we’ve been sharing this after dinner each night with him.

It is AMAZING! It always fills the void of getting self-serve frozen yogurt which I truly love. We have a rule in the house that I can only have self serve frozen yogurt once a month because I complain I’m eating too many sweets! So in the mean time I’ll enjoy my protein ice cream which is low calorie and high protein.

 

Double Chocolate Protein Ice Cream
Adapted from HEAB

Ingredients
1 cup non-dairy milk (almond milk is my choice)
1 scoop (30g) chocolate protein powder (I like Gold Standard 100% Whey)
1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 packet of stevia
Pinch of sea salt
1/3 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
17-18 ice cubes

Directions
Into the Vitamix or blender, add in all the ingredients into the order listed except for the ice cubes. Blend on setting 1 to incorporate everything together. Add all the ice cubes (or if in a blender a handful at a time) and blend on high. Use the tamper with the Vitamix to get the ice into the blades and blend smoothly. It will be done once it forms 4 pillows on top, process any more and it will start to melt.

Serve in a bowl or in an empty peanut butter jar. We like to add toppings to our protein ice cream like cereal, bananas, fresh berries, muesli, chocolate chips and/or shredded coconut. My favorite way was putting it into a partially empty peanut butter jar. Chocolate ice cream and peanut butter, I died and went to heaven for a moment!

This is just a basic recipe and can be easily swapped to change the flavors up. The other night I used a vanilla ice cream flavored protein powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 2-3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. I subbed in about 7 frozen peach slices and added the remaining 11 ice cubes. This tasted like a marshmallow it was so good!

You will get hooked.. I promise.

Fallon

Drunk Watermelon + Hummus

I could not believe how fast 4th of July weekend went. I don’t even think I had a second to breathe? It was also the weekend I got my Vitamix from my parents! It is definitely an early birthday gift (my birthday isn’t until July 30th) but a well deserved gift in-deed. I’ve been using it at least twice a day. I’ve made juices, smoothies and hummus so far. I’m still trying to get the right consistency with liquid to ice. I seem to like to add A LOT of ice. hehe!

My boyfriend and I had a great 4th of July. We’ve been meeting a lot of new people and I’ve finally found a female who has the same interests as me. She is also an army girlfriend and we’ve just clicked really well. Her and her boyfriend put together a small cook-out at their home and had an awesome food spread, cute decorations and big fireworks to end the night! Oh and a little Rock Band to even it all out. That game is a load of fun when you play with a bunch of people!

If you know me.. I don’t like coming empty handed! I feel if you are invited somewhere you have to bring something, anything! Carrie (my Augusta girl) and I discussed what food she should serve and what I should bring. I mentioned a watermelon filled with vodka probably be a hit with everyone. I remember having this a few years ago and loved it. Boy have my taste buds changed because I couldn’t eat it. It was a VERY drunk watermelon ;). I think at the end of the night only 4 pieces remained and it was a huge melon. Everyone was feeling good afterwards.

I also made Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus from How Sweet It Is. I actually planned to make another dip but changed last minute when I was going through my recipe archives. I went with a healthier option knowing I could eat something healthy at the cook-out. I brought carrots, cucumber slices and pita chips to eat with the hummus. It was so creamy from the Vitamix and had a nice zest from the lime. I’m glad I went with the healthier alternative at the end of the day! To see the recipe for Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus go visit How Sweet It Is. Her blog is amazing!

Drunk Watermelon
By Fallon

Ingredients
1 huge seedless watermelon, washed exterior
1-2 cups of vodka

Direction
Rinse the watermelon off in the sink and dry off with a towel. Take the cap from the vodka bottle and place it on a good, smooth surface of the watermelon. Mark the area with a knife and cut around the circle. Save the watermelon hole as a plug.

Take a small spoon and start cleaning out the inside. You want to make a small hole so the vodka has somewhere to go. Cleaning out the middle a little bit will help. Now pour vodka into the hole until it reaches the top. Top with the watermelon plug and let it sit. After an hour or 2 the liquid should of gone down. Once again add more vodka. Keep doing this once the liquid stops getting absorbed. We only used half a bottle of vodka, when many recipes say it will take a whole bottle. If you use a whole bottle let me know what you did differently!

This process should be done in advance at least 1-2 days. The longer it sits the better. Right before leaving I sliced it into triangles and placed into a bowl. Viola!

Enjoy,

Fallon