Acai Banana Ice Cream Sundae

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The weather has been nice and warm here in the Philippines and this resulted in a craving for banana ice cream!

I’ve blogged before about how to make raw banana ice cream with a version that uses a light nut milk base for extra creaminess. Another recipe that used to be a favorite of mine is Low Fat Strawberry Ice Cream, which uses a combination of strawberries and bananas with sprouted rice protein for smoothness and flavor.

Lately, I’ve been eating a low-fat raw vegan diet with a lot of fruit so I wanted to keep this recipe really simple. It is 100 percent fruit but it tastes fantastic and is creamy enough to satisfy your craving for some cool sweet deliciousness!

I am accustomed to making my banana ice cream in the Vitamix but at the moment I only have a regular blender. Unfortunately, I forgot that normal blenders can’t really cope with the demand of blending frozen fruit. In the process of creating this I burned out the blender, which cost $100 to replace, so it ended up being a very expensive endeavor.

The new blender is just a little stronger and I have been successful in making banana ice cream in it. However, I am being really careful to add the bananas one by one until it is just thick enough.

Still, I wouldn’t really recommend this technique unless you are willing to risk burning out your blender. It’s far better to invest in a high-powered blender because they can last for a lifetime, even with very heavy use. The only reason I don’t have one at the moment is because we’re trying to travel light so we left our blender in Costa Rica.

The other option, if you don’t have a high-speed blender, is to make the recipe in a food processor. You can see more about this process in the basic raw banana ice cream recipe.

I brought a pack of acai powder with me to add to smoothies. These berries are extremely high in antioxidants with a vibrant purple hue. They have a deep, somewhat earthy flavor that tends to work really well with bananas and chocolate.

For a fruit, acai berries are fairly high in fat, which adds some richness to this recipe. I chose not to add any additional fat sources, however, you could also start with a base of almond or coconut milk in place of water if you prefer your ice cream to be extra creamy.

Acai Banana Ice Cream Sundae

Serves 2-3

1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons acai powder
3 drops medicine flower vanilla extract ( or 1/2 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla extract)
6 large frozen bananas

First blend the water, acai, and vanilla. Then add 1-2 inch pieces of frozen bananas gradually, until the ice cream reaches your desired consistency.

Now this is completely delicious and satisfying by itself but I was inspired to make a fruity ice cream sundae. If you’ve ever been to Asia you will know that the bananas are just so much better here. I think it is because they are less cultivated than the Cavendish, which is the variety of banana that is generally commercially available.

Not only do they taste better but they also tend to have a more yellow color, which I believe reflects a higher content of antioxidants.

I sliced some of these beautiful bananas into a bowl, added some of the acai banana ice cream and then topped with freeze-dried organic blueberries.

If you have fresh blueberries you could use them instead but I really did appreciate the contrast of texture from the crunchy dried berries.

Even I was amazed at what it is possible to create with only fruit. I don’t recommend eating frozen fruits on a daily basis, but this is something that you can enjoy a huge bowl of on occasion without concern. After all, it is just fruit!

I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really like to do desserts in moderation so I am happy to make a meal of this, knowing that I am going to feel great afterward. It is bursting with antioxidants from the acai and blueberry and in the warmer weather, it is just as satisfying as any sweet treat.

I sure am loving my fruit lately! How about you?