Chocolate "Ice Cream" - Raw and Clean!!

I am a chocolate fiend.  It is something that I crave and something that comforts me~ and ice cream?  Well, yeah, I can do ice cream.  I DON'T do ice cream very often, but that doesn't mean it is out of the question.  So- what can you have that is very much like ice cream, but without all the unnecessary "stuff"? 

Why, some banana chocolate ice cream!!  Before you pooh pooh this, you need to try it!  It is SO good!!  I got this recipe from Tanya at The Sunday Baker- if I hadn't gotten sick, I would have made it the day she posted, but I just couldn't.  I'm glad I did later, though, because it is GREAT.  You will find her post way prettier!  I was photographing my rendition under duress- construction duress!  

Banana, peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla and cocoa- that's IT!  YUM!!!!  If you get natural peanut butter, it is raw and clean.

The ingredients are very simple, the only thing you need to do is slice up 2 bananas and put them in the freezer!  Takes an hour or so for them to freeze solidly.

Process the bananas for a while- until they get all smooth and creamy...

Add in the other ingredients- peanut butter, cinnamon, cocoa and vanilla.  If you don't want chocolate, you can just put in the vanilla, or you could switch to almond butter or cashew butter, or maybe add in a few mini chocolate chips when it is done being processed..... oh the possibilities are endless!

If you don't stop all the time to take pix, you can do this really fast and have a frosty, frozen, very ice creamy treat!

If you eat the whole thing- it is approximately 300 calories, depending on the size of the bananas- if you split it with someone, though the word "why?" springs to mind, it would be less than that!  :)

Creamy Banana Chocolate "Ice Cream"

2 frozen sliced bananas

1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter

1 Tablespoon cocoa

1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla

1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon

Process bananas in food processor until smooth and creamy- this takes a few minutes.  Keep scraping down the bowl.

Add PB, cocoa, cinnamon and vanilla.  Process a little more, until combined.

Eat it and enjoy or return to freezer for a while, though you won't be able to stop yourself.....

And it will give you a lot of JOY!

greens and beans- vegetarian style!

Yeah, I realize I am totally out of control!  

Regardless, I want to blog this cool recipe that was so fast and easy it was ridiculous.  I need fast and easy for when .....um...... let's just say later in the year when I am much more stressed out and cranky at night.

Beet greens with baby beets

I just took the nearest available bunch of greens, which happened to be beet greens with a couple of tiny little beets attached and sauteéd them in the water still clinging to them from washing.

 I added garlic- fresh from the garden- along with redpepper flakes to the greens.  Let the flavors develop a little from the heat - which should be lowered.

 Meanwhile I took a can of cannelloni beans (white kidney beans), rinsed them a bunch to get rid of some of the salt and then lightly mashed them.  You can use any kind of beans.  At this point you could add anything else you wanted as well!  Left over veggies, onion, mushrooms, rice, maybe even marinara sauce, what have you!!  I just added water to loosen it up a little and then some Spike seasoning and fresh ground pepper.

Serve!  I added a little grated cheese, because I am a cheese fiend. This took all of 15 minutes- tops- to prepare!  It was yummy!!

And I think I figured it was about 300 calories, including the few tablespoons of cheese on top.

Beans and Greens

1 bunch of your favorite greens- kale, spinach, beet, whatever

1 can of beans or  1.5 cups dried and then prepared beans

garlic

redpepper flakes

water or vegetable broth

what have you for extra flavor!

Saute greens. Add garlic and red pepper flakes to greens when almost wilted and tender. Rinse and mash beans. Add to greens, season and enhance as desired!

DONE!!

What a joy!

SPECIAL thanks to my friend Christine for this awesome recipe!!!