PB AND JELLY NICE CREAM

Was there ever a more winning combination than peanut butter and jelly? (or jam to us Brit folk). Well I've only gone and found the one thing that's better than putting it in your sandwiches and that's putting it in your nice cream instead!

'Nice cream' is a healthy, dairy free alternative to traditional ice cream. It's easy to make at home, you just need frozen bananas and a blender. You can also make lot's of different flavours by adding ingredients to it and there's no flavourings or preservatives like you might find in store bought 'flavoured' ice creams - this is au natural banana goodness baby! My whole family loved this recipe - even those who've never heard of/or tried nice cream before.

You can make this nice cream alone or with my raw strawberry chia jam recipe like I have here, then swirl it in and freeze or drizzled it over the top.

Ingredients (4 servings):

Peanut butter ice cream:

- 4 frozen bananas
- Half can coconut milk
- 3 tbsp peanut butter 

Method:

1.) Blend all the chia jam ingredients in a blender for a few seconds then leave in the fridge to set to a thick gel while you make the ice cream. If you'd prefer a chunkier jam you can make it by hand or blend on a low setting.

2.) Add all the peanut butter ice cream ingredients into your blender and mix on high (use the frozen dessert setting for Vitamix). Once you can't see or feel any of the frozen banana chunks and the mixture is a smooth and thick consistency it's ready for serving.

3.) If you want to set your ice cream in the freezer for a later date, like I have in the pics above (this also makes the ice cream more solid) spoon it into a tub, swirl the chia jam through it and freeze overnight. Otherwise serve straight away with the jam mixed through.

4.) To serve, top with more of the jam, fresh strawberries and chopped nuts. If you freeze it instead, the mixture will be really solid so you might have to wait a little while for it to melt before scooping.

I had recently been having some doubts over consuming peanuts after reading the China Study, as I discovered peanuts naturally contain aflatoxin (a chemical linked to cancer). I had also heard some people in the health blogging community are avoiding them for that very same reason. I did some more research into this as I believe it's always good to look into things for yourself and make your own mind up. Believe it or not I found that this is one ingredient that's actually better to buy processed, rather than organic or fresh from whole food stores - as these often contain the most contaminated peanuts. So while I would normally recommend organic ingredients (especially for the dirty dozen) this is one thing I would say processed to!

Any-who, before you condemn peanut butter for life it's worth knowing aflatoxin can also found in many different foods such as: pecans, pistachios and walnuts, as well as milk, grains, soybeans and spices. Peanuts also provide more protein than any other nut so this is excellent news for vegans. I am  however definitely not consuming as much peanut butter as I used to as I believe moderation is key.

If you really want to avoid it altogether you could always substitute peanut butter for another nut butter such as almond or cashew, I think they would work equally well - let me know if you try out a different variation of the recipe in the comments below.

PEANUT BUTTER MYLKSHAKE

Was there ever a better trio than chocolate, peanut butter and banana? Most of us will be trying to wean ourselves on to healthier foods now that the festive season is over and 'detox' January has begun. What better way to ease in to the process, than with the healthy dessert in a jar that is PB mylkshake. This dairy free mylkshake is seriously rich, sweet and creamy enough to satisfy the biggest of sweet tooths (I should know!), without leaving you feeling sluggish and tired afterwards - it also makes for a healthier alternative to milkshake for kids.

The filling peanut butter and bananas should leave you satisfied until lunchtime - if you drink enough, but you can always turn this into a more substantial breakfast by adding oats. I recommend drinking this mylk after a workout to give you an energy boost and repair those muscles.

I love that this smoothie is so easy to make and consists of ingredients I can easily buy or always seem to have in stock.



Ingredients: (makes 1 large serving or 2 small)

- 6 frozen bananas (you could also use ripe bananas and add in ice)
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 3 heaped tbsp smooth organic peanut butter
- 4/5 cups of unsweetened almond milk (more or less depending how thick you like your smoothie)
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup (I tried sweet freedom as I had used all my maple syrup over Christmas!)

Instructions:

Add all ingredients in order listed into a blender and mix on a high/smoothie setting for 30 seconds or until smooth.

If you wanted to make this smoothie an indulgent frosty Wintertime treat, top with some dairy free whipped cream and/or choc chips.

NUTS FOR BROWNIES

I found this recipe for vegan brownies on the internet a while back and have been wanting to make them ever since but somehow never got round to it. Last night I finally pulled all of the ingredients together and gave it a whirl while the boyfriend was out, as me + baking = lot's of mess in our open plan kitchen.

The photographs really don't do these brownies justice (I'm working on upgrading my camera soon) as these were scrum-diddly-umptious if I do say so myself! The consistency was just right, a key component to making the perfect brownies. For me they've got to be gooey in the middle and slightly harder on the outside with plenty of chocolate so they're nice and moist. I even added my own dairy-free chocolate chips (80g), from Wholefoods and 3 big spoonfuls (or 100g) of organic Whole Earth peanut butter to give it some oomph. 

I was shocked by the measurements as it seemed like a lot and it turned out it was! It gave me so many brownies I don't know what I'm going to do with them all. Safe to say I'll be palming them off on to friends and family all week long. The pics show the big ole slabs I first cut them into but I will be cutting them down to halves or even bitesize chunks, after finding out how gooily rich they are!

Although not the healthiest of recipes we all need a sugar fix now and again and these brownies will certainly do the trick! (to be enjoyed in moderation of course...).