Tag Archives: home made ice cream

My children love ice cream. In this hot weather, they’re having it at least once a day, usually twice, and sometimes even before breakfast. (Shhh! Don’t tell grandma!)

So I was thrilled to discover a great recipe for healthy ice cream by the lovely JJ from 84th & 3rd. JJ made a Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream for our recent Death by Chocolate bloghop, made of only bananas, avocado, chocolate and maple syrup. I made it the other day and was amazed by how good it tasted. It wasn’t exactly ice cream but it was a damn fine substitute and one I’d be happy to eat any day of the week. And I wasn’t alone in liking it either – my kids absolutely loved it.

So today when I spotted some lovely strawberries at my greengrocer I decided to make a strawberry version. I only had half an avocado in the fridge so it ended up being midway between a sorbet and an ice cream.

This Strawberry Sorbet is refreshing, delicious and very pretty. It’s healthy, too – it’s literally only fruit with a couple of spoonfuls of jam added. You could even omit the jam if you wanted it to be completely sugar-free.

Best of all, it’s a cinch to make. So I can give this healthy, homemade snack to my children once or twice a day feeling quietly satisfied with myself rather than guilty.

Gotta love that.

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We always have a big lunch on Christmas Day with around two dozen family and friends. It’s always a joyful day, with incredible food (everybody brings a dish), plenty of merry-making and lots of kids running around.

This year I’m down for a salad and a dessert. I already know that other guests are bringing a pavlova and a hazelnut cake so have decided to do something a bit different.

So my dessert for the Festive Favourites Blog Hop – Honey Almond Fruits – has three parts: Toffee Almonds, Honey Ice Cream and Fruit Salad.

I’ve chosen this combination for a number of reasons:

• Toffee Almonds is my mother’s recipe – she’s made them every year since I can remember and I love the smell of toffee cooking.
• Golden North Honey Ice Cream was my favourite ice cream growing up and it always reminds me of long, hot Australian summers. My kids love ice cream, so they will really enjoy this part of the dessert.
• Fruit is always lovely at the end of a big meal, being both light and refreshening.
• The Toffee Almonds and Ice Cream can be made the day before and the biscuits are bought. The fruit can be washed in the morning and just cut up on the spot, making this a very easy, low-stress dessert.