Banana Ice Cream.

I had this for breakfast at least 5 times in the past week and a half. Yes, that's right, breakfast.

I laugh so much when people have those bewildered looks on their face when they find out I'm not only vegan, I stick to a whole food, high raw diet. I know they have images of endless salads popping up in their heads and while I love me a good salad, it's definitely not the bulk of my diet.

In my book, healthy still means delicious. Actually, when I started being more conscious of my food choices, the variety and quality of my food went way up. When you start exploring real food, there is no comparison to the richness and the amazing taste of what nature gives us.

Back to ice cream.

I discovered this amazingly simple and oh-so-decadent treat a few years ago when I started looking into raw foods. Having always been an ice cream lover, and it really not loving me back, eating a version that I could feel amazing about in so many ways made me jump for joy (literally. I even have a happy dance just for this).

On top f all the healthy benefits and amazing taste, this stuff won't actually spike blood sugar for those who are concerned about it. Coconut sugar (the topping) has a very low glycemic index. Tastes like caramel molasses with a hint of maple and has an abundance of nutrients. If you are looking for an alternative sweetener, this really is the beat available. It's actually all-natural and not full of chemicals, which beats the competition with ease.

It tastes like the "real deal", actually no, it's better! More like soft serve or frozen yogurt, it's melty, rich, healthy and well ,just make it. When you read the recipe, you won't believe me until you make it and eat it... Then make more so make sure to prepare extra ingredients from the start. I'm putting in enough ingredients for a batch that usually feeds 2 of us with hearty appetites, so feel free to adjust it to your needs.

Banana Ice Cream

- 12-14 ripe bananas.

(make sure they are spotty-ripe so that they are very sweet)

Toppings:

Choose as many as you like! These are my faves.

- Coconut sugar

- Strawberries

- Date sauce/bits

- Carob/Cacao

- Jam

- Maple Syrup

- Anything your heart desires. 

Peel and cut the bananas into fours and put into a freezer bag or glass tupperware container. Freeze it overnight or for at least 6 hours. 

Put the bananas in either a high powered blender, food processor or juicer with a blank insert and process with little to no added liquid. I prefer the food processor as my blender does sometimes overheat while making this. If all you have is a regular blender, defrost the bananas slightly to soften them. You might have to add liquid as well. 

Once it's all smooth, add toppings and enjoy! 

Yellow Thai Curry

Thai food has always been on my list of favorites, but for a few reasons, it isn't in my habitual repertoire of go-to recipes or restaurants. The primary reason being that plenty of restaurants use fish sauce in, well, everything and some places won't or can't make their dishes without it. So finding a good, authentic and fish-sauce-free restaurant can be tricky. Nevertheless it is no excuse not to enjoy the delicious flavours that Thai food has to offer. Turns out that there is a veg-friendly Thai place right around the corner, and it was so amazing that I just had to recreate it at home.

I had tried to make Thai food at home years ago, but could never quite get the hang of it. Turns out the recipe I was basing mine on wasn't quite right, although the dish was tasty, it really didn't capture the essence of Thai food. What's a cook without a few failures under her belt?

Is this one authentic? Probably not. I chose to vary the ingredients from the dish I had at the restaurant with what I had on hand. Nonetheless, it was delicious. I could tell by the dead silence that accompanied it's consumption that I wasn't the only one enjoying the contents of my plate. I also tailored it to my dietary guidelines: that being I wanted it to be low-fat, low sodium, oil-free and plant strong. It already being a gluten-free friendly recipe I didn't have to change much.

You might have noticed that I haven't given specific measurements for the spices. This is for two reasons: I rarely measure them myself and I believe that they should be added to taste. They can always be adjusted and so I suggest starting small and gradually increasing them until just right if needed. After a few tries it almost becomes second nature and makes cooking that much more intuitive.

Thai Yellow Curry

This is a large recipe, feeding 2 very hungry people with leftovers. I'm sure it feeds a family of five, so half the recipe if you don't have a family or have a very healthy appetite.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 large Sweet Onion.
- 2 large Portabella Mushroom Cap, diced.
- Several large handfulls Baby Spinach.
- 1 large tomato, diced.

- 2 cans low-fat coconut milk.

- Turmeric.
- Cumin.
- Ground Coriander.
- Fresh Ginger, minced.
- Sriracha Hot sauce or Fresh thai chili.
- White Pepper (can substitute Black Pepper).
- Salt.

1. Heat a large deep pan over med-high heat, once the pan is hot, splash with water and add onion. Cook until starting to soften.
2. Add spices with a little more water, let cook for about a minute.
3. Now add the coconut milk, I added the full cans but you can choose to buy the fuller fat versions and use one full can and just the top off the other for a richer dish.
4. Let this cook down for about 5-10 minutes, then add in all the veggies. Let cook until sauce has reached it's desired thickness.
5. Serve over steamed jasmine rice.