Banana Ice Cream Fudge Sundae! :0)
Hey everyone! Summer may be winding down here in CT ,but anytimes a good time for ice cream as far as I’m concerned especially when it’s raw, dairy free, sugar free and easy as heck to make! So I wanna share with you this simple technique for whipping up banana ice cream using your food processor!
You’re gonna need~
Some beautifully ripened, peeled and frozen bananas. My recommendation is 3-4 frozen bananas per serving (for a generous portion…which is totally do-able when it’s something so guilt-free!). Chop these yummy mama-jamas into slices 1-2″ long.
And your standard run of the mill food processor. If you’re unsure of the durability of your food processor you could allow these chunks to thaw for about 5-10 minutes. I’m using a cheapy $30 food processor and haven’t had any problems with using bananas straight outta the freezer ,but you may wanna experiment. In my early days of raw food prep I killed a couple blenders with my zeal for thick, frozen fruit smoothies! Thats why you’ll notice in many of my recipe videos using my standard blender I’m blending the ingredients in stages. *lol*
Now just assemble your food processor and fire it up! I set mine to the highest setting. Then drop in your banana slices a chunk or two at a time until you got ‘em all going. The maximum amount I recommend per batch would probly be 4-6 bananas. You may occasionally have to stop the processor and scrape down the sides to get everything evenly ground. As soon as the mix looks blended (ie the bananas don’t resemble chunks anymore) it’s done!
Serve this banana ice creamy goodness immediately as it tends to melt quick! You can also experiment with blending in other frozen fruits with your banana chunks to concoct your own fun flavors! Try Banana-Mango, Banana-Blueberry or the classic combo Banana-Strawberry! For other awesome add-in’s try cacao powder for a chocolate ice cream, vanilla bean seeds or extract (preferably alcohol- free but, use what ya got!) or even shredded coconut!
Now to make this ice cream into my favorite sundae you’re gonna need to whip up some Fudge Sauce~
1/2 C of pitted dates
1/2-1 C of water (depending on how thick you like your fudge sauce)
1-3 Tablespoons of raw cacao powder depending on how chocolatey you like it! *for an awesome source of raw cacao powder keep reading after the recipe!*
seeds of a 1″ piece of vanilla bean pod (or 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract)
pinch of salt
Soak the dates in the water for about 15-20 minutes to soften. Toss the dates and soak water along with the other ingredients into your blender and blend thoroughly until smooth! Viola! This fudgey topping will keep in your fridge for up to 2 days …if you don’t drown your ice cream in it before than. It also makes a nice dip for fresh strawberries especially when you add in a lil extra cacao powder to make it dark chocolate style!
For the final topping simply use some soaked walnuts (you can use soaked and dehydrated for a bit more crunchiness ,but just soaked works fine!). I soak my walnuts for about 6-8 hours to get out all those tannic acids, this not only makes the walnuts easier to digest ,but leaves them sweeter and less bitter!
This Sundae is the bomb! Sure to win over you and many of your non-raw friends and family. It’s also great for anyone looking to avoid dairy and or refined sugars! Happy Sundaes! :0)
A lot of people ask me where they can get raw cacao powder and other raw goodies and now I got a good one! My buddy Justin of Raw Food Health Tips recently opened up an online raw food store called Shop Raw Foods (click on the link on my sidebar to check it out!). Justin not only shares a lot of awesome raw living tips on his website and blog but, also is striving to provide raw food staples at reasonable prices, so you don’t have to break the bank to get your raw goodies! He has raw food staples such as cacao powder, cacao butter and cacao chunks (at really awesome prices!) and he also carries books, dvds, raw food prep equipment and raw food supplements and superfoods for those looking to play around with some supercharged goodies! Check out his stuff and tell him Rory says hi! :0)
Now offering in your home raw food classes! :0)
Now offering in-your-home raw foods classes! Invite the Dawg to your house!
I can explain to you what raw foods are and all about their awesome health benefits! Weight-loss, more energy, clearer thinking, clearer skin, and improved over-all health just to name a few! I want to show you how the terms “healthy” and “yummy” can actually co-exist peacefully!
Being a raw foodist myself, I can share with you some of my personal tips and help you avoid many of the typical mistakes made when starting on a raw foods diet (because I’ve already been there and done that!) so that you can get the benefits you’re looking for and have a better chance of sticking with it!
If you’re looking to go 100% raw, do a cleanse with them, or simply incorporate more fresh whole foods into your diet, I’d like to help you get started, show you quick, easy and tasty recipes, give you some info and inspiration about eating raw and help you to fall in love with fruits and veggies!
In my class I’ll go through these topics with you and allow plenty of time for questions and answers! ~
- What are raw and living foods?
- Why are they so awesome for your health?
- How to incorporate your goals, lifestyle and personality into your raw food diet.
- What you’ll need to get started, from equipment (a LOT less than you might be fearing!) to foods, recommended books and even online resources that are free for anyone to access and get support from.
- Pimping out your kitchen to encourage healthy eating and fun food prep!
- You’ll get to learn through demonstration and hands on experience (at your preference…it’s not raw boot camp!) how to mince, chop, slice, process, dehydrate, blend and juice up your own tasty creations!
- Fast, simple and delicious recipes! As well as some “gourmet” ones to experience all the awesome flavors you can savor while still eating whole and living foods!
- Experience foods, preparation techniques, and tastes that work best for starting your raw foods adventure.
- Fun and simple techniques for making concoctions that would otherwise be costly if bought pre-made. Including juices, smoothies, and other goodies!
- Buying healthy foods the affordable way. Also, proper food handling, washing and storing for maximum taste and freshness.
- Basic raw nutrition guidelines and recommended reading to maintain a healthy diet.
- My goal is a fun and flexible class structure that allows you to gain the most benefits in the topics you want to learn the more about and to fit your experience level.
- Pick my brain and ask whatever you’re looking to learn more about and if I don’t have the answer I shall find it and give you sources to learn even more.
- Keep in touch! Email Me or drop me a comment on my blog or via my other online hang-outs for any follow up questions that you may have or to share your experiences dabbling in the un-cooked culinary world!
Class details~ This 6 hour, one-on-one, in your home class price is $375.00 This fee includes the cost of food and travel expenses (of up to 35 miles from Derby, CT, additional travel costs for areas outside this range will be added accordingly). Wanna add a guest, spouse, or friend? Bring in 1-2 people (this limit is to allow me to maintain a more personalized and detailed learning experience) at the discounted price of $75 per person! On a budget? We can also do a shorter class at a lower rate, contact me for more info!
If you’re interested in adopting the Dawg for a day, email me with any questions or to set up a time and date! rawdawgrory@yahoo.com
The information contained on this website and in the classes are for educational purposes only and are not meant to help treat or diagnose illness. The information shared is based on Rawdawg Rory’s knowledge and personal experience. You should always seek the advice of a health care professional before making any changes to your diet. Stay safe and healthy :0)
Knife Skills!
It’s actually an 8″ chef-knife but, you know we guys like to exaggerate.
I’m not gonna show ya how to throw ‘em …although that would be fun! I want to briefly talk about one of the most important kitchen tools I own, my chef knife. Sooooo many food prep tasks can be accomplished with one good sharp knife and a good cutting board. The knife is a non-serrated 8″ chef knife with a nice solid construction (aka the inner portion of the handle is actually part of the blade making it verrry sturdy). If you’ve ever had the mispleasure of using a knife with one of those bolted on wooden grips that actually wobbles a slight bit while you’re attempting to slice your food, you know how important this is! I prefer a straight edge to a serrated blade for two reasons, one it’s a lot easier to sharpen and two, it doesn’t tear up the produce as much. I use this bad-boy for everything from peeling watermelons to mincing herbs and smushing garlic. It handles about 95% of my cutting work. The cutting board is made of bamboo, which rocks because not only is bamboo beautiful, durable, and naturally water resistant but, it’s also a more sustainable choice than wood! I like the feel of a bamboo (or wood) cutting board over plastic because the cuts feel much more stable. The blade seems to grip the surface more securely (especially for mincing) with less slipping and the blade sinks into the board a bit going clean through the produce; whereas I’ve had many incomplete slices with plastic.
My weapon of choice
For the other 5% of my cutting tasks~
First, a few inexpensive paring knives. These are great for intricate cutting tasks like making garnishes, or slicing yucky bits off of produce. I always have one handy when I’m prepping a bunch of bananas for the freezer.
Gotta love frozen bananas! Awesome to have on hand for smoothies, shakes and ice-creams.
Lastly, a relic from my former meat eating days is this massive cleaver. This mamajama gets used verrrry infrequently, but it is worth having on hand because it’s perfect for opening young Thai coconuts! I simply set the coconut butt side down with the pointed tip up and make chops using the bottom corner of the blade in a square pattern around the tip. Since the base of the coconut is flat, you needn’t hold onto it as your chopping which could save your fingers! Rotate and repeat after each chop until the cuts get through the fiberous outercoating and the shell. Then you can just pop off the squarish cap you’ve created and and pour out the coconut water. To get the meat out try this technique I learned from Glen Colello; using a flexible rubber spatula begin to work it’s edge in between the meat and the shell and slowly go down and around in a sort of spiraling pattern and if done correctly the coconut meat will just fall out intact! Awesome time saving technique! I don’t usually do a whole lot with Thai coconuts, for cost and convenience reasons, but they are a fun treat and a great base for smoothies and raw ice creams!
Here's the coconut cut being demonstrated on a cantaloupe.
These 3 knives and a nice lil’ ceramic peeler (mentioned in my last post) are about all the hand-held cutting tools I need. I’m a kitchen gizmo fan at heart but in retrospect there’s been quite a few purchases I’ve regretted! I’ve since given many impulsively bought items away because I found that they barely got used and were cluttering up my kitchen draws. Just a lil’ advice for those (like me) who get lost in the kitchen section of the dept store for hours on end. Most people may already have an awesome set of knives on hand, but if not, a collection like mine wouldn’t set you back too much. The cleaver was about $12, my favorite chef knifey-knife was $10 and a set of the lil’ paring knives was about $3. One last important thing to invest in right away would be a knife sharpener. Maintaining a sharp edge not only makes your cutting tasks a lot easier, precise, and enjoyable but, it’s also a lot safer.
A lot of people get anxious around a really sharp knife but it’s actually the safest way to go. A dull knife can easily roll off produce during an attempted cut and get a finger instead! So keep it sharp and keep it safe!Haha. Sounded like a knife safety spokesperson for a moment there, maybe a I should draw up a lil’ mascot. Maybe a shiny chef knife with a sharpener in one hand and a box of band-aids in the other, posing the question “Which do you prefer?” *lol* I digress!
Peace everyone and fun slicin’, dicin’, mincing and choppin’! :0)
