3-Ingredient Berries & Cream Banana Ice Cream #Vitamix #cleaneating

I recently met with Dr. Deena Blanchard of Premier Pediatrics here in New York City—when I brought her my Berry Nutty Lactation Granola for an event—and we were brainstorming a bit. She suggested I do a blog series on recipes for kids at each age and stage of development, with the first one being a baby puree. 

But here's the thing: I never did purees with my son, I never made him special "baby food." We did Baby Led Weaning (BLW), so my son always fed himself finger foods; he just ate what we ate. Even when my sister and I were babies, my parents just fed us whatever they were eating—they had a small food mill and ran their meals through it. I think parents are busy enough without having to make two separate meals! So, when I was thinking of a puree, I decided to make one that could do double duty: this is for babies and for their parents!

This "ice cream" is great for babies because it is naturally sweet and has no refined sugars, preservatives, or any junk; provides everything from vitamin B6, C, and K to potassium to fiber; and introduces a food with new texture and temperature to babies who are primarily puree-fed. 

This dessert is great for parents because it has has no junk—hey, we should feed ourselves as well as we feed our babies!—and it is creamy and delicious, and totally satisfies an ice cream craving. For those of you looking to lose baby weight...indulge in this dessert instead of a pint of Haagen-Dazs. You're welcome.

For the record, I am not a big fan of bananas. But this somehow doesn't have a strong banana taste—that touch of cream cuts the banana flavor and makes this taste very much like true ice cream.

Ingredients
yield: about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 1/2 ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
• 3/4 cup mixed berries, preferably organic—I used strawberries and bluberries
• 3 Tbls heavy cream (whole milk or coconut cream can be substituted)

Did I mention you don't need an ice cream maker? Just put all the ingredients in a Vitamix (or other high speed blender) or food processor. Process or blend until smooth. You might need to scrape down the sides a few times, to make sure that everything gets blended evenly. It will be the consistency of soft-serve ice cream at this point; you can certainly dig in right away. Or you can transfer to a freezer-safe container and let the ice cream firm up in the freezer.

There aren't any preservatives in this ice cream, so it will freeze solid. Just take it out of the freezer about 10 minutes before you want to serve it; it will soften a bit and be perfectly scoop-able!

This recipe serves about two adults and one baby. Enjoy as a dessert, a snack, or even breakfast! Yes, I'm suggesting ice cream for breakfast. Again: you're welcome.