Breaking news. Berries are back.
If you haven’t been adding berries to pretty much everything since we rolled into 2020, now is your time.
These epically delicious, epically simple berry ice creams are just what you need to cool that summer sweat this arvo. Or morning (as the minis and I tried out today).
Yes, if you decide to eat these for breakfast, you’ll still get the tick-tick from my nutritionist hat over here.
Why?
6 simple ingredients; packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, folate, and fibre; water-rich; a beautiful balance of carbs and fats to keep your blood sugars stable; and uber low in sugar (sugar-free even if you drop the sweetener).
Let’s break it down…
- Berries
- Coco cream
- Fresh mint
- Cornflour (to keep ‘em tight – you could use lecithin, arrowroot, guar gum, or xanthan gum too)
- Sea salt (the secret ingredient to all things sweet), and
- A cheeky dash of coco sugar, to bring out the sweetness
I’ve made these beauts in partnership with Countdown to showcase their delicious range of Macro Organic Berries. They’ve just released a new range including bluebs, raspbs, and a mixed berry concoction including strawbs and blackberries. Certified organic, delicious, and super affordable too (great for families).
If you live in the North Island of New Zealand (and some locations in Australia), the packaging is also recyclable via some recently introduced soft-plastics recycling facilities. This is something that is intended (cross fingers) to be rolled out further across NZ, once processing facilities allow. Simply take the cleaned bag back to your local Countdown (24 are in the program currently), or a number of other locations, and pop it in their soft plastics bin.
These are currently being manufactured into a number of products including fence posts, buckets, ducting cable, grip steps, even waterslides! Also, on the refuse/reduce/recycle spectrum (because we always want to refuse and reduce first), there’s less packaging per gram when you buy a large bag of frozen berries than the tiny 125g punnets (which you need 6 of compared to 1 bag of frozen here).
Berries are such a versatile ingredient, so healthy, delicious, and kids love them. Here are my favourite ways we use them at home:
How we love our berries
- Adding a few on the top of pancakes or pikelets
- Making into muffins
- Whipping into a delicious raw cheesecake
- Dropping a handful into smoothies
- Popping in your mouth as is, as an easy healthy dessert for the kids (they love picking them with their hands!)
- Blitzing up home-made ice creams like this one
Grab a bag, give them a whiz, and let me know how you get on with these Berry Minty Ice Creams! Share your pic on Insta, in your feed or stories, and tag me in (@begoodorganics and #begoodorganics) so I can dash over and say hello.
Another gorgeous summery weekend is on its way. And a long one here in Auckland too – woohoo!
Enjoy my friend. Til next week, stay happy and well.
Ingredients
- 400 ml coconut cream
- 2 1/2 c berries Frozen
- 1/4 c mint leaves
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornflour (or arrowroot)
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (or brown rice syrup, coconut nectar)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- In a blender, blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
- Pour into ice block moulds, pat down to remove any air bubbles. Place an ice cream stick in the centre of each and pop in the freezer overnight.
- Run warm water over the ice block moulds to loosen. Remove and top with freeze dried berries. Enjoy!
Equipment
- Ice moulds
Recipe Notes
- These berry ice creams are very versatile. I’ve used frozen blueberries and raspberries in my recipe but any fruit will do. You can experiment with strawberries, mangos, bananas, pineapple or mix and match to create your own flavours.
- I’ve used a binder like corn flour, arrowroot or guar gum as the berriers and coconut cream have a high water content. These elements help bind the fat particles with the water particles, reducing the iciness and increasing creaminess.
- Feel free to alter the sweetness of this recipe by increase or decreasing the amount of sugar/sweetener you add. The fruit you choose to use will also impact the sweetness of you ice cream. It’s best to taste after blending.
- These ice creams will keep for up to two months in the freezer (after that they’re fine from a taste/health perspective, just they start getting a bit icey).
Did You Make This?
Tag @begoodorganics
I can’t wait to see your creations!
