It is so hot here!
Can someone please invent the Ice Cream Diet?
Where you eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? A few of you told me there already is an ice cream diet. Why am I surprised? After all, there’s a grapefruit diet, a cabbage soup diet, even a No White Foods diet. So why not ice cream?
Why not, indeed.
Hey, it can still be a healthy diet.
After all, there’s always this: Spinach Ice Cream.
Yay! We can now follow an ice cream diet and be healthy at the same time. So go ahead and embrace your new healthy ice cream diet right away, by devouring a gigantic serving of the following recipe for healthy mint chocolate chip ice cream. I guarantee that, by the time you finish your serving, you won’t feel hot anymore.
And if it happens to be cold where you live… please send some of your cold weather to me in Texas. I’ll happily mail you our hot weather in return!
Maybe I wouldn’t want to be on an all-ice-cream diet. I’d miss my pancakes and oatmeal too much! Not to mention salads, beans, and even spaghetti. But if I were to eat ice cream all the time, mint chocolate chip—my favorite, as a kid–would probably be the flavor I’d consume most often.
Healthy Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
(Makes 1 huge serving)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- scant 1/16 tsp salt – don’t omit
- pinch uncut stevia OR 1 tbsp sugar of choice
- 1 cup milk of choice – See note below
- 2 tbsp chocolate chips OR sugar-free chocolate chips (recipe on page 199 in the book)
- 3-6 drops pure peppermint extract, or as desired
- optional, I like to add 1 tsp cocoa powder
- optional pinch spirulina or natural food coloring
*This ice cream has a very light texture when made with almond milk. For a creamier texture that’s more like real ice cream, use coconut milk–the kind that is full-fat and comes in a can, not a carton–or cashew cream. To make it look like real ice cream, scoop out with an ice cream scoop.
Mix the ingredients together, and pour into ice cube trays or 2 shallow containers. Freeze. Once frozen, pop the blocks out of the container and blend in your Vitamix. (If you don’t have a vitamix for vitamix ice cream, you’ll probably have to thaw longer, but you can still get a yummy ice milk. Or try this healthy ice cream in your ice-cream maker.) Feel free to add more chocolate chips, post-blending. But be sure to add the 1-2 tbsp before blending!
View Mint Ice Cream Nutrition Facts
Serving suggestion: Serve with a side of fresh mint. And…
Accompany it with this recipe: Healthy Shamrock Shakes.
Milkshakes are allowed on the Ice Cream Diet, right? There’s spinach in this milkshake too!
this is even better than i thought it would be! (:
I just got an ice cream maker for Christmas and when thinking about what I wanted to make I remembered that you’ve had posts about ice cream! Have you ever tried it in an ice cream maker/do you know of anyone that has? I don’t know if it would work the same. I’ve been looking at all different recipes online and some have people combine different ingredients together and let them sit before mixing all of them together (and chocolate chips last). I’m just hoping to be able to try some of your recipes since they sound the best! And since my dad is blaming my recent baking/cooking endeavors for his holiday weight gain! =)
I haven’t tried it in an ice cream maker… I want to, though! If you try it first, do let me know how it works out :).
Did anyone even try making this? I did and it was a complete disaster. It was more like slushy ice milk that tasted like fake peppermint. I’m bummed 🙁
Michelle: If you read the comments, yes others HAVE made this recipe.
As for what could’ve gone wrong with yours, did you use a Vita-Mix? And what kind of peppermint extract did you use? There’s a big difference between pure and immitation!
Do you think this would turn out in an electric ice cream maker?
I bet it would! If you try it, let me know how it goes! 🙂
I just did and it came out great! I used half coconut milk and half almond milk. Mmmm. 😀
oh my gosh i love you!!!!!!!!!! it is so hard to find healthy dessert recipes – let alone vegan recipes!!!! now i can eat dessert, yey!!!!
I love this recipe!! It’s my new favorite after dinner snack. I have been using vanilla instead of peppermint (because I don’t have any) and I don’t blend it. I put it in the freezer about an hour before I plan to eat it and it ends up being more slushy than ice cream but it does the trick!
Thank you so much!! I’m lactose intolerant and I have been CRAVING mint chocolate chip ice cream for months! Finally a recipe I can try!
Brilliant! I have an ice cream maker and have stopped using it because I didn’t want to use heavy cream. I got a vita mix yesterday and I’m so stoked to try this healthy option! Plus I have all the ingredients already! Bonus! Thanks for you awesome blog and sugar free options!
Happy Sunday!
I made this last night, it was AMAZING! Perfect breakfast! Except I used fresh mint because I didn’t know where I could get mint extract at midnight. Thank you for this recipe! I can’t do dairy and I miss mint chocolate chip ice cream!
Oooo how did you use the fresh mint!!!
Katie! Have you ever put any of these ice cream recipes in an ice cream maker? Ever since buying one for my husband last year, I have been trying to find some healthier recipes for the machine.
Yes ma’am!
Ferrero Rocher Ice Cream: https://lett-trim.today/2012/03/06/ferrero-rocher-ice-cream/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
“Rated R” Ice Cream: https://lett-trim.today/2012/03/05/rated-r-ice-cream/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Four-Ingredient Ice Cream: https://lett-trim.today/2011/12/07/four-ingredient-ice-cream%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Sugar Cookie Dough Ice Cream: https://lett-trim.today/2011/12/21/christmas-cookie-dough-ice-cream/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Sorry for all the links!
Hi Katie, This looks amazing! Do you know if it would work in an ice cream maker?
Opps Guess I should read all the comments before asking! Just saw your response to a previous question about this 🙂 Happy St. Patty’s day!
Saw your coconut-chocolate ice-cream on pinterest! Very clever!
So I started looking around your web site. Love it!
Just one little note! This Mint CC ice-cream saddened me that you had to put coloring in it just for the photo shoot! I think it would be just as beautiful without the green coloring! Because I am an all naturalist it really made me unhappy to see that. Would love to see the one you make without the coloring. Coloring in food actually looks very unappetizing!
Thanks for listening to me rant a little! 🙂
Hi Joy,
You’d probably like this one better! https://lett-trim.today/2011/03/13/spinach-ice-cream/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
What about Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream??
Here’s a thought – how about adding an avocado in place of coconut milk? Not only will it be creamy, but also a pale green minty colour!
Loving the blog and can’t wait to try this recipe…
This is AWESOME ! I absolutely positively DETEST bananas, and it makes me so angry because they are so good uber good for you!! I have tried dozens of ways to incorporate bananas into things, so I can get the benefit of their goodness without having to taste the banana flavor. Until now, I have not had any success at all. However, I am now happily sitting here sipping a chocolate mint shake, with the benefits of banana AND spinach, and cannot taste the banana one single little bit! Thank you soooooooo much!!! Love your blog!
I have a question…do you know if you’re able to make a big batch and store this in the freezer, or must you serve it right away? There is an ice cream making technique I read about recently (that does not use an ice cream maker) that is very similar to what you do here – make the ice cream base, pour it into a container or freezer bag, then break it up and process until smooth in a food processor or blender. But then, instead of serving right away, you pour it into a container and pop it back in the freezer and freeze until firm. I’ve only seen this done with dairy ice cream bases, but I’d love to be able to do it with almond milk. It’s almost exactly the same technique, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work – unless there is a significant chemical difference between dairy versus nondairy milk that might cause it to emulsify differently in the blender. Any thoughts? Thanks!! <3
Sorry, I haven’t tried it, but like you, I don’t see why it would make a difference. 🙂