4 Tasty Alternatives to Ice Cream

What is summer without ice cream? We often associate happy memories with specific foods, especially treats like ice cream. Enjoying these treats is like a walk down memory lane.

Sadly, ice cream is high in calories, saturated fat, and sugar. The good news is that you can enjoy a frozen, creamy treat and still eat healthily. Each of these treats also helps you get more fresh fruit into your diet.

1. Avocado Frozen Treat

Despite their popularity, many do not think of avocados as a dessert option. Avocados are a option for creamy smoothies and desserts like mousse, pudding, and ice cream alternatives.

Simply put a ripe avocado, cacao powder (or cocoa powder), and a little honey or a banana to sweeten in your blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.

You can experiment by adding raspberries, nut butter, coconut milk, or other tasty ingredients. Place in the freezer for about an hour or longer depending on preference. If you blend it with cold ingredients and a couple of ice cubes it may already have a soft-serve feel straight out of the blender.

Feel free to garnish with fresh fruit or nuts.

2. Chocolate dipped bananas (and other fruit)

The sweet flavor and creamy mouth feel make bananas perfect as an ice cream alternative. Simply dip a ripe banana in melted dark chocolate and freeze. To make it extra special, roll the freshly dipped banana in chopped nuts.

Bonus: Dip other fruits like strawberries and cherries in chocolate and chill. These fruits won’t seem like an ice cream substitute but they pair well with chocolate-dipped bananas.

3. Frozen fruit sorbet

Make a simple sorbet using popular summer fruits like peaches, mangos, strawberries, or any of your other favorites. Cut the fruit into cubes, and chill for an hour. Place cubed fruit, a splash of lemon juice, and a little sweetener in the blender and blend until smooth. Freeze the mixture for a few hours.

Go light with the sweetener since fruit already contains natural sugars. Options include a splash of agave syrup or honey. If the fruit is ripe enough, you may not even need any sweetener.

4. Smoothie

Sometimes there is a fine line between a smoothie and a milkshake. A chilled or frozen banana or avocado smoothie can have a texture reminiscent of a milkshake. Add vanilla, cacao powder, nut butter, or your favorite fruits and ice. If you don’t add ice or watery fruits, the texture will be more like ice cream, with ice cubes or watery fruits it may be more like a milkshake. Either way is refreshing and delicious!

A healthy diet, exercise, and a supplement like Prevagen help maintain support health and brain function as we age.