Peanut Butter Banana "Ice Cream"

Now that the weather is finally starting to warm up, my cravings for ice cream are getting totally out of control!  Don't judge me, but I might have accidentally eaten it not 1, not 2, but 3 times last week!  I can't help it if it's my favorite dessert and my self control magically vanishes at the mere thought of it!  Yeah, I definitely need to cap this indulgence off at a once-per-week limit, which means I have to be creative and come up with healthier substitutes.  This little gem of a recipe popped into my head yesterday on my drive to the gym and I tested it a few hours later.  It TOTALLY worked.  Hellllloooo Peanut Butter Banana "Ice Cream!"  Where have you been all my life?!

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is that it's dairy and gluten free, not to mention that the sugar in it comes from ingredients that also provide fiber, protein, and vitamins a.k.a anybody in the world can it eat (as long as you don't have a nut allergy; if you can't have peanut butter, sub almond butter).  Best of all, you can top the ice cream with whatever you want!  I chose some dark chocolate chips, walnuts, a dash of coconut and a drizzle of melted peanut butter but feel free to experiment.  I think I want to try honey roasted peanuts on it next time!


To make the "ice cream," I broke a super-ripe frozen banana into 5 or 6 chunks.  Be sure it's super frozen, don't let it thaw at all before you put it in the blender.  Then I added 1 tbsp. creamy peanut butter, a dash of cinnamon sugar and a couple of drops of pure vanilla extract to the bananas.  I blended it together until everything was well combined, about a minute.  Just a warning, I had to scrape the sides of my Nutri-Bullet halfway through the blending process because the peanut butter was sticking to the sides.  Once it's smooth, you'll see how thick the "ice cream" is!  Literally the consistency of hard scoop ice cream!

I topped my ice cream with my dark chocolate, coconut and walnuts, and drizzled it with a little extra peanut butter.  Because is there really such a thing as too much peanut butter?  If you're about to say yes, then I don't think this friendship is going to work out.  Kidding, but I loved the smooth, creamy texture from the bananas and the crunch at the end of each bite from my toppings.  Definitely planning on making this "ice cream" often from now on!