Vegan Banana Chocolate Ice Cream

I noticed yesterday that I had a bunch of bananas that were starting to get a little brown but didn't have time to do much with them, so I tossed them in the freezer and decided I would make a dessert with them. I also had some blueberries sitting in the freezer that had been there for a while and we always have almond milk. Then I opened the cabinet and we had some agave nectar and cocoa powder, so I had all the ingredients I needed! I was inspired by a very similar dessert that my sister-in-law, Kate, makes..so, thanks Kate!

Vegan Banana Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients

4 frozen bananas

3/4 cup frozen organic blueberries
1/4 cup almond milk

4 Tbsp cocoa powder

2 Tbsp organic agave nectar

Directions

1. Remove bananas and blueberries from freezer. Cut up the bananas into slices. If you did not peel the bananas before freezing them, hold them under warm water for a minute to make getting peels off easier.

2. Put bananas, blueberries, almond milk, cocoa powder, and agave into blender. Blend until fruit pieces are thoroughly pulverized and incorporated. (We have a Vitamix so I just ran it on the Frozen Desserts setting)

3. Put in freezer-safe container with lid and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight

4. Serve and top with chopped nuts and/or fruit (optional)

(Recipe adapted from doortodoororganics.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this dessert? As you probably already know, bananas are an excellent source of potassium. But did you know that bananas contain a prebiotic substance called fructooligosaccharide? When this prebiotic ferments in the digestive tract, not only does it encourage the growth of probiotics, but it also enhances the absorption of calcium in the body! Blueberries are packed with antioxidants and vitamin C. Cocoa powder contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant. There are lots of claims that agave nectar is "better" for you than other sugars because it is "natural" but it really is no better or worse for you than just plain old cane sugar. So, the agave nectar really doesn't provide much nutritional benefit - just some dessert flavor :)