“Junk food” is anything but nutritious. It’s high in calories and provides no uplifting value to your skin, cells, body, brain, or attitude. It’s just plain old JUNK.
If you haven’t checked out the “8 Tips to Beat Junk Food Cravings,” I encourage you to do so. There’s lots of great information in there to prepare your for success.
The other day, my dear friend Canela mentioned soft serve as one of her favorite “junk foods” during a Facebook convo, and I couldn’t agree more! The smooth, creamy, and cool texture of Straus milk goodness from Super Duper is definitely a hit.
With a clear goal to recreate healthy alternatives to “junk food” favorites, I took on the challenge of making a SIMPLE soft serve recipe, filled with whole, real foods, no sugar, and healthy fats. It tastes so yum and yes, kids can eat it too!
The soft serve calls for 3 ingredients: frozen bananas, avocado, and almond butter, while the chocolate magic shell calls for 2 ingredients: coconut oil and quality, dark chocolate.
- 2 bananas, peeled, cut into 2” pieces, and frozen
- ½ avocado
- 1 tablespoon almond butter (or other nut butters)
Instructions
- Toss the frozen banana pieces and ½ of an avocado into a food processor (or blender) and chop until the frozen bananas break down into a soft serve consistency.
- Add the almond butter and process/blend for a few more seconds.
- Top with a teaspoon of the Chocolate Magic Shell and throw in the freezer for 1-2 minutes until the chocolate hardens. Serve immediately.
Dark Chocolate Magic Shell
Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 oz. (or 1 tablespoon) dark chocolate (or dark chocolate chips)
Steps
- In a small skillet (or microwave), melt the chocolate and coconut oil. Stir.
- Pour over soft serve or fruit (like chocolate covered strawberries).
- Harden by placing the soft serve or fruit in the freezer for 1-2 minutes until firm.
NOTE
Store extra chocolate magic shell in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. Re-melt to use again.
Yields ~ 2 tablespoons
Kale. All Day. Err Day.
Omg this sounds amazing!!!! I look forward to reading your blog everyday because of all the clever and healthy ways (like this!) to eat great food that you come up with. Keep it comin! 😉
Thanks Tif! It’s soooo delish and easy to make. Perfect for these warm days. We’ll keep it comin for sure!
This looks delicious and your pictures are amazing. Would love for you to share your photos with us at foodepix.com.
This is amazing!!! I just made it, ate it and enjoyed each bite. This is perfect for my post lunch ice-cream bite that I have (nearly) every day 🙂
Sooo great Natalie! Glad you enjoyed and YES…can definitely agree it’s a perfect post lunch ice-cream treat! Just another way of eating bananas and avocados, don’t you think? Enjoy!
Love this recipe! I’m just wondering, can the coconut oil be subbed with anything else?
Hi there! The coconut oil is used because: 1) it’s a stable, saturated fat that has many nutritional benefits; 2) because it’s a saturated fat, it solidifies at room temp (below 76 degrees); and 3) it tastes great with chocolate;)
In order for the “syrup” to harden and create a shell, you need to use a saturated fat, which has a more tightly bound hydrogen/carbon atom structure than unsaturated fats (like healthy olive oils). Coconut oil is a good saturated fat, that doesn’t impact your bad cholesterol the same way as trans-fats (man made fats that are also solid at room temperature).
Other options would be lard or butter, but I’m guessing the flavor would totally ruin your amazing ice cream below. Most of the “hard shell” you get Dairy Queen and such uses trans-fats or other animal-based saturated fats to create the effect.
The only other idea I can think of is using actual cocoa butter, which is what’s in most chocolate to solidify it at room temp. I didn’t go this route because it was a bit too complex for a quick and easy, weeknight dessert. Definitely try it though if you are curious to play!
Hope that helps a bit.
-Steph