Paleo Legal Chocolate Ice Cream

I’d originally planned on posting a scrumptious paleo crab cake recipe, but with the heatwave continuing here in Southern Cali,  I didn’t think you were going to run into your kitchens to try it out.   Instead, I hope you will be inspired you to make ICE CREAM!  In my quest to have something cool and sweet, yet paleo legal and dairy free, I came up with this great chocolate ice cream recipe that’ll knock your socks off!

It’s easy, no cooking needed, just a few ingredients, and you can feel good about eating it.  Inspiration for this recipe comes from the Press Juicery at Fashion Island.  They have chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice creams that are delicious and made with very basic ingredients: coconut meat, water, dates, cashews and vanilla bean or cacao.  Your mouth and head get to have the satisfaction they want and need, while your blood sugar levels stay steady, and you’re giving your body some wonderful nutrition!

I remember making ice cream when I was a little girl, churning the the ice cream by hand, using ice and rock salt to lower the temperature.  My 2 sisters and I took turns churning until our arms felt like they were going to fall off!   At the end of the churning, when it got really hard to turn,  my dad always had to take over to finish it off.  That was a time when we really earned our ice cream.  And yes, it was back in the olden days, lol.

So if you don’t already own an ice cream maker, I highly suggest purchasing one.   It’s well worth the small investment, always a crowd pleaser and a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.  Also, one of the things I like best about making my own ice cream is keeping out the additives often used as stabilizers-Carrageenan, xanthan and guar gum, along with artificial coloring and flavorings.  Some people are more sensitive than others to these ingredients, so it’s always a good idea to try to avoid them.

Paleo, Raw, Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

Serves 6

2 cups raw cashews soaked 4 hours or more

2 cans coconut cream (refrigerate coconut cream for 3 hours for separation of cream and water. scoop out cream and pour water into another container for use in as shake)

1/3 cup honey

2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

12 Dates Chopped

2 Tablespoons + 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Real Salt or Sea Salt

3/4 cup Cacao or organic Chocolate powder

1/4-1/3 cup raw cacao nibs (optional)

Place all ingredients (except the cacao nibs) into a food processor and process until smooth.  (Mine was smooth at one point and then became a bit grainy.  It was still good but I think I processed it a minute too long, so keep an eye on it)

Then follow instructions on your ice cream maker to turn the mixture into ice cream (remember that you have to freeze the ice cream cylinder for 12 hours prior to use).  If using the nibs, add them to the mixture while in the ice cream maker.

Nutritional value:

Dates: offer a good source of potassium, magnesium, and fiber

Cacao(raw/unprocessed chocolate): Minerals, Magnesium, B-vits, Fiber and antioxidents

Coconut Cream: Minerals, fiber, Med Chain Fatty Acids, Lauric Acid-which is anti microbial