September 6, 2010

RAW GREEN TEA ICE CREAM

When Hugh and I first started dating just over two years ago, he was crazy in love with green tea ice cream.  But as he gradually transitioned to a healthier lifestyle, he slowly gave up most dairy products.

Recently, while out at a sushi restaurant, green tea ice cream somehow came up in conversation... something tells me he missed his beloved ice cream!

So a few days ago I surprised him with a huge batch of RAW green tea ice cream!  Wow, neither of us could believe how good it turned out... hands down better than the real thing!  I was so inspired, I ended up going a bit crazy in my kitchen making all sorts of raw ice cream. 

I spotted some beautiful organic, local peaches (currently in season), how could I resist picking a few up for some raw Peaches 'n Cream ice cream?  I also made a batch of raw Coconut-Banana ice cream, by far my favorite of all three!

I had a few requests on Facebook to share my recipes, so here they are, each using a slightly different technique for the best dairy and soy-free ice cream...

Raw Green Tea Ice Cream

1/2 cup water
1 packet green tea (preferably matcha)

Cut open a small packet of green tea, and stir in with the water.  Set aside to "brew" for 20 min.  Transfer into a blender and add the following ingredients...
 
1 cup cashews (soak 2 hr)
1 cup almond mylk
1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup raw honey
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Rinse and drain soaked cashews.  Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  Pour into an ice cream maker, following the manufacturer's instructions.  That's it!

*If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can freeze it in a glass container overnight... comes out just as good!

20 comments:

  1. Love green tea - and Love it mochi style. Thanks for sharing this! keep up the good work and hope you can make it to the NYC Bloggers Soiree September 27th! http://bloggerssoiree.eventbrite.com/

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  2. I love green tea ice cream. Thanks so much for sharing this - I will have to give it a try real soon.

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  3. Awesome, let me know how you like it ;-)

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  4. Wow, that's great I'll have to make this! My husband is an ice cream addict, but he doesn't eat the healthy kind!

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  5. He'll love it, and he won't even know it's healthy! Tastes just like the real thing!

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  6. Wow, I am so excited. I too fell in love with green tea ice cream a while back before I went raw. I cannot wait to try this on my dairy free family.
    Peace and Raw Helath,
    Elizabeth

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  7. ooo, I can't wait to make this!! Can you please clarify: the packet of green tea....is that like a tea bag with loose leaf inside, or like a packet of ground green tea, like macha?

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  8. Angelique, you can either use one individual packet (ground), or 1 Tbsp loose leaf tea! ;-)

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  9. Made this last night... it was delicious! Definitely a keeper. Thanks for the recipe.

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  10. Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed it ; )

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  11. Love this recipe! I have one similar to it, but I linked yours also! Keep making delicious raw desserts! :)
    http://www.eatfeelfresh.com/2012/12/raw-green-ice-cream-with-avocado-and.html

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  12. Yours looks so fun and festive.. yum!

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  13. I just made this last night... couldn't even wait till noon today to try it (it's 9:55am right now). My taste buds are in love with you. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS BEAUTIFUL RECIPE.

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  14. Yay, so happy you liked it! GIve your taste buds a smooch for me.. wink!

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  15. How much water did you use to soak the cashews?
    Also, should I add a tsp of salt to the cashews?
    Thank you so much for this recipe by the way, I am very excited to try it out :)

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  16. You'll need enough water to cover the cashews (cup or so), no extra salt needed ; ) Enjoy the recipe!

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  17. What can you use instead of coconut oil? :)

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  18. Coconut oil makes it creamy and helps solidify the ice cream (as it's solid at room temperature). Cacao butter can accomplish the same, but it would impact the flavor. To keep the integrity of the flavor you might be able to get away with leaving the oil out completely, but the texture would resemble more of a sorbet I imagine. One option might be to make your almond mylk a little thicker to compensate. Good luck!

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