Hello fresh new week! Aka, Monday. Today I have a Peanut Butter Ice Cream recipe you are going to looooooooove.
Monday Morning. So today, instead of hopping out of bed and 'getting a move on' I lazily sunk back under the warm covers, a snoozing kitty cat still curled up on my feet, and I spent about twenty minutes looking for the perfect Monday morning Twitter GIF. I mean, social media is part of my job, so technically, I was working. After scrolling through rainbow-colored ponies, Zach Morris, 90's Britney, Disney princesses and a few GOT GIFs, I finally settled on Ferris. As in Ferris Bueller. In it, Ferris is talking to the camera from his bathroom, with messy hair, bathrobe attire, and the text quotes his famous movie line,
"Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
I feel like Ferris saying that is the "stop and smell the roses..." line of my generation. Maybe someone should write a book, "Ferrisisms, and other stuff I learned from 80's and 90's movies and TV." I'd read it...
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So anyways, that was my mood for this Monday. Instead of embracing the adrenalin rush I usually get from making my week's to-do list and rushing to get as many things done as possible by dinner + chill-on-the-couch time, I am challenging myself to try to think like molasses and sloooooooow.
And yes frequent blog readers, I have written about this theme a lot this year. #2016goals
Peanut Butter Ice Cream. And the perfect way to embrace slowness is to enjoy some Rich and Creamy Peanut Butter Cookie Ice Cream. I mean this stuff was sooooooo good and soothing and cozy and perfect for a summer-slow-down sort of mood. You don't need a fancy ice cream maker either. Just s few frozen extra-ripe bananas, creamy peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla and some leftover vegan peanut butter cookies. (I know that sounds like a lot of things all the sudden, but just go with me here..) And oh my gosh I am almost done with my summer 15 for June!..
Blender ice cream tip: FAT. Yes, fat. The way to get really excellent blender ice cream -- the kind you can make ahead of time and eat later without it getting all ice crystal-y - is fat. Most vegan ice creams will use coconut milk or even a cashew base. I love the simple effect of adding loads of nut butter. The peanut butter adds enough richness and fat for the ice cream to really freeze and unthaw quite well.
Hello fresh new week. 🌻#mondaymotivation pic.twitter.com/lmgq15060r— Kathy Patalsky (@lunchboxbunch) June 27, 2016
Slow Down Thoughts. Slow down. Look around. Take in all the good stuff around you. This is usually why we love weekends so much, right? We can turn inwards and pause and find things to do or focus on that bring us joy. Well if you can find a way to have that same mindset during your workweek, wouldn't that be amazing? Instead of dreading every pile of work, fearing every run in with your boss or a stressful phone call or email exchange. Try to focus on the good stuff. And your mind just might start forgeting all the rest.
Life is stressful. But life is also how you perceive it. Shift your perspective a bit and change your day. Little tweaks each day really help change your big picture view.
The Good, Little Things. The way your coffee or matcha tea latte smells. The way the birds seem to chirp every single morning no matter what is going on in the world. The warm sun greeting you as you start your commute. The happy clicking of the keys on your keyboard. A smile or kind gesture from a co-worker. Looking forward to your lunch break or your workout after work. The way your body feels lighter and happy when you complete a project or a task. The refreshing feeling you get from taking a stroll outside even for just a few minutes. The joyful anticipation of an upcoming summer trip. All little, random things. I am sure you can think of a bunch more that can apply to your day. But anyways, enough rambling from me. Onto the ice cream!!..
This is recipe #13 in the Summer 15!..
Summer15 HHL Recipes:
1. Corn Fritters with avocado salsa.
2. Pink Flamingo Cheesecake Bars
3. Summer Salad in a Jar
4. Copycat Green Tea Frappuccino
5. Sticky-Sweet BBQ Apricot Tempeh Salad with avocado
6. Avocado Hamil-toast (avocado toast with skillet plantains)
7. Cherry Pie Cookies
8. Mother of Dragonfruit Smoothie Bowl
9. Almond Butter S'mores
10. DIY Pink Drink
11. Cheezy Sauce for Pasta with Kale
12. Summer Salad: Chili-Lime Mango-Avocado Quinoa Power Salad
13. Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Ice Cream (today!)
Another DIY blender ice cream I love.. Vegan Cookies&Cream
Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Ice Cream
Ingredients
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk (almond or soy preferred, original flavor)
- 3 tablespoon peanut butter (salted) -- almond butter works too
- 2 ½ frozen bananas (medium sized) -- frozen when they are very ripe
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 drops vanilla extract
- optional: ½ - 1 cup ice
- ¼ cup crumbled soft peanut butter cookies - recipes: here or here
- to serve: chopped peanuts or chocolate sauce
Instructions
- Place a freezer-friendly glass or metal bowl in the freezer ahead of time to chill it.
- Add the almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla and peanut butter to blender - I use a Vitamix. Blend until smooth.
- Add half of the bananas. Start blending from low to high until almost completely smooth. Stop blender and add the remaining bananas and a few cubes of ice. The ice is optional, but adds a nice frosty texture and helps chill the ice cream mixture. Keep blending until smooth. If you have trouble. stop the blender and jumble the remaining clumps of banana every few seconds of blending so they do not get stuck. Or use a tamper.
- When mixture is thick and smooth and frosty, pour into the chilled container. Fold in the crumbled peanut butter cookies and place mixture in the freezer.
- The ice cream should be ready to serve in about a half hour, depending on how cold your freezer is. You want the mixture to be soft enough to scoop, but firm enough to hold its shape. Serve with chopped peanuts or chocolate sauce on top!
