#NiceCream - with caramel and toasted pistachios

#StayHealthy

I have never tried nice cream before today, but, I have had a bunch of bananas sitting in my freezer for about three weeks now, with all good intentions of making icecream. So, today was the day... And it worked! Much to my surprise, with the addition of several extra ingredients, this actually tastes like proper, creamy, sweet icecream. It's even good enough to satisfy my craving for Ben and Jerries! Which doesn't happen often. It is also, obviously, about 50 x healthier... Well, maybe not quite that much, but I like to tell myself that it is. It is, however, far more nutritious, less fattening and lower in calories. Win Win :)

Ingredients

*Five peeled and chopped, frozen bananas

* Five Dessert spoons of Soya Natural (plain) yoghurt

*A teaspoon of almond butter (Not vital if you don't have any!)

For the sauce

*One table spoon of butter (normal or almond)

* Three tablespoons of honey

*A tablespoon of natural, brown cane sugar

*One Handful of Pistachio nuts

Method

* The first step is remembering to peel and chop your bananas in advance! (I did actaully forget to do this and it was a little bit messy!!) Perhaps the best time is when you come back from the supermarket, before putting your fruit away. This way, they are ready for a moment when you are craving icecream!

*Pop your frozen banana, soya yoghurt and butter into a blender and whizz until smooth and there are no lumps.

*You can either eat your nice cream like this orrrrrr.... you can make it super tasty with the added extra of toasted pistachios and a home made caramel sauce.

*Whilst you are making these super tasty added extras, put your nicecream into the fridge to stop it melting too much.

*Heat a small non-stick saucepan on the stove. On a low heat, melt all the sauce ingredients. Make sure they all come together, with no lumps of sugar but avoid over heating/boiling the mixture.

*Whilst you are waiting for this to melt, crush a handful of pistachio nuts in a pestle and mortar (or mini blender). Sprinkle onto a tray lined with baking paper and add half a teaspoon of unrefined caster sugar. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, on a high heat, until golden.

*Stir both the caramel sauce and the nuts into your chilled nicecream and either you are ready to dig in now or, you can put it back into the freezer for later!

Enjoy :)

Health Benefits of Bananas:

*They contain high levels of Potassium

*They can prevent muscle cramping during and after workouts

*High in Antioxidants

*They help with digestion

*A good source of Vitamins B and C