Happy Friday everyone! In this edition of Fast with Five Fridays, I’m straying a little bit from the usual dinner recipes in this series to give you the recipe for one of my favorite healthy, light, and refreshing summer desserts! Ice cream and summer go hand in hand and with the temps heating up, we’re craving that creamy frozen treat more and more! While we visit our local ice cream shop occasionally, I like to make frozen treats at home too. Besides loving the making of these treats, I also love that I can better control what goes into them. One of my favorite frozen treats to make is this 5-Ingredient Creamy Strawberry-Mango Soft Serve. I’d suggest you try it next time you’re in the mood for ice cream!
One of the best parts of this Creamy Strawberry-Mango Soft Serve is that I almost always have the ingredients to make it in the house. There are just 5 simple ingredients ““ three types of fruit, avocado and honey. I keep large bags of purchased frozen fruit in the freezer at all times so that I can whip up smoothies (like this Mango-Berry Smoothies recipe), and I almost always have bananas and avocado around. Honey is a staple pantry ingredient for us. Not only is this soft serve recipe healthier, but it’s also quicker than a run to the store or ice cream shop when we’re craving ice cream.
Why the avocado, you ask? Avocado is a natural source of really healthy fat (from your heart to your hands to your hair, avocado is beneficial), and the fat from the avocado gives this Creamy Strawberry-Mango Soft Serve a creamy taste that you will want to savor and eat spoonful after spoonful of. I like knowing that I’m eating healthy foods even when it feels like a treat. I even give an option of adding a carton of yogurt to turn this into strawberry-mango frozen yogurt. Yum!
And my kids? They are absolutely none the wiser. In fact, my son (who’s 6 and my healthy eating soulmate), will jump up and down when I say I’m making “strawberry ice cream”, as I refer to it with them, and says he likes my homemade ice cream more than the store-bought stuff. He sure knows how to flatter his mama!
May you have a most enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, and if you find yourself wanting a healthy frozen treat, give this 5-Ingredient Creamy Strawberry-Mango Soft Serve a try!
- 2 cups frozen unsweetened strawberries
- 1 cup frozen unsweetened mango chunks
- 1 peeled banana, frozen*
- 1 avocado, halved, pitted and peeled
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 6-ounce carton plain, strawberry or vanilla Greek yogurt (optional)**
- Place strawberries, mango chunks, and banana in a large food processor (the small food chopper style processors will not be strong enough or large enough for this). Cover and pulse until fruit is chopped. Add avocado, honey, and, if desired, yogurt. Cover and process until well combined and smooth. Do not over process or mixture will start to melt.
- Scoop into serving dishes and serve immediately.***
- *Wrap the peeled banana in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour or until completely frozen. You can also slice the banana before freezing, which will make it chop in the food processor more quickly.
- **Adding the yogurt turns this into soft serve frozen yogurt. It’s a great way to get some yogurt if you don’t like to eat it by itself.
- ***This is best eaten right away. You can store leftovers in an airtight container, however, it will become more high maintenance to serve again once it’s frozen because the mixture freezes very firm. To serve from the frozen state, let it stand at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s softened around the edges. Use a fork to scoop out a serving. Let it stand in the serving bowl for a few minutes and then mash and stir with a fork until it’s the consistency of soft serve.
- 3 ½ cups (4 servings)
- 165 cals, 2 g pro, 31 g carb, 5 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g sat fat, 5 g fiber, 5 mg sodium
