Cool down without blowing your ProPoints budget!

30th June 2015

Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hart to beat.

This is my kind of weather, I adore this time of year and yesterday was just lovely, after doing a couple of hours work first thing, I spent the rest of the day outdoors.  Found me 2 pallets on Saturday by the side of a skip at my meeting venue, so acquired them and brought them home.  This is what they look like now;

The only thing I bought was the plants, everything else needed I found in the shed, now I can look forward to a summer full of colour and bloom, love my garden I do!

Being outdoors certainly takes my mind off food, but I have to be careful to not forget to eat, otherwise I end up living off bread and butter!  I had a good cooked breakfast which kept me going most of the day, then for tea we had chicken, veggies and grains, all good wholesome food.  We've got tuna steaks today, they don't take too long to cook so I can get my work done.

So it's going to be a very hot week, great for salads and also for ice creams, so we need to make sure we don't go crazy!  Here's a few ideas to keep you on track! 

Lollies	ProPoints
1 (65ml) Solero Mojito ice lolly	1
1 (35ml) Wall’s Mini Milk	1
1 Weight Watchers toffee fudge mini pot swirl	2
1 (80ml) Wall’s Mini Calippo	2
1 (55ml) Oreo ice cream sandwich	3
1 (90ml) Wall’s Strawberry Cornetto	4
1 (53ml) Snickers ice cream bar	5
1 (70ml) Nestle Nobbly Bobbly	6
1 (100ml) Haagen-Dazs pralines & cream	7
1 large Mr Whippy 99 cone	8
1 (110ml) Magnum double caramel	9

Remember the old fashioned Jubbly's, they're zero ProPoints!  So I'm assuming a couple of tip tops would be too as they're just frozen squash really.  Of course you can make your own, what about zero pp banana ice cream, now I've just found this version, all versions are similar but this one sounds about right;

One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream

(found at http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-creamy-ice-cream-with-just-one-ingredient-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-93414)

Makes 2 servings, about 1 cup

What You Need

Ingredients
1 large ripe banana

Equipment
Knife
Cutting board
Airtight, freezer-safe container
Small food processor
Spatula

Instructions

1.    Start with ripe bananas: They should be sweet and soft.

2.    Peel the bananas and cut them into coins: It doesn't matter what shape or size the pieces are in, as long as they are chopped up into evenly sized and somewhat small pieces.

3.    Put the bananas in an airtight container: A freezer-safe glass bowl like this one is fine, or you can use a freezer bag.

4.    Freeze the banana pieces for at least 2 hours: Freeze for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.

5.    Blend the frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or powerful blender: Pulse the frozen banana pieces. We've found that a small food processor or chopper works best.

6.    Keep blending — the banana will look crumbly: At first the banana pieces will look crumbled or smashed. Scrape down the food processor.

7.    Keep blending — the banana will look gooey: Then it will look gooey, like banana mush. Scrape down the food processor.

8.    Keep blending — the banana will look like oatmeal: It will get smoother but still have chunks of banana in it. Scrape down the food processor.

9.    Watch the magic happen! Suddenly, as the last bits of banana smooth out, you'll see the mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. (If adding any mix-ins, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, this is the moment to do it.)

10. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until solid: You can eat the ice cream immediately, but it will be quite soft. You can also transfer it back into the airtight container and freeze it until solid, like traditional ice cream.

Recipe Notes

• Food processor vs. blender: We've found that a food processor works best for this, with enough room for the banana to get fully creamy and a little bit aerated. Some people do make it in a blender, but be careful; make sure your blender is powerful enough to process the frozen bananas.
• Making a bigger batch: Yes, you can make a bigger batch with more than one banana! Just make sure your food processor is big enough (and powerful enough).

Mix-in Ideas (remember to add any ProPoints if you do!)

While the one-ingredient aspect of this ice cream is a big part of its charm, we don't think that loses much when it becomes two- or even three- ingredient ice cream. Here are a few favorite mix-ins to make it even more awesome.

·         Spoonful of peanut butter

·         Drizzle of honey

·         Handful of chocolate chips

·         A few almonds

·         Dollop of Nutella

·         Scoop of cookie butter

·         Tablespoon of cocoa powder

·         Half a teaspoon of cinnamon, cardamom, or ginger

Well I'll leave you thinking about ice cream :) have a great day!