I was amazed the first time I made an all-natural banana ice cream with my GreenStar juicer! Let me explain.
The GreenStar Juicer is a heavy duty dual gear shredder juicer. What that means is that it has two interlocking gears that grind fruits and vegetables and extract the juice. On top of the gears, place a screen attachment to let the juice pass through the unit while the pulp is filtered and expelled. However, when you buy a GreenStar juicer, it also comes with a “blank” accessory to use in place of the display. Use the blank accessory to make things like peanut butter, sherbet, baby food, and pate.
Champion juicers have a similar arrangement, the only difference is that instead of twin gears, the Champion juicer has a single auger style chew gear.
I was looking forward to trying to make banana ice cream. A friend told me that the best way is to take some ripe bananas, remove them completely from the peel, place them in a freezer bag, and then freeze them for at least 24 hours. They should be frozen for the best GreenStar consistency.
So, I frozen my bananas as described above. After they were frozen for a day, I took them out and put them in my GreenStar juicer with the ‘blank’ attachment in place. I was amazed and delighted that what came out had the look and consistency of soft serve ice cream! Plus, it tasted fantastic and had absolutely no dairy, fat, or added sugar.
I also learned a recipe for natural chocolate syrup (called “black tar”) that does not use chocolate, but has the look, taste, and consistency of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. I played a prank on my kids and filled an empty Hershey bottle with the natural syrup and they were completely fooled – they never suspected or commented on how good it tasted. It is completely natural and easy to do. That is how:
- 3 cups natural maple syrup (get the real product, not the imitation maple syrup)
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup natural carob powder (can be found at most nutrition stores such as Whole Foods or EarthFare)
Mix the ingredients in a blender. Pour into a jar or other suitable container and refrigerate. Store it in the refrigerator because it will spoil if left out. When you make the banana ice cream, you can pour some of the “black tar” syrup on top and it is really delicious!
