Banana, Lemon & Passionfruit Guilt-Free Ice Cream

Could there be any better thing than eating ice cream for breakfast ... absolutely guilt-free?  I think not.  Now of course you could eat this for dessert, but personally I don't really see the point of dessert without a little guilt.  Dessert is, in my view, a time to indulge in every guilty pleasure imaginable and hang the consequences.  I'm sorry but phrases like "low-fat", "sugar-free", "dairy-free", "guilt-free" and, heaven forbid, "healthy alternative" are just not going to cut it for me when it comes to dessert.

On the other hand, if I can indulge in something that is tantamount to dessert for breakfast, without a shred of guilt .... well, that really does it for me.  And this ice cream fits the bill perfectly.  It is really nothing more than banana, yoghurt and vanilla extract - a frozen smoothie, if you like.  I love the fact that, with just a tiny bit of forward planning, you can sit up to a big bowl of this in the morning, and then go off to work with the double satisfaction of just having eaten ice cream and knowing you've had a good breakfast.  Now that's what I call a win-win.

You will need a banana, of course, cut into thin slices.  Pop the sliced banana into a snap-lock bag, and freeze for a couple of hours - I usually do this when I get home from work.  Next, remove frozen banana pieces from the freezer and put into your blender.  Add yoghurt.  Thanks to the spoils of my NZ Food Bloggers Conference goodie bag, I used a combination of The Collective Dairy's Luscious Lemon (my new favourite) and Passionfruit, but any flavour you like that would complement banana is fine.  Lastly, add a good shot of good quality vanilla extract - again, thanks to that goodie bag I used Equagold Tahitian Vanilla Syrup.  Blitz everything up in the blender until smooth, then return to the freezer to firm up.  I usually blend this up just before I go to bed, and then dig into a bowl of ice cream perfection when I get up in the morning.

Hope you give this a try.  There's something about indulging in ice cream for breakfast that makes me sail through my morning with a smug sense of satifaction .... you know that feeling you get when you feel as though you've done something a bit naughty and managed to get away with it.  Don't tell me that you don't know that feeling.

Guilt-Free Banana, Lemon & Passionfruit Ice Cream Recipe

Makes one very generous serving

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1x banana

1/4 cup Luscious Lemon yoghurt *

1/4 cup Passionfruit yoghurt *

* or substitute flavour of your choice

1 tablespoon vanilla syrup

Note:  If using natural, unsweetened yoghurt,
I suggest adding a tablespoon or two of honey

Cut banana into thin slices, place in a snaplock bag, and freeze for a couple of hours.

Put frozen banana slices into blender, together with yoghurt and vanilla syrup.

Blend until completely smooth.

Put into plastic container and return to freezer to firm up.

I'm sharing this post with Sweet New Zealand, a monthly blog event created by the very lovely Alessandra Zecchini, and which I'm thrilled to be hosting this month right here at Couscous & Consciousness. This is an opportunity for all Kiwi bloggers (whether you are living in New Zealand or overseas), as well as for non-Kiwi bloggers living in New Zealand, to connect and share some of those sweet treats from your kitchen.  So, head on over here to share something sweet.