Almond butter banana fudgesicles

When I did the South Beach thing, I was always looking for ways to still get in dessert. As a girl with a major sweet tooth, I was scary excited to see all of the sugar-free options out there. Not all of them were South Beach-approved, but an easy way to get in my chocolate fix: sugar-free fudgesicles. I thought they were the best thing ever, and always looked forward to the nights I enjoyed one or two as a sweet treat.

The pops were a dessert staple, until I learned the truths about artificial sweeteners and started to clean up my eating to include more whole foods. I discovered the glory of full-fat foods (so did my skin and hair!), the satisfaction of eating smart portions of the “real” stuff, and how to get in dessert without derailing my weight loss results.

I also learned that real desserts are often more delicious and satisfying- “fake” and “healthy” don’t have to go hand in hand.

As far as the fudgesicles go, I like to think I’m making up for lost time.

Almond butter banana fudgesicles (or ice cream)

1/2 bag of chocolate chips

1 T coconut oil

1/3 C unrefined sugar (I used maple sugar, but Sucanat or Stevia would be lovely too)

1 can coconut milk (I used light because that’s all they had at TJs- regular would probably be even better, depending on your preference)

1 banana

2 T almond butter

1 t vanilla

pinch of sea salt

1. Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler. Stir in sweetener and coconut oil. Remove from heat.

2. In a high-speed blender, add the following: banana, almond butter, coconut milk, vanilla, sea salt, and melted chocolate mixture. Blend on high until well-mixed and tap on the counter to reduce the amount of bubbles.

3. Resist the urge to grab a straw and take care of things from here.

4. Get really excited about the popsicle molds you have, and take them out for a test whirl.

Realize that they’re intended for children, the size of about 1 bite. Make some anyway.

5. Turn the rest into ICE CREAM! Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker

and churn for 20 minutes, or until this happens: 

6. Enjoy with whipped cream of choice, topped with almond butter, more chocolate chips, anything your heart desires.

This was an awesome, healthy treat- the Pilot and I couldn’t decide if the texture was more like frosting or Cool Whip. It’s light, fluffy and decadent. Hope you love it as much as we did!

And now, I have some baby popsicles to eat 😉

xoxo

Gina

*No ice cream maker or popsicle molds? Pour the mixture into silicon baking molds and freeze. Pop one out when you’re in the mood for dessert, add to a smoothie, enjoy atop a warm cookie or brownie… the possibilities are endless….