Healthy Frozen Treats

You know it is summer when the marching band is out in full force and the day time temperatures hit the triple digits. I have A/C, but by the evening I am ready to cool down with a frozen treat.  Yes, I am an summer ice cream addict.  I know it is not good for my body to eat ice cream daily (or twice daily) but it cools me down and tastes sooooo good.

photo credit: Helga Weber via photopin cc

Maybe I shouldn't be eating SO much ice cream...

So I've been looking for ice cream substitutes-- cool treat items that I can replace my ice cream for.  Here are a couple fun ones.

Banana Soft Serve
Exercise buddy Emily makes a fantastic soft serve ice cream with soft ripe bananas.  She says to place soft bananas, sliced, in a zip baggie. Freeze for 24 hours.  Blend in food processor until smooth.  Now the bananas are soft serve ice cream.  Stir in some mini-chocolate chips or refreeze in a popsicle container for a fun treat.

Grape Delights
Wash, dry and separate grapes from the stem.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment, wax or freezer paper. (Forget to do this and you will have a hard time removing the frozen grapes.)  Freeze grapes (red or green) 4- 24 hours.  Unstick from paper lining and replace in a freezer bag.  Eat a guilt-free handful at a time-- just don't eat the whole bag in a day!


Wendy's Frosty Substitute
So I have been seeing these recipes pinned all over pinterest and on facebook.  My question were they any good.  NO!  at least the recipes I tried.  TOO much cocoa powder. Not enough sweetener.  Too much banana flavor.  Here is my creation, based on all the recipes I found.

15 ice cubes
3/4 cup milk
1-2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2 teaspoons sugar (equal to the cocoa powder)
1/3 ripe banana

Blend until smooth.  Serve immediately!