Calling all ice cream addicts! I’ve got great news. With these healthy ice cream recipes, you can keep that habit of yours without killing your waistline or blowing up your cholesterol and triglycerides. Just have THIS ice cream instead of that ice cream. Got it?

Serves 8
304 Calories
23g Fat
32g Carbs
6g Protein
3g Fiber

Ingredients

2 cups baby thai coconut meat (about 2-3 coconuts)
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 2 hours
1 cup water
1/2 cup agave
3 1/2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

Puree everything in a high speed blender. (I use a Blendtec, you could also use a Vitamix.) If you don’t have a heavy duty blender, that’s ok, your ice cream just might not be quite as smooth. It’ll still taste great, though!

If you want soft-serve consistency, then chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours for flavors to mix, and then transfer it to an ice cream maker to finish. If you want hard ice cream like in the picture above, skip the ice cream maker and go straight from the blender to an airtight container and freeze until desired consistency is reached.

A Note About Those Coconuts

Many typical healthy ice cream recipes call for baby thai coconut meat because of the amazing flavor and creaminess it adds to the ice cream. Before you go thinking there’s no way this ice cream is worth the work of opening a coconut, you should know that I agree with you 100%. That is, IF this recipe called for a mature coconut. I can’t be bothered with the things. But Baby Thai Coconuts are a completely different story, and I’m here to tell you that you can handle it, and this ice cream is totally worth it if you have a special occasion. Here’s how to get it done:

The younger the coconut, the softer everything is. They’re easier to crack open, and the meat inside is the anywhere between the consistency of jello and soft, dried apricot. Baby Thai coconuts usually come with the husks still on (all that fibrous white stuff). There’s a flat side and a triangular side.

1. Take a large knife and saw off the flat side, about an inch in. Sometimes, slicing this piece off will immediately get you to the center. If your coconut starts leaking water, quickly hold it over a large container to collect it. It’s delicious and incredibly full of nutrients and amazing fat.

2. If it doesn’t start leaking for you, take a clean screwdriver to it. There will be 3 soft spots in positions similar to a bowling ball. Tap around with the screwdriver until you find 2 of the soft spots, and insert it to make a hole. It should slide right in if you’ve found the right spot. Two decent-sized holes will allow you to get that coconut water out in no time.

3. Once it’s empty, take the coconut out to your front porch and use a clean hammer to bust it open. It usually just takes one or two firm hits. Once you have a crack down the middle, you can pry open the coconut.

4. Finally, spoon out the soft meat and rinse any hard brown spots off in water. I like to do a case of coconuts at a time and freeze the meat AND the water for use in healthy ice cream recipes, smoothies, etc.

It sounds like a lot of work, but in all, takes about 5 minutes per coconut once you’re practiced. You can do it!