Berry Blender Soft Serve

When I was young, my grandmother made the absolute best homemade strawberry ice cream. It was a big production that involved an old fashioned ice cream maker, rock salt, and I honestly don’t know what else besides strawberries – and, I probably don’t want to know. There must have been heavy cream somewhere, because that ice cream was the most delicious, creamy, sugary concoction ever.  In the  heart of Texas summer, it tasted like heaven. To this day, my favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry, but, I hardly ever have it.

We don’t eat enough ice cream to justify buying it by the half gallon, nor do we need to eat that much ice cream. But every so often, even in Seattle in winter, I crave a little ice cream treat. That’s where my Ninja Professional blender comes in. This blender is honestly my favorite kitchen item, and I came this close to not buying it. For shame!

Aside being able to blend the stuffing out of just about anything I want, I can make up a very reasonable ice cream facsimile in less than one minute. No rock salt needed. That’s just plain awesome. In case you are a little odd like me and I like a cold treat on a cold day, here is my berry soft serve creation. Enjoy!

Test Kitchen Tuesday’s Berry Blender Soft Serve
Downloadable Word Document Recipe

Note: You’ll need a high-powered blender like a Ninja, Blendtec, or Vita-mix to pull this off.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup skim milk (or, almond, soy, etc.)
• 1 frozen banana (I have started freezing them in halves instead of small chunks; the blender can take it and it’s just easier!)
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries (or just strawberries)
• Optional: 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Optional: Whey protein powder with either a berry or plain flavor

Directions:

• Add all the ingredients into your high-powered blender in the order listed and blend for about a minute until the mixture is soft serve consistency. You may have to scrape down the sides once to make sure everything is fully incorporated. The longer you blend, the thicker it will get.
• Serve and enjoy!
• I have found the easiest way to scoop the goodness out of my Ninja jar is to use a rice server/spatula thingy. Works great and doesn’t scratch the blender jar.
• You can also freeze it for a couple hours to get a more frozen ice cream consistency.

Nutrition:

Honestly, there is no ice cream you can buy that has this good of a nutritional profile. With just three ingredients, it’s about as good as it gets!

For one serving without protein powder or sugar. (Click to enlarge.)