I’ve come across a few new-to-me Paleo blogs lately and all the recipes posted seem to be Paleo treats. It makes me think that anyone who comes across those blogs won’t understand the Paleo diet, especially if those blogs were their first impression of Paleo.
Yes, yes, you read the title correct. I’m sharing a Paleo Ice Cream recipe today but this is no sugar-laden ice cream recipe. :)
I don’t mean to sound like what some people call “the Paleo police”, because I don’t think people should be denied a treat when they feel like it, but I don’t think Paleo desserts should be the only recipes people promote…especially if you label yourself as a Paleo blogger.
Everyone’s definition of Paleo is different, because the Paleo diet (to me) is all about finding what works for you and your body. But having Paleo brownies and Paleo ice cream and Paleo chocolate chip cookies every night of the week isn’t doing your body any good. And don’t trick yourself into thinking just because the word Paleo sits in front of the title of that treat, that it’s OK to consume on a regular basis.
With all that in mind, I’m quite excited to share the story behind this Cranberry Chocolate Chip Paleo Ice Cream recipe.
I get reeled in quite easily by a beautifully shot photo. Whether it’s a portrait of a person or food it doesn’t matter. Problem is when I dig deeper beyond the gorgeous food porn and read the recipe, I’ll find out that it will require some appliance, knife, pan or tool that I don’t own in order to make it, and that can really irritate me sometimes.
I definitely don’t feel the need to run out and buy new kitchen equipment, just because some single recipe calls for it’s use and typically I’ll find a way to make something similar without having what’s listed as being required.
Over the course of the last 8-10 years of cooking for me and Jeff I’ve gathered a nice sampling of the necessities and a few things I use every now and again, but there’s nothing in my kitchen I don’t use on a regular or semi-regular basis. Now and again I’ll take an inventory of what I’ve got (in the kitchen and around the house) and when I find something that has been just sitting and hasn’t been used I will either make a conscious effort to use it more or donate it.
So what does any of this have to do with this Paleo ice cream recipe? Well bear with me here…
A little over a month ago Jeff & I went shopping at a department store.
Now that’s a pretty rare occasion since we typically buy what we need online and I’ll really only do some of our grocery shopping in person and that’s it. Even though I don’t want excess stuff in my kitchen that I don’t use regularly it doesn’t mean I don’t head straight to the kitchen department to look and touch all the fancy brand new things. :)
Now I’m not gonna lie, I love ice cream. I always have and I always will. So of course I’ve had an ice cream maker on my wishlist since…well, since Amazon Wishlists were created! So of course the shiny new cranberry red ice cream maker that was screaming to me on display next to the plain jane white versions caught my eye immediately. And of course, IT WAS ON SALE!
But what is a sale really?
Well, typically when there’s a sale it’s because the newer model was recently released and they want to get rid of all the older models. But really, who keeps track of updated ice cream makers? It’s not like it’s made by Apple.
So immediately I pulled up my Amazon Wishlist to see if it’s the model I had bookmarked plus I wanted to read the reviews. Then I searched for the most recent model. After I was absolutely certain that I wanted to make the purchase I came walking over to Jeff to show him what I now planned on buying. After reassuring him that I had done a little recon and this was in fact, the machine I’ve wanted to buy, we brought it up to the register.
The cashier rang us up and my jaw almost dropped to the ground! Not only was the ice cream maker on sale, this particular box with the shiny brand new cranberry red ice cream maker inside was reduced in price beyond what the sign said. The ice cream maker rang up for $8.50…can you believe it?! Eight dollars and fifty cents!! Gosh darn it we spend more on a single meal for one at Chipotle than the price we were about to pay for this ice cream maker that I could continue to use over and over again. It was meant to be I tell ya! :)
The interesting part of this entire story is that I picked this brand new appliance up on the very same day I started my 30 days of 100% strict Paleo. That meant as soon as we got home I cleaned my new ice cream maker and then put it away – not to be seen for at least the next 30 days.
Once my 30 days were up I had no interest in reintroducing anything but small amounts of fruit so I waited a while to pull it back out. But my brand new ice cream maker had me curious. I wanted to know if it was really worth owning or whether using my blender to make “ice cream” was good enough.
The ice cream maker comes with an instruction booklet with recipe suggestions in the back but I have no interest in making anything other than Paleo ice cream and I didn’t want to make something extremely sweet with my first use so I started with this tart Cranberry Chocolate Chip Paleo Ice Cream. It’s not super sweet but it does have the right consistency.
When I make my typical Paleo ice cream in the blender it’s more like soft serve because the frozen bananas start to melt once it’s been swirling around in the blender to break it up. I really love how easy it is to make in the blender and probably will continue to use that method but the ice cream maker does do a nice job of creating that frozen ice-creamy texture. With a little forethought to keep the freezer bowl in the freezer (although meat will always take priority of my freezer space), I won’t mind using my new ice cream maker when the time hits. I probably won’t use it too often, but just often enough is fine with me. :)
If you don’t have an ice cream maker, opt for using your blender instead. It will work just fine but if you’re so inclined to check out an ice cream maker, the one I picked up was the Magenta colored Cuisinart ICE-21.
