Is it possible to eat ice creams that are actually healthy? Absolutely! If you are an ice cream lover interested in healthy living, you need to give this healthy berry ice cream recipe a try! 🙂

This delicious & healthy berry ice cream takes only 5-10min to prepare!

And one of the best parts: it is super healthy for your brain and overall body!! Isn’t it nice that we can enjoy delicious ice creams that are healthy at the same time? 🙂

And if you are vegan, don’t worry, this ice cream is completely dairy-free! Besides, it is of course sugar-free and artificial additives-free. Totally guilt-free 🙂

Why is this recipe good for your brain?

So, as you have probably already guessed by now, the main ingredients of this recipe are berries.

Berries are among the healthiest foods you can eat. They are packed with many disease-fighting compounds, such as antioxidants that help your body to get rid of free radicals. Indeed, berries are among the foods with highest antioxidant content [2]. There are thousands of studies showing the beneficial effects of berries for our health. They can help to protect us against almost any disease, from cardiovascular diseases to cancer. But particularly interesting, there is a large amount of scientific evidence showing that they also protect our brain. They improve memory in older adults [3] and help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease [4-9].

For example, in this study [3], the authors suggest that a consistent blueberries intake may mitigate neurodegeneration.

In another study, with 16,010 subjects, they found that berry consumption, particularly blueberries and strawberries, was associated with slower rates of cognitive decline – specifically, berry intake could delay cognitive decline by 2.5 years [10]!

We are right now in the berry season, so let’s take profit from that! 🙂 But actually, this recipe can be prepared also out of season because we will anyway use only frozen berries. Actually, it has been shown that even when frozen, berries’ nutritional content (specifically the antioxidant capacity) remains pretty much the same [1].

So, let’s protect our brain while having a delicious dessert, shall we?

Print Recipe

Healthy Berry Ice Cream

Prep Time10

Servings: 4

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

80 g cashews (unsalted)
200 ml water or unsweetened plant-milk
5-10 dates (depending on how sweet you want it)
2 tbsp almond butter
300 g frozen berries

Instructions

Soak the cashews for 2-4 hours and the dates for 1h.
Add the cashews, dates, and water into your blender. Blend everything until smooth.
Add the almond butter and the frozen berries into the mixture. Blend everything at the lowest speed of the machine. Blend until it has the consistency you desire. I normally like to find some pieces of the berries in my ice cream so I blend them just for a few seconds (less than 30 seconds).

Notes

I suggest you take the berries out of the deep freezer just before you put them in the blender so that your ice cream is ready to eat immediately after the blending. If the berries are not totally frozen, or if you want to keep the ice cream for later, you can put it in the deep freezer for some hours. But, in my experience, the ice cream tastes better right after it has been made.

As simple as that! Enjoy your delicious and super healthy berry ice cream!

Did you like this recipe? Please leave your thoughts below

References

[1] W. Mullen, A. J. Stewart, M. E. Lean, P. Gardner, G. G. Duthie, and A. Crozier, “Effect of freezing and storage on the phenolics, ellagitannins, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity of red raspberries,” J Agric Food Chem, vol. 50, no. 18, pp. 5197-201, Aug 28, 2002.

[2] M. H. Carlsen, B. L. Halvorsen, K. Holte, S. K. Bohn, S. Dragland, L. Sampson, C. Willey, H. Senoo, Y. Umezono, C. Sanada, I. Barikmo, N. Berhe, W. C. Willett, K. M. Phillips, D. R. Jacobs, Jr., and R. Blomhoff, “The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide,” Nutr J, vol. 9, pp. 3, Jan 22, 2010.

[3] R. Krikorian, M. D. Shidler, T. A. Nash, W. Kalt, M. R. Vinqvist-Tymchuk, B. Shukitt-Hale, and J. A. Joseph, “Blueberry supplementation improves memory in older adults,” J Agric Food Chem, vol. 58, no. 7, pp. 3996-4000, Apr 14, 2010.

[4] B. Shukitt-Hale, D. F. Bielinski, F. C. Lau, L. M. Willis, A. N. Carey, and J. A. Joseph, “The beneficial effects of berries on cognition, motor behaviour and neuronal function in ageing,” Br J Nutr, vol. 114, no. 10, pp. 1542-9, Nov 28, 2015.

[5] B. Shukitt-Hale, “Blueberries and neuronal aging,” Gerontology, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 518-23, 2012.

[6] J. A. Joseph, B. Shukitt-Hale, and L. M. Willis, “Grape juice, berries, and walnuts affect brain aging and behavior,” J Nutr, vol. 139, no. 9, pp. 1813S-7S, Sep, 2009.

[7] B. Shukitt-Hale, F. C. Lau, and J. A. Joseph, “Berry fruit supplementation and the aging brain,” J Agric Food Chem, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 636-41, Feb 13, 2008.

[8] J. A. Joseph, B. Shukitt-Hale, and F. C. Lau, “Fruit polyphenols and their effects on neuronal signaling and behavior in senescence,” Ann N Y Acad Sci, vol. 1100, pp. 470-85, Apr, 2007.

[9] E. P. Cherniack, “A berry thought-provoking idea: the potential role of plant polyphenols in the treatment of age-related cognitive disorders,” Br J Nutr, vol. 108, no. 5, pp. 794-800, Sep, 2012.

[10] E. E. Devore, J. H. Kang, M. M. Breteler, and F. Grodstein, “Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline,” Ann Neurol, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 135-43, Jul, 2012.

Delicious & healthy berry ice cream (recipe)