What I made during the Olympics, final (and best) installment!

I’ve been on a homemade ice cream kick lately. Ever since I found that it doesn’t have a negative effect on my blood sugar, I have craved it as my final, bedtime snack.

Feeling slightly guilty, I mentioned this indulgence to my friend and mentor-in-all-things-nourishing, Claire. She banished the last shreds of guilt by encouraging me that a good serving of raw dairy and eggs was just what I needed to build up the nutrients I need during pregnancy, especially as I had gone straight from nursing my baby Claire to carrying another, without a break in between.

My recipe is made with raw cream I skim off the top of my weekly 3 gallons of milk (Vitamin D), plus raw egg yolks (Vitamin A), and sweetened naturally with sucanat. It seems to provide the perfect balance of protein and good fat to make a satisfying – and totally cravable – snack.

But I don’t stop there – I mix and swirl all my favorite toppings to create a truly gourmet and delectable dessert. Here’s my favorite combination so far…

Combine first 5 ingredients (I use my VitaMix) and mix well. Pour into Ice Cream Maker (I love this one that I found at the thrift store!) and let it do it’s thing. ☺ When the Ice Cream is done, Pour it into the container you will freeze it in. Dollop the peanut butter sauce all over the top, and throw on the chocholate chips, then stir just till the peanut butter is swirled nicely and the chips are combined. Cure it (freeze until it’s hard) and then enjoy!!! You could, of course, eat it right away, but I find it improved when the peanut butter sauce had a chance to harden.

I recommend using homemade chocolate chips because they do not get rock solid when frozen like store bought chips – in fact, they are just the perfect chewiness to use in homemade ice cream! Remember, I pour my chocolate chips onto a tray to harden in one big sheet, and break it up after I freeze them hard, so they even have the authentic shape of ‘chocolate chunks’ like you get in store bought ice cream.

3/4 c. peanut butter (I use Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter– unsweetened)

Variation on a theme:

Last night I made a batch of ice cream after dinner and I was so tired, I skipped making the peanut butter sauce and just mixed 1 c. peanut butter into the ice cream before I froze it. Oh, and 1/4 c. cocoa powder. With the chocolate chips it was a most delicious Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight. You gotta try it.