Ice Cream: The Cure All.

Pin It Ice cream cures everything. Plain and simple.  Just ask my family...
Headache? Ice cream. 
Sore muscles? Ice cream. 
Bored? Ice cream. 
Rough day? Ice cream.
Good day? Ice cream.
Breakfast? Ice cream.
Hot summer day? Ice cream.
First date? Ice cream.
Monday? Ice cream.
Stressed out? Ice cream.
PMSing? Ice cream.
Dealing with a woman whos PMSing? Ice cream.
Got accepted to WSU's Nursing Program? Ice cream! (Congrats roomies!)
State gymnastics?......ICE CREAM!  (Congrats to my sister and the gymnastics team from my home town for making it to state tonight! I hope you are all celebrating with ice cream!)

Ok I think you get the picture right?  Or must I go on...because i definitely could!
You might be wondering why I am promoting such an unhealthy food about now huh?  It's a little think I like to call mental health.  Eating your favorite foods can boost your mood and relieve some stress.  While I am a huge advocate of eating a healthy well balanced diet, I still believe it is ok to let go on occasion and indulge in the things you love.  The key here is not to over indulge...which can be quite hard to do sometimes when it comes to things like ice cream.  I mean seriously... Whens the last time you had just a half cup of ice cream (the recommended serving size on most packages)?  That's like two spoonfuls...hence, the reason I have created a variety of healthy ice cream recipes.  This way I can have a heaping bowl full and not feel a single ounce of guilt.  :)  If you haven't already checked out my healthy Apple Pie Ice Cream, I'd encourage you to do so.  So good and family approved!
 The recipes I am about to shared, however are a little bit different.  I recently invested in a personal sized ice cream maker with some of my birthday money.  I found it on clearance at Target the other day and I have already gotten my moneys worth.  It's so quick and easy and it creates minimal dishes, which is perfect for an ice cream love like me. Be on the look out for more information on the ice cream maker on my blog!  I am working on a page dedicated to all my favorite things. :)  Ok enough blabbing...here are the recipes...feel free to adapt and change them to suit your own taste buds.  Also, feel free to comment with you favorite ice cream flavor and I'll see what I can do to make a healthy version for ya!  Oh and I should add that if you don't have an ice cream maker, you can add a few ice cubes to the mixture and blend to create a smoothie like ice cream.

GOOD FOR YOU ICE CREAM

Here's my cute little ice cream maker. :)  It hold about half a pint of ice cream.  Again I'm sorry for the picture quality...but you get the picture.

Flavors:

• PB2

• 1/4 cup Weight Watchers vanilla yogurt
• 3/4 cup Skim milk
• 1 tbsp PB2 (or natural peanut butter)
• 1 packet Stevia
• Splash vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Guar gum (Guar gum helps thicken the ice cream...you could leave it out, but I would recommend leaving it in.  You can find it at you local health food store.  I might seem pricy, but trust me a little goes a long way.)
• Plum

• 1/4 cup Weight Watchers vanilla yogurt
• 3/4 cup Skim milk
• 1-2 tbsps Plum jam (I used my Grandma's homemade jam.  Yummy!)
• 1 packet Stevia
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Guar gum
• Frozen Yogurt
• 6 oz of your favorite low sugar yogurt
• 1/4 cup Skim milk
• 1 packet Stevia
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Guar gum
• Jello
• 1/4 cup Weight Watchers vanilla yogurt
• 3/4 cup Skim milk
• 1 tsp of your favorite sugar free jello
• 1 packet Stevia (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Guar gum
• Chocolate Protein
• 1 cup Skim milk
• 1/4-1/3 scoop Chocolate protein powder (Can be omitted just add more cocoa powder)
• 2 tsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 packet Stevia
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Guar gum
• Shamrock Protein
• 1 cup Skim milk
• 1/4-1/3 scoop Vanilla protein powder
• 1 packet Stevia
• Splash vanilla
• Few drops peppermint extract
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Guar gum
• Chocolate Peanut Butter (without the peanut butter...MAGIC!)

• 1 cup Skim milk
• 1/4-1/3 scoop Vanilla protein powder
• 1 packet Stevia
• 1 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4-1/2 tsp PEANUT BUTTER extract (My latest find on my grocery shopping extravaganza...)
• Splash vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 tso Guar gum

Directions:
1. Wisk all ingredients together in a cup.
2. Pour into ice cream maker and turn on for 8-10 minutes until thick and creamy.
3. Enjoy!
OR
1. Pour all ingredients with a few ice cubes in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Enjoy!
OR
1. Wisk together all ingredients and pour into an ice cube tray.
2. Freeze for a few hours.
3. Take out of freezer for a few minutes and blend until smooth.
4. Enjoy!
Makes one heaping cup to eat all by yourself.

Nutrition Facts:
This will depend on each individual flavor and the brand of the ingredients you choose, but most of the ones I created were under 150 calories and very low in fat.  The nutrition can be boosted by adding ingredients high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.  Be creative and have fun experimenting!