Busy lifestyles can take ice cream and nutrition to new horizons with these top tips for packing more vitamins and minerals into your next bowl, bite or scoop.
Do you wish to get a picky eater to eat better?
Are you looking for workarounds to orthodontic restrictions or strategies for staying within dietary goals?
Fill your cupboard and freezer now with your favorite toppings that pack a powerful nutrition punch into your ice cream excursions.
Pack more protein into your ice cream
Nuts, seeds, and legumes are popular worldwide and vegetarian-friendly too. Put fruits and vegetables to work smarter in your food plan.
Powdered milk, quality protein powders, and soluble fiber products conveniently are available in flavored and unflavored forms.
Perhaps not the most palatable-sounding or looking ingredients, they are good examples of necessary nutrition which ice cream cleverly disguises for unfamiliar ingredients kids hesitate to try.
Supplement ice cream’s natural nutritional value
We know fresh fruits, vegetables and grains have different nutritional values than their cooked counterparts, but consuming fresh produce may not be practical sometimes.
Many vitamins or supplements like wheat germ can be added to toppings.
All Aboard the Ice Cream Train
Picky eaters often will accept foods in one texture but not another especially when minced, crushed, or finely shredded.
Finely cut textures melt or merge easily with ice cream practically undetected by the darling family determined to dodge their recommended daily nutrition intake. This makes it ideal for carrying added protein, fiber, and healthy fats to bodies who need it.
People who avoid certain foods not because they do not like them need ways to get their flavor fixes without damaging dental work or making gums sore. Heap their favorite crushed nuts, seeds and minced dried fruits on a dish of the treat.
People who have difficulty swallowing find ice cream soothing to a sore throat, which makes it an excellent opportunity to get healing foods and supplements where they need to go.
Try the recipes and ideas here, some of which are vegetarian-friendly. If you like a little something drizzled on your topping, keep a small bottle of honey handy. Remember, the idea is to make the toppings easy to take along.
Topping Recipes to Go
Powdered milk: If your kids do not drink milk but will eat ice cream, increase dairy power by mixing some with crushed cookies. Powdered milk can also be used in the ice cream recipe itself.
Cocoa Dust: Combine natural sweetener granules, unprepared powdered milk and dark cocoa to taste. Store in a spice container for dusting fruit-flavored crops of homemade ice cream top-heavy with their fresh-fruit namesakes.
Legume Lagoon: Plump instead of flat-shaped legume textures work well. They should be firm to the touch and well-drained.
If you have never tried legumes as ice cream toppings, start by pairing light with light and dark with dark color beans and ice cream flavors like these:
- black beans with black walnut
- chickpeas with tangy lemon
- red kidney beans with chocolate
- boiled peanuts, bacon bits and chocolate curls with baked potato ice cream
Miscellaneous Recipes:
- Chilled and finely chopped cucumber, apple, walnuts.
- Cashew halves, dried cranberries, and crushed, unsalted oven-baked vegetable chips.
- Finely chopped mint, shaved chocolate, fresh strawberries or blueberries.
- Chopped macadamia nuts, coconut flakes, dried mango bits.
- Hemp seed protein, walnuts, pecans, filberts, dried apricots.
- Bathe avocado chunks in fresh lemon juice; Add sliced strawberries, crumbled bacon.
- Shaved white, dark, and milk chocolates, sugar-free dried pineapple, and crushed banana chips.
Prepared toppings fit busy lifestyles.
Weigh and measure ingredients to make sure you get the right amount per serving of each unless you are only garnishing. Stash snack-size ziplock bags in your freezer or cupboard filled with power-packed toppings.
Use ones with printed measurements on the outside. Drop the filled goodie bags into a larger one for fresh, ready-to-go toppings in right portions for you.
Keep measured portions of favorite nutritional toppings ready to use at home or take with you.
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We ice cream lovers love thinking outside store-bought cardboard cartons for new ways to enjoy our favorite frozen delicacy. This time, by adding nutritious choices for our toppings, sometimes going only as close as another room in the house.
