Who are we to make your ice cream fantasies come true? We are two healthy-food lovers from Finland, a north European country with thousands of lakes and forests—and endless reserves of clean, wild food. We live in Helsinki, a city with a lovely spirit and a quickly growing interest in wholesome eating. Finns are crazy about ice cream and eat lots of it. Despite our cold winters, Finland is actually one of the biggest ice cream consumers in the world!
Sure, we’re healthy-food lovers now, but it wasn’t always that way. Both of us used to eat store-bought ice cream—and plenty of other store-bought and processed foods. But we felt sick almost every day. Virpi had stomach and skin problems, and Tuulia found out she had celiac disease. Finally, about six years ago, we made the decision to cut out dairy, gluten, and refined sugars from our diets, and shifted to a more wholesome way of eating. We both felt a big difference in our well-being, and we haven’t looked back.
We are both ice cream maniacs, and we love to indulge in frozen treats. But after our food awakening, we wanted to make sure what we were eating was wholesome and healthy, not like the stuff we used to eat. So we started creating healthy alternatives and were thrilled to find that they tasted even better than the traditional options we were used to. We soon discovered that fruits and different kinds of plant-based milk and nuts make perfect ice creams. Coconut milk makes a fantastic, smooth base; nuts can provide a dreamy creaminess that’ll make you swoon, and natural sweeteners like maple syrup and berries are better than any refined sugar. And a major perk? Each recipe we created required only a few simple ingredients and was quick to throw together! We didn’t even need an ice cream maker. As soon as we started eating this way, we couldn’t imagine going back.
We had so much fun (and ate so many delicious treats!) making our vegan ice creams that we decided to bring our passions together and create a guide for healthy homemade and plant-based ice creams: a book of all our favorite recipes, such as strawberry cheesecake, chocolate sundae, and mint chocolate ice cream sandwiches. We decided to make the collection an e-book that we could share with our followers, and to our great delight, it quickly became very successful. Before we knew it, we were making a real book out of it—which you are now reading.
Why N’Ice Cream? All these recipes are free of gluten, refined sugar, and dairy, and most of them are raw, too. The recipes in this book are also vegan, which is a kind way to live—it means caring for your body, the environment, and the animals of the world. When you make these recipes, you’re being nice. Plain and simple!
CREAMY CHOCOLATE-STRAWBERRY ICE POPS
A collaboration of the classics: strawberry ice cream meets chocolate ice cream. Works every time!
NF MAKES 4
Chocolate layer:
2 large bananas
2 heaping tablespoons peanut butter or coconut butter
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
Strawberry layer:
1 (14-ounce/400-ml) can full-fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
½ teaspoon vanilla powder 2 tablespoons coconut syrup or another sweetener
½ cup strawberries, cut into small pieces
Puree the bananas, peanut butter, and cacao powder in a blender. Add the cacao nibs and mix gently.
Open the coconut milk can and scoop the thick white cream into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla powder and coconut syrup. Gently mix in the strawberries.
Pour alternating layers of the chocolate mixture and the strawberry mixture into ice pop molds. Add ice pop sticks and freeze for 4 to 6 hours, until firm. Remove the molds by dipping them into hot water for a moment. Serve and enjoy!
SERVES 4
This dairy-free version of creamy stracciatella is definitely as good as its traditional counterpart and leaves you feeling refreshed.
¾ cup (180 ml) cashew nuts (soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours)
1 (14-ounce/400-ml) can full-fat coconut milk
3 to 4 tablespoons maple syrup or another sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup (70 g/2.5 ounces) raw chocolate or very dark chocolate
Drain and rinse the cashews and put them in a blender with the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend until creamy and smooth. Taste, and add more vanilla or sweetener, if desired.
With an ice cream maker:
While the ice cream is churning, melt the chocolate in a small saucepan set over low heat. Just before the ice cream is ready, pour in the melted chocolate. It will break down into small pieces.
Serve immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container, cover, and freeze until ready to use. Let the ice cream thaw for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
Without an ice cream maker:
Break the chocolate into small pieces. Pour the ice cream mixture into a freezer-safe bowl, fold in the crushed chocolate, and freeze for about 3 hours, mixing well every 30 minutes. Scoop into bowls, serve, and enjoy!
CREAMY TAHINI ICE POPS
If you like tahini, you’re going to love these creamy ice pops. The slightly salty tahini combined with the sweetness of banana and maple syrup is heavenly.
NF MAKES 6
2 (14-ounce/400-ml) cans full-fat coconut milk (refrigerated overnight)
1 ripe banana
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons maple syrup or another sweetener
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Open the coconut milk cans and scoop out the thick, solid white cream into a blender. Add the banana, tahini, maple syrup, and vanilla and blend until smooth. Taste and add more sweetener or tahini, if desired. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds. Remove the molds by dipping them into hot water for a moment. Serve and enjoy!
We hope you’ll find lots of new ice cream ideas and delicious kitchen adventures within this book. Go ahead and step into the world of nice cream! We wish you a pleasant stay, and hope you will make a lot of new ice cream friends!
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