Did you know you can make a high protein healthy ice cream by using frozen bananas? This article will provide a super simple and delicious healthy ice cream recipe that is high in protein and contains no added sugar.
Banana Protein Ice Cream & Cookie Sundae
(Serves 8)
Ingredients
- 5 frozen bananas
- 5 scoops of vanilla whey protein from Naked Nutrition
- 1 ¼ cup greek yogurt (or dairy-free alternative)
- ¼ cup dairy or non-dairy milk
- 3 chocolate chip Naked Cookie, crumbled
Instructions
- First, blend the bananas, whey protein, yogurt, and milk in a blender until smooth. Be careful not to overmix as it can begin to warm up and become too liquidy.
- For a thicker and more frozen texture, pour the ice cream mixture into a tightly sealed Tupperware container. Before putting it in the freezer, top with crumbled Naked Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- When you’re ready to eat the ice cream, take the Tupperware out of the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter for 15 minutes before serving.
- Scoop the ice cream into a bowl, making sure to get plenty of cookie crumbles in each scoop.
Benefits of a high-protein dessert
Most people have heard about the benefits of a high-protein diet, but high-protein desserts get less attention.
As you may have noticed, the protein cookies and ice cream recipe above contains quite a bit of protein from both the whey protein powder and protein cookie topping.
You may be wondering about the benefits of including a dessert such as this one. Not only is it delicious, but there are several health benefits to adding protein to your sweet treat. And it will also help you meet your daily protein needs.
Fuels the Body After a Workout
If you just finished a tough workout, your muscles are craving replenishment in the form of both carbohydrates and protein.
But who’s to say that your post-workout fuel has to be a protein shake? If you’re craving something a bit more fun, perhaps you could whip up a protein-rich banana ice cream such as this one.
After a workout, muscle protein synthesis is elevated for at least 24 hours. This is a time when muscles are best able to incorporate amino acids from protein-rich foods into muscle fibers, allowing them to heal and gain strength. This is important because the body requires more protein during this time.
Choosing a high protein dessert over a standard dessert may allow for increased muscle protein uptake and a more rapid recovery.
May Help Stabilize Blood Sugar
Foods that are mostly simple sugars are more likely to spike blood sugar. A spike in blood sugar is bound to also cause a drop in blood sugar, often leaving people feeling tired.
Not to mention, frequent spikes in blood sugar is correlated to increased inflammation and potentially irregular hunger and fullness cues.
The presence of nutrients like protein, fiber, and even fat, are helpful to slow the digestion and absorption of nutrients, therefore blunting the body’s blood sugar response.
A high protein dessert like this high protein cookies and ice cream contains fiber from bananas and protein from the yogurt and whey, which doesn’t lead to a blood sugar spike. Choosing high protein desserts is one way to help stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent spikes in blood sugar.
Satisfying and Delicious
A high protein dessert like this ice cream and cookies is so delicious that you likely won’t even realize it’s healthy. The creamy banana base topped with the crumbly cookies create a delicate and delectable texture that is almost like you’re eating soft serve ice cream with cookie crumble.
In addition to being absolutely delicious and refreshing, this dessert is actually quite satiating, too – thanks to its protein content. Each serving of this dessert has approximately 15 grams of protein, which is definitely more than your average dessert. Plus, research suggests that 15 grams of protein for a snack is adequate to promote feelings of fullness and satisfaction.
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