Thursday, January 7, 2010

Gelato-ish


This is not my photo but you can get the idea. My photo posting problem is still there and it has nothing to do with my abilities. It is an internal Mac problem which now requires a little trip into town to the Apple store. Fun. Thanks for all of your tips and the one-on-one, Kelli. I really hope to get this figured out next week! Just imagine this is my real recipe since it really looks the same.

Since my little Tater can't enjoy the real deal Gelato, I had to figure out an alternative for him. I don't like him to have sugar and any "Mock" ice cream you can buy always has sugar of some sorts. In my experiment with soaking grains and nuts, I came upon this little gem and he couldn't be happier. In fact, he can even have this for breakfast if he wants. (and does)

Let's first discuss why you want to soak nuts in the first place. I am fairly new to this concept due to a dragging of heels of sorts. I new it was the way to go but it is just one more thing to do. I finally purchased a book on sprouting and soaking and dived on in. I am still very much in the learning phase but this one is an easy one. Nuts are simple. You just have to cover them and let them sit, then rinse and dry if you want them crunchy again. Why do this in the first place? Here you go:

The Benefits of Soaking Nuts

A nut is coated in an enzyme inhibitor that protects the nut as it grows. Unfortunately, this inhibitor inhibits the digestive process of the nut. Also, because of that, the vitamins contained in the nut are not digested as well. The phytic acid in the nuts is reduced when soaked to also help the absorption of vital minerals.

Sound reasonable? Well another great thing about soaking a nut is that it can change the consistency of certain nuts to take on a creamy, dairy type texture. You get the cream and no guilt to go with it. You can use the soaked nuts in recipes to fool the palates.

Here is the basic "Gelato" recipe and once you try it out, you can do just about anything with it. Delish. You need a good blender to get it really smooth and you want to take your time to really churn in up. Keep it really frozen like ice cream.

1. Pinon nuts: (Pine nuts) I get mine in bulk at Costco. They are not real cheap but you don't need much. Use 1/2 cup in a jar covered with water. Put a lid on it and soak it in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight.

2. Fruit: I started with banana flavor. I cut up two banana's in small slices and put it in the freezer. My other favorite flavor is blueberry using frozen berries.

3. To mix: Add the following for the flavor you desire:

Banana

1/4 cup soaked pine nuts
2 frozen, sliced bananas
1 tsp. real maple syrup
1/2 t. vanilla

Blend until completely smooth. You will need to stop and stir. Add a little water if needed but keep thick and frozen.

Blueberry

1/2 cup soaked pine nuts
1 frozen ,sliced banana
1-2 cups frozen blueberries
1 T. maple syrup (totally not needed in my opinion)
a little water if too thick

Blend until creamy. Eat right away. It doesn't freeze well. It is very sweet and looks just like a soft ice cream/gelato.

You could do just about anything with this. Pine nuts are amazing but it doesn't work if they are not soaked.

Try this out on the little ones. If you tell them they are getting ice cream for breakfast, you will be the hero of the day. Even my older kids love this and ask for it. I have more nut recipe's to share but hopefully I will have pictures to share along with them. (finger's crossed).



12 comments:

Cindy Sage said...

Thanks you so much for this post. My husband and daughter are trying to lose weight and are trying to keep sugar out of thier diet : ) Yea! Something I try to do for the whole family, but I never know what they do when I am not there... Please keep posting any good sugar-free recipes. Thank!

DK said...

Shari I am so glad you are back... love to read your inspiring words :)...Hope you and your family are well... Deena

Connie Lee said...

Who would have thought that you can make ice cream by soaking nuts? I've never heard of it before. Add another nutritional trick to our arsenal. Great. Can't wait to try it.

RPH said...

I have started soaking a few things, what book did you get on the subject? I could use a little more information and more help!

Cindy Thomas said...

Thanks Shari! This sounds tasty.

Clair said...

I'm so excited to try this in my vitamix! Thank you!

Huish Family said...

Yeah! Thanks for the ideas. Love to have you back in the saddle too!

Shari Goodman said...

The book I have on sprouting is a pretty good starter book. I bought it from Azure Standard called simply, "The Sprouting Book." It is very convincing. It is by Ann Wigmore who has lots of credentials.

Shari Goodman said...

PS,
Missed you Raygon! Hope you are keeping warm and healthy!

ShelleyG said...

I am glad to see you posting again Shari, I hope your family is well. I am sure you already know this, but there are LOTS of places you can get pine nuts in the fall. They grow in the pinon pine trees all over AZ (not so much in the valley, but definately up in the mtns). They are in the pine cones and fall out onto the ground under the trees in the fall. It might make for a fun family outing to 'harvest' some. :) Pine nuts were a staple of the Native American diet for ages.

kami said...

my husband and i are very excited to try this as a healthy treat!

questions: how much water do you soak the 1/2 cup of pine nuts in? does it matter? do you drain the water after soaking? and to clarify, before you blend everything up - you freeze the soaked nuts, right?

Shari Goodman said...

It doesn't matter how much water, I usually do about double to give them room to grow. Drain the water in the morning and then put them in the blender. You don't freeze the nuts. I keep any leftover nuts in a jar in the fridge and use them the next day. Always use frozen fruit or at least a majority of it.