Go Bananas!

Swap your ice cream for nice cream with these dairy-free concoctions.

Summer just wouldn’t be summer without the nation’s favourite frozen treat. But the chilly truth is, many regular brands of ice cream are an artery-clogging cocktail of saturated fat, sugar and hidden additives. And it seems shoppers are finally wising up.

Figures show global ice cream sales fell by 16 per cent in 2016 – mainly, say consumer experts, because people are choosing to eat ice cream as an occasional treat or opting for one of the many new, dairy-free alternatives.

Step forward nice cream – the creamy, good-for-you ice made from frozen bananas. Over to Margie Broad head, healthy chef founder of Nana Nice Cream, whose new book Guilt Free Nice Cream (Hardie Grant, £12.99) offers 70 nice cream-based recipes. Here are three to try today.

Deep-dish chocolate chip cookie with cinnamon nice cream

Serves 4–6 people 

For the cinnamon nice cream 

60g coconut oil, melted 

2 tsp ground cinnamon 

tsp vanilla extract 

6 bananas, peeled and frozen 

2 tbsp coconut yoghurt 

8 pitted dates, roughly chopped 

For the chocolate chip cookie 

2 × 400g tinned chickpeas, drained andrinsed

100g rolled oats 

90g unsweetened apple purée 

2 tbsp melted coconut oil 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp baking powder 

½ tsp sea salt 

120ml maple syrup