From Iowa: The Vegan Monkey

gluten-free, date sweetened, Celiac friendly

I made it to Iowa alive! Apart from being run off the highway by an evil school bus, I have completed 2/3ds of my journey unscathed! I'm staying with Andrew here in Iowa until Sunday afternoon, then I'll complete my trip to Spring Green. But that's only a three hour drive, which is a piece of cake. For now, I'm just enjoying getting to spend time with the boy I love.

Oh - and my road trip snacks were very successful! They kept me full, awake, and satisfied - which is quite a feat! I even managed to save a few truffles for Andrew to try - that's true love  :)

So I'm here, in Iowa (the Amana area of Iowa is BEAUTIFUL btw), and Andrew is running props/house managing for On Golden Pond - which I'm seeing tomorrow - and I'm relaxing after 7 hours in the car - a little yoga for my stiff back and a cup of tea for my soul - and thought I'd take a little time while I still have the internets to do a little back blogging, and share a recipe I made the other night along with the Enchilada Casserole: Vegan Chunky Monkey Ice Cream!

Way back when, before I went vegan, I was absolutely in love with Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice Cream. I could down a whole pint in about two seconds. This was also before I had fully grasped the concept of portion control :P However, now using Melissa's wonderful vegan date sweetened coconut milk ice cream base (which I introduced here), I can make my own version anytime I want and not feel an ounce of guilt. Which is kinda awesome.

The three things that make Chunky Monkey, well, Chunky Monkey, are bananas, walnuts and chocolate chips. This ice cream base recipe has become one of my favorites; there are so many flavor combos just waiting to be discovered, and I'm loving this new one. Also, I love how this recipe really isn't bad for you - coconut milk, dates, fruit, nuts, and a little bit of dairy/sugar-free chocolate - in the words of Ina Garten: "how bad can that be?"

The Vegan Monkey

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup of water
• 5 Medjool Dates, pits removed
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 very ripe bananas

Add-Ins: 

• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (recipe follows)*

To Make the Ice Cream:
Put all ice cream ingredients into a blender. Blend the ingredients until only small flecks of the dates and banana remain. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, following the manufacturers directions.

Mix in the walnuts and chocolate chips when the ice cream is starting to firm up. Serve and enjoy!  

My ice cream tends to be on the soft-servy side - probably because I both like it that way and haven't the patience to wait for it to get super firm before I dive in....

*Chocolate Chips 

(again, courtesy Melissa C.)

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder
• 5 tablespoons coconut oil
• 5 tablespoons shredded coconut
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp almond flour or cashew butter (optional)
• 1 tsp agave or maple syrup (I used 6 drops of stevia in mine, however I do like really dark chocolate- if you're not a fan, I'd recommend adding in the extra sweetener).

To Make Chocolate Chips: 

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and coconut oil by hand until well-blended. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Smear a small dab of coconut oil onto some parchment or wax paper, then pour on the chocolate and spread into a thin layer. Refrigerate chocolate until set (very little time). Break into little pieces and add to ice cream, or store in an airtight container in the freezer. 

Melty chocolate on parchment paper.

My almond/coconut flaked chocolate chunks :D