Two Natural Ice Cream Flavors You Can Make this Summer

I seriously cannot recall how it felt during the cold months of January and February.

Even though our weather here in the south is a bit on the "cool" side now because of the storm (Oh God protect us!), the air is still hot and humid.

As it's already officially summer, is there a better thing to do than eat ice cream?

Yes, there is something better. Make one!

This week and last week, I made two different ice cream flavors that you can create at home. Aside from being more affordable than commercial ice cream, these only have two ingredients each. What's not to love?

First one is the classic avocado ice cream. Americans might be surprised to hear that we eat this fruit in sweet desserts. Anyway, I love avocado because it has protein and healthy saturated fats which we all need.

To make the ice cream, you only need two ingredients: avocados and condensed milk.

Yes, I know condensed milk is not the most nutritious stuff on the planet and it raises the cholesterol level of this ice cream, but there's no better replacement for this (unless you can suggest one?). Plain milk makes the mixture too liquid, which is not good in creating ice cream, while honey does not make it creamy enough.

I seriously believe it's still better than commercial ice cream!

How to make it? Just blend the two ingredients together! I don't have measurements because you only need to add the milk from time to time until you achieve the flavor you want.

The second ice cream you can make is a lot healthier than the first: banana-peanut butter! I actually first wrote about it last year. I love bananas because they're rich in potassium while peanut butter is full of protein.

Like the name suggests, you only need bananas and peanut butter.

You can use any kind of peanut butter, but I shy away from using brands with too many ingredients. My current favorite is the local Danes brand as I have yet to see a brand here with just peanuts as the ingredient.

Anyway, just blend the two ingredients together! Again, I don't have a measurement for this. Just gradually add the PB until you achieve the flavor you want.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a photo of the actual ice cream because we quickly ate it all up during a power interruption. Fail!

That's it! Have a great summer!

Tip: You can make any fruit combination that you want. Just remember to use fruits that are fleshy and not those that are juicy (oranges, watermelon). While these fruits are great for juices and smoothies, I don't think you'll be able to make creamy ice cream with them.

PS: This week or maybe next, I might make mango ice cream. Yum!

PPS: What about durian? Ooh interesting, although there are only two people in the house who eat durian: my mother and my kuya. Hihi

PPPS: If you're not fond of ice cream (how come?!), here are two healthy alternatives to battle the summer heat:

Yogurt

Ice-cold chocolate made of 100% chocolate callets from Cacao de Davao

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Blue and Red Sunday

Hi! It's Monday again! Grabe ang bilis ng panahon. Soon enough, it's gonna be Valentine's Day na naman. Alone parin ako. Charot!

Hahaha!

Anyway, how did your weekend go? Mine was uneventful, thank God. Of course, Sunday is my only real "weekend." I work the whole Saturday so I always see to it that I don't think of anything work-related during Sundays. It helps that I get to spend the whole day with my little boy. This inevitably means pigging out, so I don't bother counting calories on Sundays. Err, I don't exercise, too... Hey, one day lang naman!

Here are photos that show how my Sunday went (Sorry for the quality of the photos; I haven't replaced my broken camera yet. The stocks are taking so long to arrive!):

Here is how Yuri poses for an OOTD shot: kagat labi. Adorbs! I wish I had a proper camera to capture that smile. Ugh!

 Admiring his outfit: Crib Couture shirt, H&M jeans, and Children's Place sneaks

  

I noticed that we tend to go matchy-matchy! Hindi sinasadya yan. On me are my mom's cardigan, Forever21 dress, belt from Gaisano Mall department store, and Celine flats

(That's my Cuzo bag) I was trying to get a photo for Instagram...

...when the little boy decided enough is enough. This is what happens when you stop and pose for a second too long!

After church, I finally got to try Manang's Chicken. The kind owner of the Davao City branch (in Gaisano Mall, near The Peak) has invited me months ago, but I never found myself anywhere near Gaisano Mall. I finally found time and - yay - I don't regret it! I will write more about this lunch tomorrow.

Yogurt-Gelatin Pops!

Happy manic Monday!

I'm running on a kinda hectic busy schedule today (don't we all?), and I thank my lucky stars that I made a batch of easy-peasy yogurt-gelatin pops during my (one-day) vacay last week.

What are yogurt-gelatin pops? Basically, these are popsicles made from two ingredients: yogurt and gelatin! This dessert can be made breakfast because of its high nutritional value. Also, it's sugar-free! (You can add sugar if you want to, though). Plus, like the rest of my lazy recipes, it only takes minutes to make!

I actually copied the recipe from here, and since I wanted to make use of the unused popsicle mold in the kitchen, I made them into messy popsicles instead. First, the ingredients:

If you're wondering why the yogurt looks too big, that's actually a pack of 4 cups. I used two cups of yogurt and one pack of gelatin (the only "menudo" brand I can find in SM)

Just mix the two ingredients together!

Important: Mix the two ingredients in a microwaveable bowl because you have to microwave the mixture. After mixing, microwave on High for 2 minutes. Mix it again and microwave it for another 2-3 minutes. 

Freshly-sterilized popsicle molds!

The job is messy but fun!

Here it is! Not picture-perfect but delish nonetheless!

And that's it, folks! It looks like Jelly Tongue pala, no? Kid-friendly, nutritious, and easy-peasy! Messy but fun to eat! I even ate one haha!

PS: On hindsight, I should have used smooth yogurt rather than yogurt with fruit bits. On the other hand, Yuri likes eating the bits!

*Sorry, I had to use my cellphone's camera to take the photos (save for the last one).

PPS: I was finally able to take a decent photo!

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Food Finds ala Cheap Thrill

Hey, hey, hey! It's the last day of April! Bukas May na. Time flies sooo fast. I'm so excited because konti na lang, June na!

Well, ako lang ata ang excited for June. Others are dreading it already kasi pasukan na. Oh well, I wouldn't have to think about school for 5 or 6 more years. Wee!

Anyway, to end the month with good vibes, let's talk about food. I love food. I love going grocery shopping to look for new foodstuff. It's my stress-reliever.

Now, please forgive me if I won't be offering restaurant reviews of any sort. Halos hindi ako lumabas this month eh. Also, whenever we go out, hindi naman kami nakakapili ng restaurants. Hanggang grocery lang talaga ako. Hahaha! So what I will show you are food finds I discovered while grocery shopping. Game?

First find: Creamy Delight Yogurt

I love, love, love yogurt. And I don't pertain to frozen yogurt in those expensive places with all the toppings and the works. I eat those stuff, but I don't really like them. What I love are the cheaper kind you can buy in groceries. Cheap taste? I know, right? Haha!

Now, I first heard about Creamy Delight through **Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan's Twitter account, but that time, I couldn't find it in groceries. I'm so glad it finally came upon our Davao shores! Haha!

Verdict: A cup only costs P22 for the mixed berries flavor. The fruit salad variety (pictured above) costs only P16! I got both flavors. Plus! It's really creamy and a lot tastier than the leading brand! :D

***

Second find: Nips Jellies

I bought this on impulse when I went out for a quick grocery shopping last Thursday. I was curious. There were only two possibilities: Would this taste heavenly like jellybeans? Or would it taste really, really bad? 

To be honest, ako lang ang kumain nito. No one else would touch it. Bakit? I find this weird because I loved it! Bakit ganun? Ganun na ba talaga ka-cheap ang taste ko? *munches on more Nips*

Verdict: This costs P28 for a pack of three. This means a pack would have cost around P9. Not bad! Also, obviously, I like how it tastes. Try it para malaman nyo! Haha! :D

***

Second find: Selecta Oreo Rocky Road

What I wanted to try actually was the Mrs. Fields variety. I love chocolate chip cookies kasi, whichever brand. Imagine them with ice cream? Heaven! However, when we got to the mall, only the Oreos variety was available. Which worked well because my sister liked Oreos. Me not so much. :D

Verdict: I don't find this cheap at all. It's quite expensive at P150 for a pint, but not as expensive as a Magnum. As for the taste, well, the ice cream tastes like ice cream. The Oreos taste like Oreos.

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Fourth and favorite find: Beryl's Gourmet Chocolate

Last Thursday, I went to my old office to deliver a couple of dresses to my friend, George. I heard about a new baking supplies shop within the area, and I was curious to visit it. Actually, no. I was curious to buy a certain kind of chocolate sold in the shop.

However, I was taken aback by the shop, Kitchen Pantry. It looked so cute! It belonged in Pinterest, not in Acacia Street. Sadly, it looked so out of place among the karaoke bars and billiard halls in the area. :-(

Anyway, this is what I came there for:

I have heard of Beryl's Gourmet way back late 2011, but I can't seem to find someone who sells it. Also, I'm wary of buying from online sellers because I didn't know how the food was stocked. I don't have qualms buying clothes and other items, but food? I think I'd rather buy from a physical store.

And aaaah, there were lots and lots of chocolate bars in Kitchen Pantry. There were actually two varieties - Milk and Dark - and even though I love dark chocolate, I just picked up milk chocolate for my sister and Y. According to George, though, the dark chocolate tastes divine!

Verdict: It tastes sooo yummy! It's reminiscent of champorado, which we love. It's so creamy but dense and full-packed. Also, it's 200 grams, so the bar itself is heavy. But take note, it just costs P65. That's for 200 grams of chocolate action!

They also have 1kg bars worth P200+. I want!!!

UPDATE!

I woke up this morning and saw, in all its glory, a 1 kilogram chocolate bar on the table! Ermergehrd! It's so huuuge! And heavy, too!

My mom brandished it around and said, "Alam mo, maganda tong ibaon sa bag. Pang-self defense."

To give you an idea of how big it is, take a look at this photo:

Do you see how big it is compared to my mug? If you think this is a camera trick, take a look at the next photo:

Here's Y trying to hold the bar. Ang laki talaga! He also threw it to the floor. We were worried the floor tiles would crack! Hahaha!

Yum yum yum! Thank you, sponsor! :D

How about you? What recent food discoveries did you make?

**Trivia: Ms. Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan is my cousin, second-degree. :D

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