I Don't Like Hard Work

So as I mentioned in my last post, I've been gluten-free for about two years now (not including of course my most recent setback at ye' ol' bakery). But as far as clean eating goes, I've always been fairly consistent. So I'm no stranger to having to cook my own meals; I've made countless dishes of kale and quinoa, avocado salsa, shrimp ceviche, cauliflower pizza, herb roasted salmon, sautéed chicken-blah-blah and many other whole food wonders. It's no secret that cooking requires at the very least, time for preparation and an attention span. If you get enjoyment from cooking, even better! 

Before school, work, and stress slowly murdered the cooking enthusiast inside me, I was able to whip up these recipes without a second thought. 

I am currently trying to revive her.

So here's a lil' snap of today's breakfast… okay the ingredients for the breakfast. Once it was fully prepared it didn't look all that appetizing (as most keto-friendly meals tend to look). Also, I ate it before I could remember to take a picture.

Avocado-Cheddar Omellete cooked in butter

However, I did manage to take a photo of my first attempt at homemade ice cream! I tried to keep the recipe as simple as possible using just a few ingredients that I had around and of course- no sugar.

Low Carb Ice Cream with Chocolate "Fudgey Bits" and Peanut Butter

For the Ice Cream:
1 Cup Almond Milk
1 Cup Organic Heavy Cream
1 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Packets Stevia in the Raw (can use Truvia or any other sweetener you prefer)
1 Teaspoon Kosher salt

For the Fudgey Bits:
Half a Cup Coconut Oil
Two Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Packet of Stevia in the Raw

*Optional- Two tablespoons organic peanut butter

Mix the ice cream ingredients together in a bowl and allow to set in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. When you are ready to make the ice cream, mix the ingredients for the fudge bits in a separate bowl. *If the coconut oil is solid, stir them in a small pot on low heat until all ingredients are well mixed.
Turn on the ice cream maker and slowly pour in the ice cream mixture. Wait five minutes before adding the fudgey bits mixture. The stark cold temperature of the ice cream will solidify the mixture turning it into… fudgey bits. Didn't think I'd find an excuse to say fudgey bits so many times. Anyway! After that you can leave your ice cream as-is or add in the oh-so-bad-for-you and oh-so-delicious peanut butter.

Et voilà. God damn homemade ice cream. It tasted pretty good too! It's not cloyingly sweet like the ice creams you'd buy in the stores, and the- fudgey bits… had a slight coconut under taste. But I quite enjoy that flavor, so for me it was a welcome presence.

Next I will attempt to make a dairy free version, as a cup's worth of heavy cream in my body still feels slightly repugnant to me. Yes I'm aware that that's exactly what ice cream is, but now that I've seen what goes into it it just doesn't sit right. Leave me alone.

I must admit though… I kind of enjoyed the process. I do believe the cooking enthusiast is coming alive again!