Mint Chip with Kale Ice Cream
4 or 5 cups of fresh kale
1 cup vanilla soymilk
1 block of silken firm tofu (12.3 oz)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon mint extract
1/4 cup mild flavored oil (vegetable is fine)
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
Mint chip was my favorite ice cream as a kid and I have been so disappointed with commercially manufactured vegan mint chip so I created my own. The kale turns it a beautiful green and the end result is so good and creamy!!
1. Rinse kale leaves and squeeze dry. Tear them into bite sized chunks and put into blender.
2. Pour soymilk into blender and blend the mixture until smooth and green.
3. Add tofu and sugar to mixture in blender then blend until smooth.
4. Add mint extract and oil then again blend until smooth.
5. **THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT** Taste your mixture and add additional sugar and/or mint in small increments to suit your taste. (I found that the above listed measurements were perfect but some may like it sweeter or minty-er). Then blend again.
6. Chill mixture until you're ready to freeze it.
7. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and make ice cream via your machines instructions.
8. Add chocolate chips when the mixture is about slushy consistency. (I use a bowl that's stored in the freezer and added chocolate chips about 10 minutes into mixing process)
9. When it's the desired consistency, scoop into a bowl and enjoy!!
SO HOW'D IT GO?
*it was about a half to full cup after it was chopped.
Help? Mine came out with a heavy kale aftertaste. Is there a fix for that? :'( I tried adding more mint and sugar, no good.
i didn't use as much kale as the recipe says to use... but mine was just an afterthought to add the kale. i had some kale that was going to go bad soon if it wasn't used, so i chopped it up and i would say it was about half a cup to maybe one cup (didn't measure it) and i gave the rest to my bunnies. i also cut out the veins (i don't remember if the recipe says to do that, but i know my blender isn't a very good blender and didn't want it to have to work too hard).
even the small amount i used made it turn a nice pastel mint green and it does not taste like kale.
i'm experimenting with some ice cream (since i really love the chocolate peanut butter banana one i make). so i started with my blended silken tofu base and this time i added some vegan creamer (made from nuts) since i figure it'll need a little more fat and creaminess than the peanut butter one i made (since the peanut butter and banana will be omitted). i also added some melted palm oil (since it'll be solid at room temperature so i figured it would help the consistency freeze nicely). i did add some canola oil, too, (i dunno why... thought i should? different freezing points might help?). i realized i did not have mint extract but i did have mint! so in a small saucepan i simmered some chopped mint and agave. i added that and realized i needed more sweetness and didn't want to use a ton of agave, so i made simple syrup in the same pot (so the syrup came out nice and minty too) and once it got to the right temperature i added it to the mix. i added vanilla (i filled the cap, so no idea how much that is).
everything blended nicely in my blender and i thought, "i wish i could make this green!" and remembered that i had some kale! i chopped it up and put it in my blender. at first i didn't notice it breaking up or turning the ice cream green. so i left it going as i pulled up this recipe to make sure i added it right (like, wasn't supposed to cook it first or something). by the time i got back to my blender it was a very nice mint green and i was so pleased! i tasted it and it does not taste like kale. still tastes like mint.
i'm quite excited! looking over the recipe i did a lot of the same basic things except that i had to make my own mint syrup (never done that before and i'm hoping it turns out really well).
i don't have an ice cream maker. i get around that by freezing it until it's slushy, then i use an electric mixer and mix it around a bit to get it fluffy again, and then freeze it the rest of the way. (works with the peanut butter one i make... we'll see how it turns out with this one) after i do that second mix, i'm going to add my chocolate chips.
mint chocolate chip is my absolute all time favorite! i'm quite excited to see how this turns out!
i have GOT to try this! mint choco chip is MY favorite!
Help? Mine came out with a heavy kale aftertaste. Is there a fix for that? :'( I tried adding more mint and sugar, no good.
Looks delicious! I'll have to try this!! My son loves kale with pears and apples, but with chocolate, I'm sure we'll both be in heaven! Thanks for submitting this!
After discussing the cook book "Deceptively Delicious" on our family website, I forwarded this recipe to my sister in law and this it what she said (keep in mind, she is not vegan):
"The verdict is in: the ice cream is good. I cheated, though. I added the entire 1 tsp mint extract like the recipe called for, but it was way too minty so I added about probably another 1 cup of soy milk and b/c I happened to have some heavy cream I added that too; about 3/4 cup. I just kept adding more liquids to achieve a desirable taste. But to follow the recipe as written I wouldn't eat it. I served the ice cream in a waffle cone with Magic Shell drizzled on top and it was pretty tasty. I would say this is definitely the weirdest, most health-nutty recipe I have ever tried. Not sure if I would make it again only b/c it called for so much stuff I don't usually buy and it was quite a bit of work. Kaitlyn loved it, Kali kinda liked it but wasn't crazy about the color. It needed to be pink for her. I also would prefer it a bit sweeter. I just wonder if Brad will be willing to try it? So there you have it."
::)
This stuff is AWESOME! To be honest, I had never had kale before (I know, bad vegan ;)) and it adds just the right amount of goodness to this ice cream. Love the mint, and the texture is really good. I subbed coconut cream for the vegetable oil (put a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, then open it carefully and skim the cream off the top), a little less sugar, but left the rest as is. This makes a lot of ice cream and two of us could not finish it all the way the first time--though we wanted to, it was yummy. Halved the next time and it was perfect. Thank you for this creative recipe!
though i have not tried this recipe - i have been experimenting with spinach in my smoothies and ice pops... so i will try this one out and let you know!
I've made this several times and still love it! The last batch, though, was 'chewy' because my blender is on its last leg and didn't do a very good job blending the fresh kale. I didn't mind the texture one bit and neither did my little one.
I just wanted to give you all fair warning that if your blender is as crumby as mine, you may end up with a slightly different texture than normal ice cream. Not a big deal, though....nobody on vegweb has an aversion to veggies, I'm sure!! ;)
I'm interested to know what others think of the recipe!
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