Green Monster Fro-Yo

Okay, okay, so this is NOT a spinach or other green vegetable-based frozen yogurt. But it is green and exceptionally healthy for an ice cream treat.

Meet Avocado Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt (otherwise known as Green Monster Fro-Yo). Isn’t she beautiful?

AND she is decadently and delectably delicious, the sweet darling!

This recipe was one of those fluke kind of brain waves that sometimes happen. As I was endeavouring to drift off to sleep the other night, the idea for this frozen yogurt popped into my head. Of course, it is not a new notion–others have boldly gone before me in the field of green ice cream–but it was an original one by me. I jotted down the idea (so that my ever-churning brain would leave me alone to sleep),  woke up the next morning and wrote this baby down:

Avocado Vanilla Bean Frozen Yogurt

Makes 4 (approx. 1/2 cup) servings

WW Points+ = 5 points {So not the most frugal with the points, but it is worth it!! AND it is good for you.}

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 medium avocado (you should have about 1 cup or so of mashed avocado)
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (I used Balkan style yogurt this first time since I did not have any Greek yogurt in the house; however, my original recipe called for 0% Greek yogurt.)
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 3/4 tsp guar gum

Directions:

First, gently heat milk in a small sauce pan or in a microwave-safe container in the microwave until steaming. With a sharp knife {watch those fingers} cut half a vanilla bean in half {Sounds odd but that’s how you do it. You could go wild and use a whole vanilla bean too. Do what your taste buds desire.}, scrape out the black vanilla “caviar” and stir it into the milk. {I also put in the bean pod for extra flavour. Be sure you remove it before adding to avocado mixture to the food processor.} Cover milk with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming on the milk) and let cool to at least room temperature. (This step can {and should} be done in advance.)

While milk is cooling {Take a nap or something before you start the rest of the preparation. The milk needs to be cool to cold.}, scrape out avocado and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until {more or less} smooth, then add yogurt. Blend. Add agave syrup and vanilla milk (and guar gum). Blend again. Pour into a bowl {Be sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape out all that lovely green avocado goodness.}, cover, and chill in refrigerator for at least one hour. Pour into an ice cream maker until has set. If a firmer texture is desired, scrape into an air tight container and freeze.

You could also add chocolate chips or shavings to this before or during the ice cream maker stage. I thought about it originally, but failed to write chocolate into the recipe {HORRORS!! How could I forget chocolate?!!}. SO . . . no chocolate in this batch. Oh well. Chocolate on top is good, too. AND saves on the waistline, since {cringe} it can {conceivably} be omitted.

Tags: agave, avocado, chocolate, frozen, green, vanilla bean, yogurt