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I also love cold treats that offset the hot days. I had a hard time naming this treat. Is it sorbet? Kind of looks and tastes like it could be, but not really. Ice cream? Well there’s no milk or cream of any kind, so not exactly.
I called it ice cream because Meghan wouldn’t know what I was talking about if I offered her sorbet, and I wanted her to get excited about what we were going to eat. In case you are wondering, yes, Meghan as had real ice cream a handful of times. If we’re at a birthday party I’m not going to completely deny her what all the other kids are having and it wouldn’t kill her if we happened to let her have her first real cone a few weeks ago at the local ice cream shop.
You know what, though? Most of the time, this is the kind of “ice cream” she gets, and she doesn’t know the difference. She eats it up just as eagerly as the real stuff because it tastes yummy and when you’re two, what else matters?
The smile says it all. When Mommy makes her “ice cream”, she feels like the luckiest kid in town.
Unlike real ice cream, this treat is low in calories and high in nutrients. One servings is just 138 calories, 7 grams of fat, almost 5 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, and only 10 grams of sugar (including the natural sugar in the watermelon). It also boasts a good amount of vitamin C, vitamin A, magnesium, and potassium.
If you were eating a regular bowl of ice cream, you’d be getting closer to 300 calories, 14 grams of fat, almost no fiber, 4 grams of protein, and almost 30 grams of sugar (in the form of refined sugar). You also wouldn’t find vitamin C or A or many other nutrients except calcium.
My advice is to shun regular ice cream as much as possible and turn to homemade treats like this. They are perfect for summer and perfect for keeping your health goals in check.
Watermelon-Avocado “Ice Cream”
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
A great vegan alternative!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed watermelon, frozen (cube and freeze ahead of time)
- 1/2 medium avocado
- juice of one lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey (I used agave nectar), or to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to help the blender a bit to get the ingredients going. Serve immediately. This melts fast, so if you aren’t planning on serving immediately, keep it in the freezer until you are ready to serve it. If it gets to hard, simply let it thaw a bit before eating.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 140
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 5mg
- Fat: 5.5g
- Carbohydrates: 23.5g
- Protein: 1.5g
While the avocado changes the color of the watermelon from pink to orange, it doesn’t change the flavor. You don’t really taste avocado in this treat, rather, it just lends its creaminess. The flavor stars here are the watermelon and lime, which pair perfectly. Enjoy!
Question: What is your favorite summer treat?
Maryea, I have to admit I was a skeptic with the avocado in this, but, we tried it last night and my whole family loved it. It was so good! Thanks! I think we might have it again tonight.
I’m glad you trusted me enough to try it despite your reservations. 🙂 I love how smooth and creamy the avocado makes it!
Sounds really good. I love how avocado turns everything creamy. Such a nice treat.
oh yummy! I must remember to set a few slices of watermelon aside the next time I buy it!
wouldn´t it be great if all people would eat that kind of ice cream, so it would become the “real thing”? There is always hope, no? 😉
A girl can dream. 🙂
yep 🙂
This looks so good! We make our own ice cream almost every night. Last night’s was mango sorbet. It was just 4 cups frozen mango, 1/4 cup lime juice, 1/2 cup agave. Now, that was 4 servings. You should reduce it if you’re making for less people. My boys love all of my ice cream creations and I feel good that they are getting the nutrients from the fruit. They almost never ask for real ice cream. We will definitely try this one. Meghan is so cute!
That sounds fantastic and I have all the ingredients on hand. I’ll bet the lime juice is perfect with the mango. Going to try this one for sure! Thanks.
Love this combo. And M gets a lot of banana soft serve as “ice cream” and loves it. If that is what they know, that is what they will love. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. Maryea! I will make it today once I buy some watermelon. It is going to be awesome, I just know it!
Meghan is soooo adorable! And the ice cream looks really smooth and delicious. I can’t wait to give it a try. Yesterday I made your portobello fajitas and they turned out fantastic! I served mine with guacamole, sour cream, diced tomatoes and scrambled eggs. YUM!
Thanks, Ann-Louise. So glad you liked the portobello fajitas. Those are one of my favorite meals! Your additions sound great.
this sounds really REALLY good – you are so creative!
Thanks, Kristina! 🙂
Great idea!
My favorite summer treat would be fro yo…lol.
Love this! I make Carter blender ice cream often and he loves it just as much as the “real” stuff. 🙂 I love using avocado to make the mixture creamy. I’ve done that with vanilla almond milk ice cubes when making ice cream. You can’t taste it and it gives it that ice cream texture. 🙂
I was just thinking about how I could use avocado in some more child friendly ways!!! 🙂
This is perfect for that! Very child friendly. 🙂
Love the color of this. So pretty. And I love the idea of putting watermelon and avocado together! The avocado is so creamy and the watermelon is just so yummy. Awesome 🙂 I’ve been having a hard time getting good avocados lately, but when I do we’ll try this. My kids get ice cream occasionally too, my husband still buys it. But my son never asks me for store bought ice cream, but he quite regularly asks me for banana “ice cream” 😀
That sounds really good. I wish my husband would think it was real ice cream!
muahaha! a genius swap =)
She is a lucky girl! ….When you say ‘enjoy’, I usually do (hence the post of mine today, you’re the best! Love your blog!)….
This is wonderful looking. My new favorite thing is Xanthan Gum in frozen treats. It makes them SO creamy…. Give it a try if you have it on hand…. Happy Monday!
I do have xanthan gum, but haven’t tried it in smoothies or frozen treats yet. I need to do that!
A little bit goes a long way… We’re talking 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp for a big blender full…. Makes it SO GOOD!
She is too cute!!!
looks delicious!
Awwww 😀 how cute!
Plus, homemade healthy ice cream tastes waaaaaaaay better than the “real” stuff anyway (if it can be considered “real!” )
What a super idea…thanks!! 8)
I just bought some avocados yesterday, with making avocado pudding in mind, but this sounds even better!
What a great idea 🙂 My daughter loves the cold ‘ice cream’ food 🙂