Stay Cool with an Unusual Frozen Treat: Baby Food!
August is Stay Cool! month at The Kitchn, as we all sweat through one last month of summer heat. We love hearing from readers on how they’re staying cool, and we were especially intrigued by an email from Stephanie, who says that she has been eating a very unusual frozen treat — baby food! I had to try this for myself!
Here’s how Stephanie explained this rather unusual cool treat:
I remember how popular your banana ice cream post was, so I thought I’d share a little trick I’ve been using to eat healthier on my diet.Being that I am an ice cream lover myself, I had to find a quick and easy alternative that would allow me portion control and the convenience of being pre-made. Then it hit me. Baby food!
I bought a few jars of Earth’s Best Organics banana, pear, and a few mixed fruit flavors, and even sweet potato (since I wanted to experiment) and tossed ’em all in the freezer for about 2 hours. And lo and behold! Perfectly creamy, healthy, low-calorie portioned jars of “ice cream” with numerous great flavors.
Maybe the whole idea of baby food seems weird but it’s really only pureed adult food! It’s the best diet trick I’ve ever learned, and it really gets rid of my sweet tooth.
Well, I had to try it. I bought a couple jars of baby food and put them in the freezer overnight. They were too hard to do anything but scrape out flakes of pureed fruit, so I let them sit out for about 10 minutes. After that they turned to the consistency of creamy sorbet.
So — how did they taste? Light, fruity, and rather good! Both were velvety smooth, once they warmed up a little, and the fruit tastes were pure and bright. They were both refreshing without being too sweet, and at 60 to 90 calories a pop, without any added sugar or fat, they are indeed simple, healthy treats.
What do you think? Would you eat baby food as a cold treat? Or will you stick to more traditional ice cream or sorbet?
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
(Images: Faith Durand)