This ice cream has the texture and flavour of REAL ice cream, but without all that artificial dairy and emulsifiers and whatnot. It's good, it's high in fat - GOOD fats - and it's really versatile. You can use this recipe as a basic concept and easily make which ever changes you'd like.

We're starting off with frozen avocados and frozen bananas.

I've used about 1 1/2 frozen bananas, cut into smallish chunks and about 1/4 of a large avocado. I've only made this a couple of times and found that too much avocado lends too much avocado flavour. I've realized that, for me, it's their silky, smooth texture that I'm into, not so much the flavour - at least in this dish. Because I love avocados.

I'm starting off by whirring these guys together in the processor.

It's going to take a bit of time and patients - and work- before the chunks become smooth and creamy. I found I had to stop the processor several times and move things around, stir, smooth, etc..so just hang in there. A fork is a good tool for this job.

They will eventually look like this. And once they do - and no sooner! - we can add our flavourings. I've chosen to add maple syrup, vanilla and raw cacao powder. I've even included a pinch of salt to bring out the flavours. You can add a nut butter, matcha green tea, a spice mix (cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, turmeric..) or another type of fruit, like blueberries or raspberries. You can even leave it alone and enjoy it as is.

I've added about 2 tbsp of cacao powder, 1 tbsp of maple syrup and 1 tsp of vanilla.

And, oh my goodness, look at that.

Now, you can eat this right now, if you'd like. It will be like a smooth, chocolate soft serve. I, however, am going to add my next two chocolates (because this is a triple chocolate ice cream) and firm it up in the freezer.

I'm a white chocolate lover, and so eating cocoa butter is my non-guilty pleasure! White chocolate is basically cocoa butter with added milk or cream and sugar - and if the quality is low, it will contain wax and many other horrifying ingredients. A good quality white chocolate, however, is a lovely treat. It's often very high in sugar, though, so including straight up cocoa butter to an already sweetened food can work really well. It's got a subtle chocolatey flavour and a lovely, soft snap. It adds great texture to this ice cream, and cocoa butter is good for you! It's a source of oleic acid - a monounsaturated fat as well as antioxidants.

I'm going with those lovely little crunchy treats for my third chocolate - chocolate covered salba. About 1 tbsp.

Stir it all together and smooth it out to freeze. This is a glass pyrex dish which gladly handles both hot and cold.

Thanks to the already frozen-ness of the ice cream, it only takes a few minutes to firm up to this harder ice cream state. Give it 10 -15 minutes in the freezer to be safe. Longer is OK, of course. You'll just have to let it soften a bit before attempting to scoop it.

YUM

This ice cream is smooth and silky with a lovely crunch thanks to the chia seeds and the cocoa butter. It's filling and satisfying in every way and completely guilt free.