I used to go out for sushi on a regular basis with my friend Cory. At this point I was still just a vegetarian and didn’t see anything wrong with eating a fried egg, or dairy-laden ice cream treats. So of course, we finished off each weekly sushi date with a heaping scoop of green tea ice cream.
I LOVED the stuff, the creamy texture, the green colour and the umami taste. I needed to have green tea ice cream in order to feel like I had a proper sushi experience. It just didn’t feel right otherwise.
…and then I went vegan! BAM! No sushi experience ever felt complete again. No more happy ice cream to follow my avocado rolls and sweet potato tempura. There are worse things in life, but as a foodie, my meal just felt incomplete. That was, until the day I started to make my own ice cream. The first two flavors I ever tried to execute were mint chip & green tea—my two favorites. Mmmm life felt complete once again.
For this flavor I use the same base as all the rest of my ice cream creations- coconut milk & cashews. Coconut milk is a high fat milk that makes creamy, delicious ice cream. The cashews again add to the fat content, which will help to ensure that your vegan ice cream does not crystallize like cheap water based ice creams, yuck. The green tea flavour comes from adding vibrant Matcha. Matcha is an ultra-finely milled, bright green, tea powder. The Buddhist monks used the tea for its potential to heighten the concentration and enhance metabolism.
The use of matcha is becoming more mainstream due to the amazing health benefits of the plant, but most people are just hearing about matcha now; and don’t even know that you can use it as a culinary ingredient. I LOVE matcha; sure I drink it as a tea, or latte, but I also bake with it, throw it in smoothies, and of course-use it in ice cream. It has some incredible health benefits, so adding it to your weekly routine of superfoods is easy and beneficial.
- Improve Mental Focus & clarity
- Improve Cognitive Performance
- Reduce Feelings of Anxiety and Depression
- Reducing Abdominal Fat
- Increasing Endurance
- Lowering Cholesterol
If you haven’t tried matcha or tried using it in cooking, I encourage you to do so. Get yourself a high quality bag and start experimenting! My favourite brand is My Matcha Life, because of their Foodie’s Culinary grade. This is a high-grade matcha without the high ticket price. I chose it for its ideal balance of vibrant green color, Umami taste, and affordability. Its unique flavor lends itself well to sauces, seasonings, pastries, baking and it’s great in lattes and blender drinks as well.
My Matcha Life is offering The Edgy Veg viewers a 15% discount on all orders when you use the coupon code:Â Â edgyveg15 . So try it out! You won’t be disappointed. Check out their products here.
- 2 cups full-fat coconut milk, chilled and divided from water
- ¾ cup organic white, gold or raw sugar or maple syrup
- small pinch of salt
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4-6 hours, and rinsed well
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp My Matcha Life Foodie grade matcha
- In a high-speed blender combine cashews and almond milk and blend until you teach a thick and creamy consistency.
- Add coconut milk and remaining ingredients to the blender and mix until very smooth and creamy.
- Add your ice cream mixture to your ice cream maker and churn according to instructions.
- Once you have ice cream, serve right away, or add it to an airtight container and return to the freezer and allow at least 2 hours for the ice cream to harden completely.
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My Matcha Life is offering The Edgy Veg viewers a 15% discount on all orders when you use the coupon code:Â Â edgyveg15 . So try it out! You won’t be disappointed. Check out their products here.
Ann Meads says:
You have so many creative ideas. Please keep the recipes coming!!