After dinner, we’re gonna get chip-faced with our Chocolate Chip Cookie Frozen Kefir! Cool off with this chilly, chocolaty, decadent delight. Made with Lifeway Kefir, rolled oats, almond butter, and decadent dark chocolate chips, this treat is rich and creamy and oh so dreamy. It’s better than store-bought ice cream too, because when you make homemade frozen kefir with Lifeway, you’re boosting your dessert with a hefty dose of probiotics, protein, calcium, and vitamin D.
Lifeway Kefir makes the perfect base for ‘ice cream’ since it’s rich, creamy, and healthier than heavy cream due to the fermentation process that produces the probiotics in our kefir; it’s also high in bioavailable protein so your body is able to fully utilize all those nutrient-rich amino acids that make up proteins in the body. Plus, the protein in cultured milk, like Lifeway Kefir, also helps create a thicker, denser frozen dessert than many alternatives on the market. When paired with raw cacao, oats, chocolate chips, real vanilla, and a few other ingredients, you’ll get a healthy dessert you can scoop onto a cone or enjoy in a bowl.
The Benefits of Cultured Dairy for Better Health:
Research continues to show the importance of eating healthy foods, including cultured dairy such as kefir, for better gut health, a strong immune system, and to support the microbiome. Fermented foods like kefir hold important value in this line of research due to the link between the gut-brain axis and overall health.
Specifically, kefir has been shown to help diversify the microbiome, support the digestive system, reduce inflammation, support healthier blood sugar levels, and improve satiety since the bioavailable protein it contains triggers the release of GLP-1. Lifeway Kefir also contains a variety of nutrients that are vital for healthy bones and overall health including vitamins D3, K, and B 12 along with calcium and potassium. Along with our kefir, we also offer our creamy, cultured Lifeway Farmer Cheese, a high protein cheese made with live and active cultures to support a healthy microbiome that’s easy to spread and contains no added salt or sugar.
Prep Time: 8-14 hours Servings: 5-6Ingredients
- 2 cups Organic Whole Milk Vanilla Kefir
- 1/3 cup rolled or quick oats
- 3 tbsp. cashew or almond butter
- 3 tbsp. dark or semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
- 1 tsp. raw cacao powder (or regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup, honey, or raw agave nectar
- reserve on the side: 1/2 cup additional Lifeway Kefir
- Garnishes: additional mini chocolate chips, whipped cream or coconut cream, or, you can even add 1 of your favorite chocolate chip cookies, broken and crumbled on top or cut in half and placed on each side
Directions
- Add all the ingredients for the base (except the reserved kefir) into a blender, and blend until fully incorporated. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Once completely frozen, put the ice cubes into the blender, and add the additional 1/2 cup Lifeway Kefir and blend everything together until a thick frozen kefir consistency is reached. Scoop into a freezer friendly ice cream container and freeze for another 4+ hours
- Serve by scooping into cream dishes and serve with garnishes of choice.
