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My wife really wanted ice cream this summer, last summer we largely went without because we were eating low fat+low sugar. We got one of those Ninja Creami thi
by linsomniac 4y ago
My wife really wanted ice cream this summer, last summer we largely went without because we were eating low fat+low sugar. We got one of those Ninja Creami things and it's been pretty fantastic. Much better than the low cal ice cream options at the store. We can make a pint with between 120 and 300 calories, depending on what we do.
It's almost like a shaved ice machine on steroids, it has an impeller that starts at the top and moves down through the frozen mixture and then back up. It's a knock off of some $5,000 commercial machine. Instead of folding air and fat into the mixture while freezing, you freeze the container and then it completely destroys the ice crystals.
I tend to do a mix of a third cup of 0% yogurt, a tbsp of allulose (fairly expensive sugar substitute so most store products don't use it), a pinch of xantham gum, and then the remainder fruit (cherries, blueberries, mango, peaches, pears). I've also done a can of low sugar canned fruit, xantham gum, allulose, comes out kind of like a sorbet.
My wife does a base using low fat evaporated milk, and she gets a lot fancier (making low sugar mix ins, exotic flavors like coffee bourbon), and those come out much richer. Those are more like 260 calories/pint. It also allows you to taylor the flavor, for example I'm happy with mine much less sweet than grocery store ice creams.
It seemed fairly gimicky, and we avoided it for quite a while because of that, but she found it on sale for $150. Full price is $200, woot had them refurb for $100 last week. Fairly expensive, and noisy as hell, but we use it pretty much daily.
- triyambakam 4y agoWow, thanks for the tip about the Ninja Creami. I've been making ice cream daily for months using just a Nutribullet, but it's a lot of work. I use frozen mango, homemade almond milk, and flax. I don't use any sweeteners - mango is already sweet enough (especially living a sugar free life, my taste buds are more sensitive)
- linsomniac 4y agoThe Creami is definitely easy. My typical run takes me about a minute or two at most to make a pint, and my run is similar to yours (fruit, I use yogurt, allulose to overcome the bitterness of the yogurt). Try using some Xantham gum in yours, just a pinch, it helps keep it creamy. I should try adding flax or hemp hearts, thanks for that tip!
- triyambakam 4y agoDo you need to blend it first before you put it into the container to be frozen, or can you simply put in the frozen fruit? I was looking into buying one but I wasn't able to figure that part out yet.
- linsomniac 4y agoNot really. I'll stir it, but not blend it. Say I put in frozen strawberries, yogurt, xantham gum and allulose, I'll then stir it up... So huge chunks of strawberries in a yogurt. When I run it through the Creami, it comes out smooth pink. If I want chunks in it, I'll add fruit after it's done, then put it back in the Creami and push the "mix-in" button, which is a much slower, shorter run. The main run of the Creami moves this blade down through the frozen mixture, taking ~3 minutes to go down through 4" and back up, so it does it in very small increments. Kind of ultra fine shaved ice plus blending all at the same time.
- triyambakam 4y agoThat sound wonderful, thank you for the detail!
- germinalphrase 4y agoHow do you find the texture compared to traditional ice cream?
- linsomniac 4y agoRight after it comes out of the Creami I'd say it's very similar to ice cream in texture. Depending on how you make it it can be more like soft serve or more like a regular ice cream, or more like a sorbet. After you put it back in the freezer, it gets pretty hard. You can either "respin" it at that point (the top does need to be left flat though, it doesn't handle one side being higher than the other), or I usually just microwave it 20 seconds.
- paranoidrobot 4y agoI saw a video review by Sorted about this back in April[1]. It looks interesting. I've been seeing the Pacojet (the commercial machine you mentioned) mentioned by various professional chefs for a while now. The Pacojet runs to AUD$10k here. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dneSgw3fmhg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dneSgw3fmhg
- m463 4y agoI started looking at stuff like this and you know what stopped my search? We started buying watermelon. Get a watermelon, cut it in wedges and put it in a container in the fridge. Then when it's dessert time, or time for a snack, or you're just hot and parched... pull out the container, get a fork or two and... bliss. I don't know how healthy it works out to be, ...and I still might unpause my search.
- cik 4y agoBump it up a crazy notch. Take that same watermelon, and eat a small slice of feta and basil with it. It's even more mouth watering, and now comes with added protein. This might be my favourite thing on earth - I'm finally off fresh figs.
- puranjay 4y agoWorks wonderfully well with mangoes as well. Peel and chop into large chunks. Freeze. You can eat them just like that, or pop them into a smoothie.
- schwartzworld 4y agoNice. We have a vitamix blender which is another great approach to making healthy ice cream. Put in some frozen fruit, optionally add a splash of cream or coconut milk, turn it up to max and smash that fruit into the blades with the plunger and you get the creamiest sorbet / sherbet I've ever tasted.
- linsomniac 4y agoWe also have a Vitamix blender with the stick, I'll have to try that sometime. My feeling is it's probably pretty close to the Creami. And the Vitamix is obviously much more versatile, but it's also quite a lot more expensive. Ours is over a decade old though, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Vitamix, but is it 4-10x better than a cheaper blender? The answer to that is going to depend on the person. It's a beast though! If you have a Vitamix, you may not need a Creami.