Who else gets excited when they can sneak veggies into their desserts? I like to make healthy choices most of the time, but I’m also not opposed to treats, like this nana-politan ice cream parfait I whipped up with my friend Brooklynne (@beetsbybrooke)!We got together to create a Galentine’s Day menu featuring beets! We made a divine heart beet pizza and salad for the main meal, and for dessert, we decided to go crazy and put beets in our banana ice cream too! Beets have a lovely sweetness that is truly marvelous. #beetcrushWe even put a raw heart beet on top of our parfait, because we love being healthy and extra AF. Don’t knock it ’til you try it! Check out our recipe below, featuring three layers of banana ice cream: classic, berry beet, and of course, chocolate!

Nana-politan Ice Cream Parfaits
serves 2

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Wait Time: 2 hours – overnight
Ingredients:

• 4-5 bananas, ripe
• 3 frozen raspberries
• 1 teaspoon beet juice
• 1 small beet slice, thinly chopped
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• nondairy milk, as needed for blending*
• coconut flakes, for garnish
• 2 beet slices, cut into hearts, for garnish

Notes:
*Be careful about adding liquid–a little goes a long way! I typically don’t add extra liquid to my nice cream, to keep the consistency thick. But sometimes when you add more dry ingredients (cocoa powder, for example), you need some liquid to help it along. Just be sure to add a little at a time, or else you may end up with a smoothie!

Method: 

1. Cut the bananas into coins and put them in a container to freeze. Let freeze for at least two hours, or overnight.
2. Take out the frozen bananas and divide into thirds.
3. First, make the classic banana flavor. Blend the first 1/3 of the bananas in a food processor or high speed blender until thick and creamy, taking care to scrape down the sides to make sure everything gets incorporated. This takes a few minutes, so be patient, and you will be rewarded with creamy, healthy nice cream!
4. Divide the banana nice cream into two glass cups.
5. Now for the berry beet layer. Repeat step 3, but this time, add some beet juice and 3 frozen raspberries to the mix. Near the end, add in the chopped beet slice, and pulse to get pretty speckles in your nice cream.
6. Spoon the berry beet nice cream into the glass cups, on top of the classic banana layer.
7. Finally, the chocolate layer. Repeat step 3, adding the cocoa and cacao powders to the mix. This time, it will help to add a tablespoon or so of nondairy milk to help with the blending. I also like to add a pinch of sea salt when making chocolate nice cream, but you do you!
8. Top off the parfaits with the chocolate layer, and sprinkle with some toasted coconut flakes. Garnish with some beets, thinly sliced or be festive with a heart beet using a heart cookie cutter! Fancy-looking, and healthy AF.

Thanks so much for checking out my collab with @beetsbybrooke. If you haven’t already, check out our heart beet pizza and salad for your main course this Galentine’s or Valentine’s Day! Here’s to more self love and supporting the women in your life!

The Sprinkles Creative team and me on our girls trip to Austin last month! From left to right: @colormecourtney_ / @christinaisblue / @plantcrush / @beetsbybrooke