Hi and welcome back to Ria Lives Well!

Before I get into the recipe I have for you guys, I want to mention that the Etsy shop, Me and The Boy, is offering a discount for readers of Ria Lives Well!

Just type in “freebie15”, and you’ll get a 15% discount on your order. If you read my review of her Coconut cream glitter lotion, then you know her products are already insanely affordable. If you haven’t read the post, do so now and see exactly why I fell in love with Me & The Boy!

Now onto the recipe.

Earlier today, I did an insane hour long Pilates exercise and I’m still catching my breath. But let me tell you about after the workout, and my insatiable craving for ice cream. Well, I had an insatiable craving for ice cream. It was so bad that I wanted to eat my sister’s Nestle chocolate dipped ice cream cones at 280 calories a cone!

I thought to myself, “Maybe that’s not a good idea.” I wasn’t about to ruin my diet with a treat that, two bites later, is all done and leaves me with dolmen sized guilt.

Instead, I whipped up vegan ice cream with coconut milk and a splash of vanilla. Of course I don’t recommend indulging on this either, but it sure beats 280 calories for one dinky cone.

Coconut Ice Cream:

2 cans coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup white sugar

pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients in a large bowl and set in the freezer if you don’t own an ice cream maker. I don’t own one, so I put my ice cream in the freezer and stirred it every hour. This is a serious patience game. It took about three and a half (maybe four?) hours to get it where I wanted.

Peanut Butter Balls:

1/2 cup oats (blended)

2 teaspoons peanut butter

3 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

Blend the oats for a few seconds and then pour them into a bowl. Add peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Mash the peanut butter so it incorporates with it’s fellow ingredients. Then, with damp hands, roll small pieces of the mix in your palms. I get the best results when I roll for at least 30 seconds. But 60 seconds is better.

I make mine really small. I find it meshes better with the ice cream.

Scoop out a few tablespoons of vegan coconut ice cream, then top with peanut butter balls.

Since it’s likely cold in your parts, I suggest doing a hard workout before treating yourself with this vegan ice cream. It tastes so good afterwards. Guiltlessly good.

~Live Well!