© Mitch Mandel and Thomas MacDonald low calorie ice cream sandwiches
Food should be fun. If you ever want to encourage a child to learn the importance of feeding themselves well, this is the first lesson you need to impart. And what better way to do it than by setting up an ice cream sandwich station? Keep the cookies small and thin, the ice cream light (preferably Breyers All-Natural), and the toppings relatively healthy (more fruits and nuts than candy and marshmallows), and you can create a vast array of 200-calorie sandwiches. Our favorite combination? Genevas and coffee ice cream layered with banana slices and crusted in pistachios. The damage? Just 220 calories in this ice cream sandwich recipe.
Nutrition: 200 calories, 11 g fat (4 g saturated), 19 g sugar
Serves 4
You’ll Need
Ice cream
Pepperidge Farm cookies (Chessmen and Genevas work best)
Ginger snaps
Sliced bananas
Sliced strawberries
Maraschino cherries
Chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, pistachios)
Dark chocolate sauce (Optional; the darker the sauce, the less sugar and the more antioxidants it contains.)
How to Make It
- Allow the ice cream to soften on the counter for about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, lay your ingredients of choice out on the counter, on plates, or in individual bowls.
- Allow people to construct their own sandwiches, layering cookies with fruit and ice cream, then rolling the sides of the sandwiches in crushed nuts.
- If you’re looking to gild the lily, drizzle a bit of chocolate syrup over the top.
- Make them quickly, as the ice cream will melt, and arrange on a baking sheet.
- Place the sandwiches in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to firm up, then dig in.
Eat This Tip
No single strategy can better ensure a lifetime of happy, healthy eating habits than bringing kids into the kitchen to pitch in with the cooking. Not only does it familiarize them with basic techniques and safety issues, but it also exposes them to a world of brand-new flavor combinations and foreign ingredients. A picky eight-year-old is more likely to eat that roasted broccoli if they have a hand in its cooking. It’s best to start with something easy and fun, and nothing is simpler or more enjoyable than making ice cream sandwiches with a kitchen full of happy, hungry children.
This recipe (and hundreds more!) came from one of our Cook This, Not That! books. For more easy cooking ideas, you can also buy the book!
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