
Key Takeaways
- A gastroenterologist shares ways to add more fiber in your routine, even in your dessert.
- His top choice is nice cream, a plant-based dessert that’s packed with fiber.
- The ice cream alternative is completely customizable and requires no added sugar.
If you have a sweet tooth (like me), chances are that dessert is not a want, but a need at the end of a long day. And while any foods can be included in a healthy eating pattern in moderation, there are healthy dessert choices that we encourage you to eat more regularly—every day, even.
In a recent video, gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz, M.D. shared his tips for easily adding more fiber into your child’s diet, but his advice is great for adults, too. One of his tips was a dessert choice we can get behind. It’s also a refreshing pick for warmer weather.
If you haven’t guessed it yet, it’s nice cream! Nice cream is a plant-based ice cream alternative that doesn’t spare the texture or flavor of your favorite scoop. It’s also super easy to prepare, usually taking minimal ingredients that you probably already have in your freezer.
“Nice cream is very popular [with my kids] and yet can be a vehicle for delivering delicious fiber-rich foods, including sneaking beans in there,” Bulsiewicz explains. The doctor also shares his go-to nice cream recipe, Chocolate Banana Nice Cream, which only requires three ingredients: four peeled, chopped, frozen bananas, one to two teaspoons of cocoa powder and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Simply add these ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Yep, it’s that easy!
And since it’s so easy, you can customize with a variety of ingredients. For example, our highly-rated Tart Cherry Nice Cream uses a mix of frozen pitted sweet and tart cherries, whereas our Pineapple Nice Cream uses frozen mango and pineapple chunks. You can make a nice cream out of any frozen fruit you have on hand, so it’s a dreamy dessert option you’re bound to love. Plus, frozen fruit is a budget-friendly option that’s nutrient-dense and lasts for months in the freezer—keep your freezer stocked and you’ll have the key ingredients to whip up some nice cream at all times.
Nice cream’s fiber content is impressive for dessert, with our Chocolate Strawberry Nice Cream boasting five grams of fiber per serving. And because nice cream’s sweetness comes from its fruitful nature, it doesn’t need any added sugar, making it a great option for those with diabetes or just looking to reduce their added sugar intake.
It will only take five minutes to make nice cream at home, so try it out! It’s a gut-healthy, delicious treat that will satisfy your nighttime sweet treat hankering.