I love banana pudding, you know the stuff that good banana cream pie is made of. I still remember the last time I had my mom’s banana cream pie and how good it tasted after swimming lessons. Fast forward 20 years and I still dream about it….and of making a healthier version of it.
This version isn’t low calorie or fat-free, but it is full of healthy ingredients that will make you feel better about eating it versus the banana cream pudding or pie you ate as a kid.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can eat it as a pudding or freeze it to make it into an ice cream. We had it as pudding the first night because we were too impatient to wait until it froze.
This recipe uses banana chips to get a strong banana flavour. If you do not have, you could probably use additional bananas or some banana extract. I only had two bananas, one of which that I needed for pictures, so I used the banana chips we had on hand.
MAKES APPROX. 2 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
– 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked
– 1 can (400ml) of full-fat coconut milk
– 4 Tablespoons of finely ground banana chips
– 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup
– 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
– 1 ripe banana
DIRECTIONS
1. Soak the cashews for 12 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse.
2. Grind your banana chips into fine particles similar to sand or course salt.
3. Add all of the ingredients into a high-powered blender (e.g., Vitamix) or food processor and blend until really smooth.
4. For pudding – cool in fridge. Serve topped with vegan graham crackers, bananas, or coconut whip cream.
5. For ice cream -Once you have blended the ingredients, put in fridge to cool for an hour. After is has cooled, put into your ice cream maker and it’s done!
If you do not have an ice cream maker, freeze in a freezer-safe container. When ready to serve, let stand for 20-30 minutes on the counter to soften a bit. Then put into a food processor or blender to make it soft and smooth. You will need to scrape down sides as you go. Serve immediately.
Running With Veggies 
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