High Protein Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream Bars Ingredients

• Raw Cashews: Soaked overnight, raw cashews become incredibly soft and blend into a smooth, creamy base for the ice cream. They provide a rich, keeping this recipe dairy-free, they give the bars their luxurious texture while adding healthy fats and essential minerals like magnesium and iron.
• Protein Powder: I used Botanica protein powder and it never disappoints. Adding this protein boost takes these healthy ice cream bars to another level. Choose a high-quality, plant-based protein powder like this Botanica one as it will blend seamlessly not providing a gritty texture and complements the flavors of the other ingredients nicely.
• Full-Fat Coconut Milk: Essential for ensuring a rich and creamy texture, full-fat coconut milk brings a delightful coconut flavor and creaminess to the ice cream bars. The healthy fats in coconut milk also contribute to a satisfying mouthfeel and longer-lasting energy.
• Frozen Strawberries: These berries provide the ice cream with its delightful strawberry flavor and natural sweetness. Frozen strawberries blend easily into the mixture, giving the bars their signature taste while adding fibre and antioxidants.
• Beet Crystals: This natural sweetener turns these ice cream bars into the most beautiful vibrant pink and adds a subtle sweetness to the bars. Beet crystals are also packed with nutrients like vitamins and minerals, making them a healthier alternative to artificial colourings and sweeteners. Balance the sweetness of these ice cream bars to your own preference, you could use cane sugar or maple syrup but really the beet crystals and strawberries do the trick on their own! Here are the ones that I used.
• Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract adds depth and complexity to the flavor profile of the ice cream bars. It enhances the sweetness of the strawberries and complements the creamy coconut milk, bringing a warm, aromatic note to the recipe.
• Pinch of Salt: A small amount of salt is crucial for balancing the sweetness of the ice cream and enhancing the overall flavors. It brings out the natural sweetness of the strawberries and vanilla, making each bite more flavorful.
• Fresh Strawberries: Diced fresh strawberries add new dimension to the texture of your ice cream bars. You could use frozen if that’s all you have but you’ll have to thraw them slightly to chop up. The additional diced strawberry adds additional fibre, vitamins, and antioxidants, making the bars even more nutritious and refreshing.
• Dark Chocolate Discs: These create the perfect chocolate coating for the ice cream bars. Dark chocolate provides a rich, slightly bitter contrast to the sweet and creamy ice cream, and it’s packed with antioxidants and heart-healthy compounds.
• Coconut Oil: Added to the chocolate discs to help the chocolate coating set smoothly. It also adds a subtle coconut flavor that enhances the overall taste of the bars.
• Maldon Sea Salt: Optional but like why wouldn’t you?! Sprinkling a touch of Maldon sea salt on the chocolate coating adds a delightful salty-sweet contrast. The flaky texture of the salt enhances the flavors of the chocolate and the ice cream, making each bite even more satisfying.