Recipe ReDux: Watermelon Sorbet

When I first found out this month’s Recipe ReDux theme, frozen desserts, I was a little worried. First of all, I don’t make dessert very often – don’t get me wrong, I eat plenty of it, I just buy it instead! Second, I don’t have an ice cream maker or popsicle molds, so all the ideas that originally came to mind wouldn’t work. But as I continued to think about what I would make, I realized simplicity was the way to go. Plus, I wanted to make something that most people could easily whip up without having special gadgets taking up room in their kitchens.

Watermelon sorbet sounds like it would be a lot more complex to make than it actually was. This recipe is so quick and easy, only requires a blender and ramekins, and the result is a refreshing treat that the whole family can enjoy. An added bonus: it’s low in calories and a great source of the antioxidants vitamin A and lycopene too! (Find out more of the nutritional benefits of watermelon.)

Ready to serve!

Watermelon Sorbet
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups watermelon cubes
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. (Since there is very little sugar, this will happen quickly. Keep an eye on it to make sure the water doesn’t evaporate.) Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. In a blender, combine the watermelon cubes, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Blend until no watermelon chunks remain.

3. Divide the mixture evenly among four ramekins. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least three hours. Enjoy!

Watermelon sorbet before freezing

Nutrition Facts (per serving): 35 calories, 9 g carbohydrate, 8 g sugar (only 3 g added sugar), .5 g protein, 0 g fat

For more delicious frozen desserts, check out these great recipes from my fellow ReDuxers!

• Emma Stirling — The Scoop on Nutrition Greek Yogurt Pavlova Popsicles
• Cherie Schetselaar — Grain Crazy Blackberry Lemon Almond Torte
• Emma Cutfield — The Hearty Heart Coconut Ice, Blueberry and Cocoa, Joint Healing Dessert
• Carlene Helble — Carlene’s Figments Peanut Butter Banana ‘Ice Cream’ Sandwich 
• Janel Funk — Eat Well with Janel Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream 
• Kat Lynch — Eating The Week Coconut Chia-Seed Fruit Pops 
• Dr Barb — Nutrition Budgeteer Simply Fruit Mango-Pineapple Sorbet
• Rebecca Scritchfield — MeFirst 5-minute Frozen Peach Pie
• Gretchen — Kumquat Chocolate “Ice Cream” Bars
• Emily Greenfield — The Nutriscientist Honey and Strawberry Semifreddo
• Liz Marr — Liz On Food Peach Lavender Ice Cream
• Elizabeth Jarrard — Don’t (White) Sugar-Coat It Adult Popsicles: Frozen Boozy Treats
• Regan — The Professional Palate Frozen Samoa Pie
• Liz Weiss & Janice Newell Bissex — Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen Healthy Blueberry and Mango Snow Cones
• Jessica Fishman Levinson — Nutritioulicious Watermelon Sorbet
• Alexandra Caspero — Delicious Knowledge Mango & Coconut Popsicles 
• Karman Meyer — Nutrition Adventures Coconut Ice Cream with Strawberry Puree 
• Yuri — Chef Pandita Acerola Chia Lime Popsicles
• Kristen Bourque — Swanky Dietitian Peanut Butter Coffee Popsicles 
• EA Stewart — The Spicy RD Luscious Lemonade Pie
• Danielle Omar — Food Confidence RD Banana Soft Serve
• Katie Caputo — East Meats West Auntie Rosie’s Ice Cream Pie
• Alysa Bajenaru — Inspired RD Coffee Granita
• Kara Lydon — Peace, Love, and Food Peanut Butter Banana “Ice Cream” With Dark Chocolate 
• Serena Ball — Teaspoon of Spice Splendid Key Lime Frozen Yogurt 
• Nicole Ferring Holovach — Whole Health RD Peaches and Rum Ice Cream Pie 
• Lisa @ Healthful Sense Peanut Butter Vanilla Soft Serve
• Jackie Mills — Delicious Diabetes Cooking Summer Fruit Popsicles
• Audra Losey — Nutrition Know How Mocha Pops
• Kristina LaRue — Love and Zest Frozen Berry Yogurt

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

By Megan Kian

With these past few sticky and extremely hot days it’s been hard to find a way to cool down. At home in New Jersey my dad has a garden where he loves to grow a variety of different vegetables, fruits, and herbs. One of my favorite herbs that he grows is mint (I also love his basil). It is such a fragrant herb that it had me feeling refreshed with just the smell! Mint was originally used as an air freshener to rid rooms of unpleasant smells. It is a great source of antioxidants including vitamins A and C, and has a long nutritional history for its use in aiding digestion. In cooking, it is not as common to see mint used in main dishes, but it can be used as an accent in sweets. I decided to use the mint from my dad’s garden to make mint chocolate chip ice cream! Here is the recipe that I used from David Lebovitz:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
• 5 large egg yolks
• Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

You’ll also need an ice cream maker to make this delicious ice cream!

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, salt, and mint.
2. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.
3.  Remove the mint with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint.
4. Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.
5. Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
6. Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.
7. Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.
8. Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Add in as many chocolate chips as you like!
10. When finished, cover and freeze until firm.

How do you like to use mint?

Apple Tart For Beginners

This past weekend I found myself in the kitchen yet again. I really love to cook (especially when it’s for pleasure), so I was happy to be cooking up a storm for some company. I think I’m a pretty good cook, but baking has never been my forte, so I usually buy ready-made desserts — even though I know they aren’t as nutritious as if I made my own. (You can see from the few dozen recipes I have posted that I don’t try my hand at dessert too often.) For some reason this past weekend I decided I would try to make dessert myself. We had a pie shell in the freezer, so I figured I could use that as a base for a dessert and do the rest myself. I normally like to make everything from scratch, but sometimes it’s okay to have some help! After looking at a variety of tart, pie, and tarte tatin recipes for some inspiration, I came up with my own apple tart recipe.

Apple Tart
Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons apricot fruit spread
• 1 frozen pie crust

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
2. In a large saute pan, bring the water to a boil. Add in the sugar and stir over medium-high heat until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture looks like it is getting a caramel color. Add the apple slices and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until the apples are tender and the pan juices are syrupy. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool for 30 minutes.
3. Spread 1/4 cup of the apricot fruit spread on the bottom and sides of the tart. Next, arrange the apple slices in concentric circles in the tart pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons of apricot fruit spread on the apples and bake for another 30 minutes, until the apples are tender and the tart crust is golden brown. Allow the tart to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (per 1/8 slice): 273 calories, 46 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 1 g protein, 0 mg cholesterol, 140 mg sodium