Jen’s Protein Nice Creams: Unofficial guide to high-protein ice creams in the Ninja Creami™ Deluxe

My daughter kept putting on and taking off a Ninja Creami from her wish list. I had to see what the fuss was about. I kept seeing post after post of what looked like the stuff gym-lovers’ dreams were made of, protein shakes in ice cream form. I didn’t have a Ninja Creami, but I did have a killer ice cream maker. Yeah, I make some amazing gelato and ice cream.

I pulled out my ice cream maker and tried a few recipes I found. Intriguing, but not great. My ice cream maker is the absolute best for gorgeously fatty concoctions, but an uneven hot mess for much lower fat and higher protein formulas. The mixtures would freeze hard like cement at the very outer edges and then it would want to stop turning to finish the center. I was having a hard time scraping it out of there and making a ridiculous mess of myself and the kitchen.

And the recipes I was finding weren’t thrilling me. Pudding’s great, but I don’t want my ice cream to taste like pudding. I want it to taste like ice cream!

So, I bought the machine and started in with my kitchen lab. I am first and foremost a foodie, but also a health enthusiast, so I decided to give all my attention to creating protein-filled ice cream that tastes decadent and delicious. Boom. The flavors and textures are perfect. These would make any foodie smile. I am obsessed! I’m super excited to share them with all of you!

Ingredients? I’m using low-fat cottage cheese, protein powders, unsweetened cocoa, lots of fruit, almond milk, nuts, a little sweetener where necessary, extracts, one spoonful of sugar free jello (with substitutions to skip that it you want!), and small additions of cookies or whatever here and there, etc….. A little food coloring on some, totally optional. I will post links to my fave protein powders and extracts below.

I’ve included the nutritional information (protein, fat, carbs, and calories), by ingredient, so that you can make decisions and substitutions to make everything exactly perfect for you! There are a million sweetener choices out there and my fave might not be your fave! I got the numbers directly off the ingredient labels, where applicable, and used the app My Fitness Pal for things without labels. I have left extracts and spices blank. They have no labels and the websites either say no significant nutritional value or there are really small conflicting numbers. For my nutrition-obsessed friends, I’m including grams of protein, fat, carbs, and calories next to the names on the table of contents, so you can see which will best fit into your macros on a given day. This isn’t just for gym-heads, though! Think of it as delicious, convenient ice cream that happens to be feel-good food, too! I’m intentionally avoiding the word “healthy”. “Healthy” means something different to everyone. I’m an energy-obsessed foodie, runner, weightlifter, mom, and dog mom, and these all leave me feeling terrific!

First up! My book! Jen’s Protein Nice Creams: Unofficial guide to high-protein ice creams in the Ninja Creami™ Deluxe Hope you love it!!! Here’s a peek at the flavors inside.

Need anything? If you’re going to buy anything from Amazon, please use my links! I’m an Amazon affiliate. Amazon gives me a tiny commission, and it costs you nothing!

Next! You need a machine!

I have the Ninja Creami Deluxe 11-in-1. The containers hold 24 oz and it has the most settings. All of my recipes are made for these 24 ounce containers. Those 24 oz containers are perfect for the hub and I to split. This machine is amazing!

The Ninja Creami 7-in-1 is also highly rated. It has a few fewer functions and the containers are 16 oz. If you’re going this route, just make 2/3 of each of my recipes and modify the nutritional info to 2/3!

An immersion (stick) blender.

Cuisinart Smart Stick Blender. This fits right into the container, so you can mix your base without having any extra dishes. It makes it all streamlined. You could do it in a food processor, but that’s a lot of cleaning after each flavor. The immersion blender makes it so easy and tidy that you’ll use it all the time! (And not ice cream related, but combining a stick blender and a mason jar, sauces and dips are a breeze!)

Extra containers!

The Ninja Creami Deluxe comes with 2 containers. After you blend your base, you have to stick it in the freezer for 24 hours before it goes in the Creami. I bought two extra sets of 4 containers so that I’d have a total of 10 to work with. I went with generic. They are cheap and work just as well! BE SURE TO GET THE RIGHT CONTAINERS FOR YOUR MACHINE!!!! THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE!

4 pack of the 24 oz Deluxe size 4 pack of the 16 oz 7-in-1 size

Wine glass covers.

10 Silicone Mug Cup Covers. Huh???? Yeah. Things expand when they freeze. The top of your concoction is perfectly level when you put it in your freezer. You pull it out and some weird frozen sculpture is trying to emerge from the surface. We don’t want to break our Creami blade! What to do? Some people put their mixtures in the freezer with the lids off until they freeze. Others shave down the icy protrusion. I just pop a wine glass cover right on the mixture’s surface and pop my lid on. Solved!

Protein powders

The first two are the main two I use for everything! (I’m putting links for the 2 lb containers, but the 5 lb are more economical!) The next three are fabulous, one recipe powders to add to your collection after the main two!

Vanilla ice cream whey Extreme milk chocolate whey Girl Scout Thin Mint Girl Scout Coconut Caramel S’mores whey (Amazon only has the 5 lb right now. I’ll update the link when the put the 2 pound back up.)

Sweeteners

The first two are my main. I just use the confectioner’s version for red velvet, but you could totally use plain. Absolutely sub in whatever your favorite sweetener is!

Regular Swerve, Brown Sugar Swerve, Confectioner’s Swerve – There’s an Amazon pack with all 3!

Extracts

Sometimes, even with 1 ½ to 2 cups of fabulous fruit in the concoctions, the flavor just wants a little boost to push it from yummy to fabulous! I love extracts.

Vanilla extract Almond Extract Rum extract Butter extract Strawberry extract Raspberry extract

Peach flavor Buttery sweet dough emulsion Boiled cider

Other Stuff

PB Fit (low fat peanut butter powder)

Max Mallows (zero sugar marshmallows) Only a 6-pack is available now. I’ll update this link when 1 or 3 are back up.
Jordan’s Skinny Sauces Salted Caramel Fun addition, BUT!!!! It’s like a jack in the box. You lightly squeeze and nothing. A tiny bit more pressure and a violent stream rockets out! I look like Will Ferrell in Elf squeezing it in the most tentative manner. I just increased the size of the hole and it’s less dramatic. lol!

Plantain nachos with carnitas and black beans recipe – Nachos for Dinner

#DanWhalen #NachosForDinner #WorkmanPublishing

Nachos for Dinner. Yeah. They totally had me at hello with this title. This is a really fun book! Nachos running the full circuit from traditional to highly imaginative. He has really thought of everything. Everything we tried was delicious and the names he made up had us cracking up. Soupchos, anyone??

Got a recipe for you to try! Plantain nachos with carnitas and black beans. Outstanding! Super flavorful pork over plantain chips with cheddar, black beans, Chihuahua cheese, lime crema, habanana sauce, and avocado. It was a meat and plant fest! Oh, that habanana sauce! Bananas, a ton of habaneros, with onions, cilantro, and garlic. It looks scary hot, but it’s a wonderfully flavorful sweet heat. We love this sauce. Love. I think you will, too! The book comes out this Tuesday! If you grab the book, be sure to make the Buffalo chicken nachos next!

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Braised and Glazed Carrots and Parsnips with Orange and Cardamom recipe – Milk Street Vegetables

#MilkStreet #177MilkStreet #MilkStreetVegetables #ChristopherKimball #JenniferGuerrero #Vegetables #Produce

Braised and Glazed Carrots and Parsnips with Orange and Cardamom. What an amazingly flavorful and bright winter dish with gorgeous sweet warmth! The orange and cardamom make these so special. Holiday fabulous, lovely with any roast, and the perfect accompaniment to Swedish meatballs!

Milk Street Vegetables. I can’t get enough of this book. The New Year is here! Regardless of your thoughts on resolutions, I think we can agree that we all need more vegetables and hydration in our lives. I blogged all about the book last week a few weeks back with a gorgeous Tomato Tart with Olives and Gruyere recipe. And their Patatas Bravas recipe. These links will take you there if you missed them!

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Patatas Bravas recipe – Milk Street Vegetables

#MilkStreet #177MilkStreet #MilkStreetVegetables #ChristopherKimball #JenniferGuerrero #Vegetables #Produce

Patatas Bravas. I could write poetry to these. Super crispy exterior with a pillowy interior. The textures are potato dreams. And there’s a smoky paprika sauce and a garlic aioli for drizzling, dipping, and mopping that put these way over the top. I’ve only had the book for two weeks, and I’ve made them four times already. Not even kidding. Then I tried them with sweet potatoes and added 1 1/2 Tablespoons of brown sugar to the paprika. Just skip the aioli and Bravas sauce. Or don’t! Total BBQ heaven. Go make these. Hug me later!

What’s the book???? Milk Street Vegetables. If you want more vegetable happiness in life, go get this. Treat yo’self! The new year is right around the corner, and more produce is going to help with those health goals. Let’s do this! Grab a second copy to gift someone you think is awesome! I blogged all about the book last week with a gorgeous Tomato Tart with Olives and Gruyere recipe. That link will take you there if you missed it!

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Tomato tart with olives and Gruyere – Milk Street: Vegetables


#MilkStreet #177MilkStreet #MilkStreetVegetables #ChristopherKimball #JenniferGuerrero #Vegetables #Produce

Milk Street’s done it again! They are always super flavorful while being as kitchen-efficient as possible. Milk Street Vegetables is delicious and off the beaten path. I found that while I played in the book, I was centering dinner around the produce and coming up with a little coordinating protein and fresh fruit. Fabulous! Yeah. Totally giftable!

I’ll tell you all about the book and the dishes we tried in a minute, but first I wanted to give you a recipe to try. Tomato tart with olives and Gruyere. The flavor is gorgeous and it’s a total looker. And as frosting on that glorious cake, it’s ridiculously easy and quick. Rich puff pastry with earthy tomatoes and onions, briny olives and capers, mustard for a sharp flavor pop, finished with herby fresh basil kisses. We loved everything about this and it’s truly Tuesday night easy. Hope you love it, too!

A huge thanks to the folks at Milk Street and Voracious for letting me share this and two more upcoming recipes with you!

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Speedy Pork Scaloppine recipe – Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy!

#PioneerWoman #ReeDrummond #PioneerWomanCooks #SuperEasy #SheetPanSupper #Healthy #Delicious

Cutlets, scaloppine, schnitzel… Call it what you like, but every culture has a version of these with good reason – they’re awesome! If you’re not sure you love pork chops, here’s a great chance to fix that situation, or you could use chicken if you really want to. Just don’t skip the sauce. It’s wonderful. It’s like a lemony gravy. She suggests “loaded crash hots” (loaded little potatoes). Asparagus and green beans both play so nicely with that sauce, though…

One of my favorite things about Pioneer Woman’s books that you might not be aware of if you’re just grabbing her recipes online are the “Variations” and “Change It Up!” sections at the end. Once you’ve got the basic recipe down, you can transform it into several different dinners. Niiiice. I’m including those here so you can get a feel for them and have all the fun and yumminess!

I told you all about Pioneer Woman’s new book, THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: SUPER EASY!, and shared recipes in my last couple posts. Missed them? Here you go! Thanks to William Morrow for letting me share them with you!
The English Breakfast Situation
Teriyaki Chicken Sheet Pan Supper

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Teriyaki Chicken Sheet Pan Supper recipe – Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy!

#PioneerWoman #ReeDrummond #PioneerWomanCooks #SuperEasy #SheetPanSupper #Healthy #Delicious

I love flipping through cookbooks with a fresh stack of post it notes. Pop my feet up in cozy socks, grab a blanket, turn on the fireplace. Yeah. Add a glass of wine for the ultimate “me time”.

I told you all about Pioneer Woman’s new book, THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: SUPER EASY! , and shared the recipe for The English Breakfast situation in my last post. Missed it? Here you go!

This is the recipe that really stood out and made me want to stand up and run into the kitchen. It looks fabulous, and to my delight it totally delivers all the flavor I was hoping for! Sheet pan easy, flavorful, colorful, and filled with tons of produce and protein! Hope you love it, too! Go get you some oh-so-delicious “me time”! Thank you to William Morrow for letting me share it with you!

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The English Breakfast Situation Recipe – The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Super Easy!

#PioneerWoman #ReeDrummond #PioneerWomanCooks #SuperEasy #EnglishBreakfastSituation #FullEnglishBreakfast #FullEnglishBreakfastWithExtraBreakfast

Ree Drummond has a new book out, THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS: SUPER EASY!, and it’s fantastic! I’ll show you my full review of the book with all the dishes I tried, but first, I wanted to share a recipe with you! I always thought I was making the Full English Breakfast with extra breakfast, but I was missing the baked beans and mushrooms <shudder>! How good is it? I had one jar of homemade strawberry rhubarb jam left, and I have no rhubarb to make more. It was totally worth it! It’s supposed to serve 4-5, but my husband and I shared half of it, when our 17 year old walked in and polished off the rest. She just smiled with her eyes closed in satisfaction, said, “Thanks! That was so good!”, and left. I felt bad when our older daughter walked in, but I understand. It’s breakfast pilfering good.

A huge thanks to William Morrow for letting me share it with you! And they said yes to two more upcoming recipes. Woohoo! I bet readers who’ve been following me for awhile will know just which ones I asked for. Hope you love it!

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Summer beverage ready with Margaritaville and Yeti – and Jen’s frozen sangria!

Do you need a summertime splurge or a last minute Father’s Day gift? I’ve got you!

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