I have a new obsession and it’s called Yonanas!

Have you heard of Yonanas? It’s a unique little kitchen appliance that transforms frozen bananas and fruits into luscious soft serve ice cream. I kid you not: what emerges after only seconds has the satisfyingly creamy texture of soft serve ice cream but the only ingredients are bananas and whatever other frozen fruits, nuts, etc. you choose to add to your ice cream treat.

I learned of Yonanas when a friend told me it was the rage of her Weight Watchers group because it allows you to create truly wholesome, guilt-free and low-point desserts. I realized that it’s also a great tool for people with food sensitivities or food allergies to make delicious desserts out of their personal safe foods, so I thought I should check it out first, you know, in the name of research.

I brought Yonanas to a recent family get-together in a mountain condo and whipped out fresh desserts for eleven people in about five minutes. That night I offered organic Colorado peaches and plums that I had cut up the night before and frozen in containers overnight along with the bananas. I had purchased bags of frozen organic mixed berries and blueberries as well, and made each batch to order.

I’ve also pitted and frozen fresh organic Colorado cherries and cubed sweet Colorado cantaloupe from the Western slope. I’ve enjoyed them all. A blueberry-banana batch of Yonanas celebrating my son’s return from 2 weeks of overnight camp in the mountains was a universal favorite even for my husband, who is an admitted ice cream snob.

Cleaning the machine is easy, making it more likely that I’ll use it often, which is exactly what I’ve found. Now, instead of spending $4-5 on a pint of ice cream, sorbet, or non-dairy ice cream, I pick up discounted, older, spotted bananas (organic, of course) to peel and freeze. The more mature bananas make for a sweeter Yonanas product. I’m sure that we’ve already balanced out the cost of the appliance with what we’ve saved from not buying ice cream.

As an aside, be sure to wash all your fruits well before cutting into them to make a Yonanas treat.

I have this idea of pressing Yonanas into my BPA-free popsicle molds to make Yonanas popsicles, but I’ve yet to have a surplus left over from a Yonanas session with which to try this out. I’ll let you know when I try it!