Nashville’s Hot Summer & Ice Cream for Breakfast

It’s gonna be a long hot summer! Why not make it delicious?

This is our third summer in Nashville, and I am surprised how different each summer has been. Our first summer was full of severe thunder storms. The kids weren’t used to them (severe thunder storms do not exist in Los Angeles) and found them scary and fascinating all at once. Our second summer was on the cooler side and came with some rain. In fact, 4th of July was a washout.

This summer is just plain hot and sunny with occasional thunder storms. Not the best weather to tackle outside projects. My exterior paint job has been put on hold due to high temps and moisture. Luckily, I was able to paint the front and back of the house before we got hit with this heat. The sides of the house will have to wait. I don’t even attempt to mow the lawn until around 7:30 pm, and even then, I am completely drenched.

Before the heat wave, I also managed to give the front door a makeover.

That was then, now, the pool and lake are the only two places that we can tolerate during the day.

Because of the heat, our diet consists mainly of liquids. My blender works overtime and I pray it won’t die on me. Basically, we drink a ton of smoothies made with fruits, oats, almond milk, yogurt, veggies…

We like to experiment, and we have really come to enjoy our Cocoa Banana Ice Cream for breakfast. We call it ice cream because of the consistency, but it’s really a nice thick, cold, creamy mixture of frozen bananas, cocoa powder and milk. It’s so refreshing… and good for you! This recipe is for one serving.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 bananas

3-4 tbsp milk or almond

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Cut bananas into small pieces and freeze them for several hours. It’s important that they are completely frozen or you’ll end up with baby food consistency.

Blend ingredients in a blender. I usually blend for a few seconds, then stir, then blend some more. Depending on your blender’s power, you may have to add more milk to get things going.

Top with fruit, nuts, granola, or whatever else you enjoy.

How are you keeping cool this summer?