Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet

There’s this famous ice cream shoppe in Columbus, Ohio called Jeni’s. If you watch Food Network or the Cooking Channel, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Jeni’s Ice Cream.

Jeni’s is known for their unique ice cream flavors. To name a few, the offer up: Salty Caramel, Wildberry Lavender, Queen City Cayenne, Reisling Poached Pear, Bangkok Peanut, Lime Cardamom, Plum Sake, and Hummingbird Cake. They also have a rotating flavor with goat cheese and various fruits. So, so good.

But sometimes, you just want the classics…

Generally, I don’t enjoy strawberry sweets. Strawberry popsicles or lollipops would be my last pick. Strawberry “frosting” and filling don’t usually interest me. The same goes for many strawberry ice creams – pass. But it’s not because I don’t love strawberries…I just prefer them in  a real and unprocessed state.

This recipe in the latest issue of Cooking Light immediately caught my eye. I had to make it.

I figured I would run into some issues finding the Chambord, but the state liquor store carried it in several sizes. I got a tiny little bottle (about 1/4 cup…all I needed for this recipe) for $3.99.

But then I figured out that this sherbet was going to go quick. So I got another bottle. And quickly whipped up another batch.

Mr. Prevention was rather impressed with this Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet, too. He was even more impressed when I told him that a portion size 50% larger than a standard serving (because honestly, who only eats 1/2 cup of ice cream!?) was only 130 calories and less than 1 gram of fat…he was floored. I was too…just a bit. Healthy desserts THIS good don’t come along every day, that’s for certain.

The only thing that could make this strawberry sherbet any better would be some warm, sunny weather to enjoy eating it in!

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Strawberry Buttermilk Sherbet slightly adapted from Cooking Light, May 2012

2 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
3 Tbsp Chambord (raspberry-flavored liqueur)

Directions:

Combine berries and nectar in a blender; process until smooth. Add buttermilk; process until well blended. Add liqueur; pulse to mix.

Chill mixture 1 hour. Pour into freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Yield: 6 servings (3/4 cup each

Nutrition Information (per serving): 130 calories; 0.7 g. fat; 3. mg cholesterol; 58 mg. sodium; 26.3 g. carbohydrate; 2.8 g. fiber; 2.8 g. protein

Result: Deeelicious! I love this sherbet! Full of fresh fruit, naturally sweetened with agave, and the Chambord helps to keep it from getting overly hard/frozen so that it has that smooth, creamy texture. As far as ice cream/sherbets go…this is, by far, the healthiest recipe I’ve tried. And there’s no sacrificing flavor with the fresh strawberries 🙂 This is simple to make and takes about 5 minutes to throw together…the rest is done by the ice cream machine. Which, by the way, everyone should own! Enjoy!

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This week is flying by…again. Today is my last day of practicum with this group of students — they’ve been wonderful, and I will be sad to say goodbye! 🙁

Be well,