My mother wasn’t big on dessert, when I was growing up. Occasionally she’d buy a box of popsicles, but for the most part, when dinner was over, we weren’t expecting anything more. It’s a far cry from the way the Country Boy was raised; like most French families, his had appetizer, main, cheese, and dessert – even if dessert was just a yogurt or a pudding cup.
But while my family never really had dessert, we did always have fruit in the house. It wasn’t necessarily eaten for dessert – and often, we were gorging ourselves on melon and strawberries before dinner had even been served – but I’ve continued the habit of keeping fruit around and eating it as a snack whenever I want something sweet.
All this to say that, in keeping with the norms my mother put in place, I rarely make dessert, even now (and the Country Boy claims not to miss it). On the rare occasion that we’re in the mood for something sweet after dinner, TCB will dip into his ice cream stash (made up of Haagen Dazs caramel ice cream and frozen Mars bars), and I almost always make a smoothie bowl. And while I’m aware that this will probably make me as hated as my oft-proclaimed love of vegetables, I prefer this combination of blended fruit and coconut milk to actual dessert.
Sorry not sorry.
Mango-Coconut Smoothie Bowl (serves 2)
300 grams frozen mango
1 cup frozen peaches
1/2 can coconut milk
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup grated, unsweetened coconut
2 teaspoons raw honey
1/2 cup coconut cream
Defrost the fruit slightly (I usually pull it out of the freezer 30 minutes or so before making, but you could also zap it in the microwave or run it under hot water). Combine the fruit, coconut milk, and lime juice in the blender, and blend until smooth. Pour into bowls and top with coconut, coconut cream, and honey.