You’ve been warned.
Beware of the yummy PB Cookie Dough Cookies.
Their deliciousness plays tricks on your mind, causing all other snack foods to seem boring in comparison. Or perhaps an employee at Whole Foods secretly spiked my most-recent jar of peanut butter? How else can you explain why a chocoholic would crave nothing but peanut butter for the past three days?
Peanut Butter Monster
Yesterday, to feed the ever-growing peanut butter beast inside of me, I created this fast and easy peanut butter ice cream.
No ice-cream maker needed!
Note: When I made this for myself, I used some of the options to make this ice cream higher-calorie. However, the basic recipe is very low in calories. So if you’re watching your weight, you can easily choose to keep it low-cal.
Never-ending PB Ice Cream
(gluten-free and sugar-free)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- very scant 1/16 tsp salt (don’t omit)
- sweetener (such as 1 stevia packet or 1T sugar)
- 1 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened Silk. See below for substitution notes.)
- 1-3 T nut butter of choice
- Optional: you can add banana, chocolate chips, etc.
Mix the ingredients in a plastic container. (Or you can use an ice cube tray.) Freeze. Once frozen, pop the block out of the container (I thaw for 30 seconds in the microwave first) and blend in your Vita-Mix. (If you don’t have a vita-mix, you’ll probably have to thaw longer, but you can still get a yummy ice milk.)
Thanks to the fat in the peanut butter, this ice cream is a bit creamier than the vanilla version. However, if you want it even creamer, try using at least 1/4c canned coconut milk (or maybe even a little creamer?). You can, of course, also sub other non-dairy milks for the almond. But if you do this, play around with the amount of vanilla extract, sweetener, and add-ins. (For example, an already-sweetened milk will probably need less added sweetener.)
P.S. Isn’t the plate gorgeous?
It was $6 on sale. See, you do not need to spend a ton of money for cute dishware!
(Also, I think I need to branch out from blue. Every time an item—be it clothing, dishware, whatever—comes with a choice of colors, I almost always choose blue.)
Highly recommended:
Try this topped with some Peanut Butter Cookie Dough.
You will not regret it. Peanut butter on top of peanut butter. As is the case with chocolate, there is no such thing as too much peanut butter. No such thing.
Question of the Day:
What is your absolute favorite food in the whole wide world?
Mine is chocolate. Always and forever. Sorry peanut butter; I give you points for trying!
{ 128 comments… read them below or add one }
I have too many!!!!! But ultimately, its a tie between whole wheat sweet buns and caramellised cashew nuts!
Chocolates great too, but its number 2 for me! 
PS: Your photos are getting better and better! 
Yum! This looks awesome. As for favorite foods… dark chocolate AND peanut butter are both up there…And then probably anything savory/spicy/ethnic? Too many to pick from!
I love the plate. And the ice-cream. And your pictures
It all looks almost too good 
My fave food is proabably oatmeal. Or apples. I am not sure yet
Peanut butter is definitely one of my favorite foods, but Fiju apples, brown rice, pasta, and steamed kale (I know you, out of all people, won’t think I’m weird for saying this) are also favorites. That question is too hard to answer! I have way too many favorite foods.
*Fuji apples. Not Fiju! Haha.
Jen, you are not weird! I looooove kale and I’m pretty sure I could live off chard if I had to! Yummm!
This looks amazing! My dad has an obsession with peanut butter so I’ll have to try this when his birthday comes around. I also have the same problem as you where everything I buy is blue… strange. And my favorite food is probably strawberries. Dipped in chocolate. Yes.
PB ice cream? I’m so there!
I too have been craving peanut butter like crazy. Maybe it’s the back to school season. One of my standard school lunches was always pb&j.
OMG this looks amazing!! I love peanut butter too but I am seriously in love with oat bran for breakfast practically every morning – topped w/ peanut butter of course!!
WOAH I am so trying this!! I made a chocolate PB version the other day, and it was SO good!! But I’ve bought coconut milk now and I think it’d be EVEN BETTER!
Chocolate is #1, but nut butters are close in #2!!
Yup! Agreed! Chocolate is king, but maybe pb is prince
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@Saraishealthy Couldn’t agree more- I like the way you think
And I LOVE that plate!! It’s beautiful! I can’t really buy many more plates and stuff- not enough room in my kitchen!
I bet it’d be good with your cinnamon-raisin pb. Someone sent me that link yesterday
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Perfect!!! And the photos are absolutely stunning!
I am SO going to make this ASAP! And I agree with everyone else that I think your photos just keep getting better and better. You amaze me, girl!
This looks so good – peanut butter anything and I’m all over it!
you can’t make me decide! I go through phases. Avocado is up there. As are eggs. And sharp cheddar. And extra extra dark chocolate
This looks so good! I’ll have to give it a try…I love peanut butter! It would be fun to add some jam with it and have pb&j ice cream <3
Have you ever seen peanut butter extract? I got some at a mennonite shoppe in the Finger Lakes region of NY a few weeks ago and have been making peanut butter flavoured milkshakes!
The next pb&c recipe I want to make healthy is the Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows from Isa's vegan cookie book…so sinful!
Hahaha I *just* tweeted about that today! I’ve never actually tried it, though.
SUCHA WIN!!! you go girl!! my FAV FOOD,, peanut butter… i willl NEVER get sick of it!
I think you are so excited to live life, that you subconsciously love the sky, which translates to your love of blue. <3 That's my theory anyway.
Wait, that didn’t make much sense… sorry Katie, it made sense in my head!
No, it makes sense to me too!!
I have always been a peanut butter lover, despite my brother having a severe peanut allergy. I didn’t like Reese’s or chocolate and PB in candy bars, but I loved the PB and chocolate sprinkle sandwiches my mom would make me once in a while as a treat, as a kid. (I hated PB&J as a kid, though! Weird.) So yes, I agree – there is no such thing as too much chocolate or too much peanut butter! (Or is there?!)
Not trying to be the dorky health nut… but… I love blueberries the most, when it comes to food! I can easily eat “too many” (by other peoples’ standards it’s ‘too many’, at least) blueberries, heh.
Are we seeing a trend here? More healthy ice cream recipes coming to CCK?! I’ll look forward to more, if that is the case.
Though, who am I kidding? I always look forward to your recipes, just like everyone else!
Aww you are always so sweet!!
Love this! Love your blog!
My fave food in the world has to be chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Nothing else compares, unless we could consider coffee a food;)
This ice cream looks delicious– except I’ll have to make it when my sister, and roommate, isn’t around because it’s her fave food and she’s slightly allergic to it!
Soynut butter is surprisingly PB like.
Maybe your sissa would like a surprise soynut butter ice cream treat!
My little brother had a peanut sensitivity for a while (it’s gone now, which is just weird) so I’d send him soynut butter. He loved it and he’s not an experimental eater at all.
Sunflower seed butter is also super good!
My favorite food is yogurt, no doubt about it. Kind of weird, huh? Though peanut butter is probably number 2 on that list. I just got some peanut butter frozen yogurt that is to die for!
My favorite food is absolutely maple syrup!!
You can top it on ice cream for example…
Peanut butter is probs one of my top Fave foods. I eat it everyday!! I love the blue plate:)
yummay!! peanut butter IS my fav food in the world. altho I would argue there is such thing as too much….like eating half a jar in one sitting and having a bad tummyache after too much. Ill never learn my lessons….
lol
Hey! I’d love if you could make a healthy version of the chocolate cake in a mug that I’ve been seeing around? I’ve made it and it’s delicious but it’s absolutely horrible for you with all of the oil and such. And, who doesn’t love a Single-Ladies Chocolate Cake?
I’m working on a molten chocolate cake recipe. I wonder if it can be done in a mug…
Totally trying this with coconut milk for extra creaminess…err DREAMY-ness
yum, yum, yum!!
I went shopping today and bought raisins for yesterday´s recipe. Can´t wait to try it!
I couldn´t possible choose a favourite food, though I instantly think of oatmeal
Okay, this looks amazing. And your pictures are beautiful!
I absolutely LOVE that blue plate. I have the same problem with buying the same color dishware but in white! You can’t get more plain than that. At least you always choose a happy color!
trying this with canned coconut milk, yumm! with berries it could be like a pb&j
only in ice cream form. Fave food- delicious and real (cop out?) Gorgeous pics, you too much!
Yep, PB is my absolute favorite food of all times. I don’t think I can go a single day without it. I love it so much that I gave it up for lent last year-torture! But it is the best. PERIOD.
I gave up chocolate for Lent one year!
Gasp! You did??!! How did it go?
Oh it was HARD!!! I cheated like none other on Sundays. My mom said it was ok to cheat on Sundays; that God took a rest on Sundays… looking back, I think she only said that because I was really little (middle school). Another year I gave up dairy… and never went back lol. How was giving up pb?
Ah! I didn’t know I could cheat on Sundays?! That would have made it a whole lot easier…. But it was hard for me, too! I crave it every. single. day. I tried to make it up by adding spoonfuls and spoonfuls of coconut, almond, or chocolate butter-but no matter how much I tried, I could not get over the cravings. 5 spoonfuls of coconut butter<1 spoonful of pb!!! I just kept telling myself-it's for God-I CAN'T CHEAT! That first spoonful when it was all over was Amazing!
Its such a sunny day here in california I’m Definitely trying this one TODAY!!! might even let my two year old help me make it:). (idk about sharing it w/him lol)
I love love love mint chocolate ice cream!
What a creative recipe!! I am allergic to PB but I’ll certainly try it without the PB.
My fav food in the world…oh man that’s tough… I am a complete chocoholic like you. I think Nutella is pretty high on my list right now ( i could eat a whole jar). I’m also a huge pasta lover!
Yum!
I have so many favourite foods! I was going to say chocolate and then there’s oats…and almond butter…can’t choose!
Katie, How much do you defrost the frozen cubes? What is the consistency when you put them in the blender? Thanks!
I freeze it in one plastic container (bpa free) and thaw in the microwave for 30 seconds. It’s still hard, but not solid-frozen, when I put it in the blender.
OMG this looks incredible!!! I love pb icecream and this recipe is so simple! Gotta love ease!
There is absolutely no way I could pick just one food as my favorite food ever. Impossible!
Although I can definitely pick my favorite color, blue. Whenever there are multiple colors I also always pick the blue. I’m just drawn to such a calming color.
I’m heading to the kitchen to make this RIGHT now. Actually. Likely with a side of those Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cookies too. Can’t wait
THIS is a winning recipe!!!
I love peanutbutter!
Yum, I wanna make this today. It’s a perfect hot day for it! Thanks for sharing
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My favorite food is peanut butter!
So delicious, on EVERYTHING. Had it for breakfast with some cinnamon raisen toast
Looks great!! Will it still be an ice cream consistency if you blend it in a food processor??
I’ve not tried it, but I think it would be more like ice milk… like maybe the consistency of a Wendy’s frosty?
When I made the chocolate cake batter ice cream it was more like ice milk. I’m not sure why it’s different from vitamix to food processor? However, I made the frappucino and that worked? I think it just depends.
The frappuccino isn’t supposed to have an ice-cream texture, which is why it will work in a regular blender. But for the ice cream, it needs to be higher-powered (apparently something called a Blend-tec blender will work as well).
This is simply genius!
This ice cream looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it but I wish I had a vitamix so I could get it just like yours!! I don’t think I could pick my favorite food! I love chocolate, frozen yogurt, thai food, haha clearly I’m not very good at this being decisive thing
YUM! you always make food that looks so dang good! And it is sooo simple! I love it. My heart belongs to chocolate as well- but sometimes I have an affair with peanut butter…shhhh
This looks lovely, Katie. I bet it’d be great with the addition of banana, like you mentioned!
Ooooohhhhh! Can’t wait to try this one!
My favourite food would have to be my breakfast of choice: oatmeal with almond milk, ground flax seed, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, sliced toasted almonds and wild blueberries. It’s sooooo tasty that I’ll have it for supper sometimes when I’m on my own and don’t feel like making anything labour-intensive.
Add me to the list of blue-lovers! Just bought myself a dress very similar to Princess Kate’s engagement dress and love it! And of course, jeans in nearly every shade of blue, too.
Can I have a four-way favorite tie? Any dessert featuring chocolate and/or peanut butter, bread, cottage cheese and oatmeal. Maybe that’s more like a five way tie. Spinach, apples and spicy salsa are close runners up. I am not good at maying choices, clearly.
I really do need to get a blender now that actually works so I can make this ice cream. I’m thinking chocolate chips mixed in would rock:)
I very recently discovered your blog (I just started a blog, and when I saw someone link to one of your recipes, I was like, hey! who is this other katie! haha). anyway, YOU ROCK! Your recipes all look amazing (tried the single serving peanut butter cookie last night!) and I love that they are in single servings! It’s so hard to cut things down for just myself! Anyway, I’m hoping to try your ice cream tonight!
Katie!! I’m so glad you found me! You have the best name
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(Oh, and a great blog title too!)
Chocolate.
And I Think there is a PB bug aruond, I too fantasy abouth too these days
Ooh a peanut butter virus!
“It was $6 on sale. See, you do not need to spend a ton of money for cute dishware!”–
Totally true…the cheap and thrifty finds are the best kind! I never spend more than $10 and usually try for about $3 bucks. TJ Maxx, Marshalls or Thrift shops. Lucky to live in an area with tons of great thrift shops (must hunt and peck and look for diamonds in the rough but when found…such a good feeling!)
The recipe looks delish.
and I’m with you on the chocolate trumping peanut butter
Gosh I need a Vita!!! But I definitely plan on using my (not so) trusty blender to make peanut butter banana soft serve soon
Thanks for the idea!!
My favorite food in the world? Probably peanut butter. But dark chocolate is a CLOSE second. And I love that dish!
Yumi yum! This looks so good!
And I could not agreed more: It is chocolate for ever and ever and ever! Can not get enought<3
Can I pick sushi as my absolute favourite food? Cop out, I know, because that allows me endless flavour options within that food. But damn, sushi is good
Kinda want peanut butter ice cream now. Perhaps studded with dark chocolate chunks.
good recipe. I am so pumped too that I finally got my Vita! I will try it out.
I agree with you…chocolate is my favorite and I know it sounds odd but veggies too.
Without both our bodies would be so angry at us, as they both make me feel so happy and good!
I have a carton of unsweetened soya milk waiting to be used up in the fridge! This link is going top of the list that’s is growing on the sticky notes on the desktop of my laptop (they are all links to your recipes at the moment BTW!)
As for a favourite food, its kind of treat foods that i really can’t afford to eat too much of – on the sweet side thats dried fruit starting with figs, then raisins/sultanas/berries, mango, prunes oh there’s so many to choose from. I’ve been craving semi/sun dried bananas recently – not the chips but the whole chewy ones. Via http://www.graze.com (a fab UK thing) i discovered there are some i don’t like though – physalis (cape gooseberry) and goji berries.
So can you narrow it down again Katie? Or is that just impossible? – is there a variety of chocolate you prefer? Plain or mint, orange, with nuts etc?
Hmmm… my favorite chocolate is Dagoba 100%. But I also like Endangered Species chocolate-raspberry bars (chocolate raspberry is my favorite combo), and Theo chocolate-coconut bars (my second favorite combo). Oh, and mint chocolate Wild bars. Mint chocolate is pretty awesome too! Eh, I just like chocolate!
see i knew you couldn’t choose
had my fortnightly graze box today with a couple of new things – the sweet chilli dipping sauce to go with the dried mango was too spicy for me! and one mix had dried pomegranate – not keen on the crunch in the middle of those. But the chewy banana coin, coconut flake & raisin mix was yummy!
Yummmm! If only my blender would do that
My blender sucks. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Katie ! This looks amazing I’m gonna try it tonight. Do u think it would work if I used a food processor ? I don’t have a vita mix and my blender isn’t too good.
It wouldn’t work to turn into ice cream… but you could probably get a yummy ice-milk texture out of it, maybe similar to a Wendy’s frosty?
Ooh, not to disagree to be annoying, but FYI I have tried this (ok, not this exact recipe, but something that involves frozen bananas and frozen “ice cubes” of flavored milk) w/ a Cuisinart and as long as you use the pulse button instead of just putting it on, it actually *does* work! Whoo hoo!
Also, relatedly, if you Cuisinart frozen pieces of banana using pulse instead of just on, you actually get soft-serve ice cream, swear to god, no additional ingredients needed!
It definitely won’t work in a food processor with the recipe as written, but if you cut the milk way back (basically just blend frozen bananas and add milk to the desired consistency, no ice necessary), you can make something like soft serve as Liz and others have said. Good luck and have fun experimenting!
I made the base today. Excited for some pb ice cream tomorrow!
Oh, and my favorite food is definitely nut butters of all kinds!
Can’t wait for my room mate with a Vitamix to move in so I can steal it and make all of your recipes!
Among my favorite foods are apple pie, sweet potatoes, pesto, and perfectly ripe mangoes.
Oh man, I was never so lucky in college! Well, I guess I was lucky in a way… my roommates hated to cook, so at least I got all the fridge and freezer space
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Love your plate! Dishware bargains are the best.
mmmm I wonder if my blender could handle this…PB ice cream sounds so good right meow <3
Favorite food in the world? Sigh. Too many to choose from!
Peanut butter is the best food ever and the color blue is the best color so yeah, I dont think you need to branch out from blue and I certainly wouldnt mind eating peanut butter ice cream
I think my favorite food of all-time has got to be peanut butter… closely followed by homemade sourdough bread, coconut butter, and cooked turnip greens (it’s their texture!!!). I also really like pancakes. Like, a lot! Lol.
It’s hard to name just one thing, but since I eat peanut butter almost every single day, I’ll go with that.
I don’t know that I’ve ever had cooked turnip greens… but now that you listed it in your favorite foods–right up there with coconut butter!–I am so intrigued and think I must try them!!
They’re really good! They get very mild once cooked. I cook them on low with some minced onions and garlic and vegetable broth for about 45 minutes to an hour until most of the vegetable broth is gone. Then I munch them up with hot sauce and butter beans (and sometimes my homemade cornbread). That’s comfort food to me!
Though, you gotta wash them real good because sometimes they grow them in sandy soil. I once made a batch where I didn’t get all the sand out… lol. It was no bueno!!
I’m going to Whole Foods today. I will definitely be looking for them! Hopefully without the sand
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I am probably going to be the only person to list these two foods as my favorite, but here goes:
Beets
Kale
Yum.
LOL! Beets? I need to experiment more with them. I love their color… I wonder if you could do a red velvet oatmeal or pancakes with them.
This looks scrumptious! I can’t wait to give it over the weekend.
That mus be the meanest question of all..! If i have, have, have to choose though, I’d say oats, and bananas, and almond butter. Drad, that were three already and the list goes on..
I craved peanut butter all last week!!! My nutrionist said it was my bodys way of asking for fats?? who knows but It was the first time i gave into that craving in years and boy had I been missing out, I even tried almond butter for the first time!! I cant believe this is so low calorie too!! My favorite food is froyo so this recipe is my cup of tea!!
Love the peanut butter obsession! Whenever I eat peanut butter flavored things, I always want them to taste like straight peanut butter, not any milder…at times I go straight for the jar.
My favorite ice cream flavor is dark chocolate peanut butter, where the peanut butter is swirled into the ice cream in big chuncks…I may have to experiment with this!
Oh gosh Katie. You make my jaw drop ALL of the time. Your recipes are the BEST!!!!!!! KATIE! KATIE! KATIE! YOU ARE SO AMAZING!
how do you make your chocolate vegan?
Hi Courtney,
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I’m confused as to what you mean. Only milk chocolate (or sometimes semi-sweet) is not vegan. There are many brands of chocolate bars, chocolate chips, and other chocolate treats that are vegan. And cocoa powder and even Hersheys syrup are vegan
I really want to try this recipe !! I am writing a shopping list as I type
I made this yesterday afternoon, it was SUCH a beautiful day out and I just had to treat myself to something delicious. Let me tell you, this was absolutely delicious! The portion was more than I could eat, which is great! I was very pleased.
Aww I am so glad you liked it!
I just made this icecream and it is by faaaaaar the best icecream I have ever tasted!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
Wow, I’m so glad you liked it!!
Katie, I made this recipe today and it turned out okay. It was very runny and was already melting in my cheap blender! Anyway, the flavor was great, but I know the texture was waaay off because of my blender.
So, I was wondering if you could let me know what kind/model of …vita-mix you have and where you got it. THANKS!
I’m not sure what model it is… it’s actually at my parents’ house at the moment. They’re holding it hostage from me
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But I think it’s a 5200. It’s at least 5 years old, but it still works perfectly!
Just made this, well not the ice cream exactly, I blended it all together with 2 ice cubes (from bag of ice, not tray) and after I blended I tasted it just to see….it was too good to let it sit in the freezer! haha, that’s bad I know, so I just drank it as a milk, very good and tasted like a peanut butter fudge shake from Sonic that I had years ago, but obviously does not have as many calories
Next time I will let it freeze and have it as cream, (if I can, I don’t have a vita mixer thing) if it doesn’t turn out, I’m perfectly fine with having it as a drink! I feel more satisfied with sweet liquids than with actual sweet things, when I eat cookies or pies I always feel like reaching for more, when I have a drink I feel completely satisfied and feel no need to get more. Of course, that’s not gonna stop me from trying out some more of your recipes because they all look amazing!!!
Hi,
I have NuNaturals stevia in a jar, not packets. Do you have any sense of what the measurement of “one packet of stevia” would be? (eg, 1/2 tsp, etc). I’m guessing it might vary depending on the brand of stevia, though… What brand do you use?
Thanks so much! I’m really looking forward to making this recipe!
I use NuNaturals too. There’s about a 1/2 tsp in each packet
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(It’s not pure stevia; it’s cut with maltodextrin. But I think the jar is the same way.)
Thank you so much! This is really helpful to know
(And yes, the jar has maltodextrin too)
I have to admit that I’ve read this one in another website (bodyrock) but if you don’t know it yet I’ll give you a hint:
It’s about frozing a banana and than putting in into a blender. It magically turns into ice cream! It’s just the perfect consistancy… You can have it just like that or play and add something. I do peanut butter. 2 bananas usually need 1tp of crunchy peanut butter (or less) – no sugar, and if you want, no fat.
It’s definitely worth trying.
This is my new addition! I also tried it using Nutella and it was so yummy. My Magic Bullet isn’t powerful enough for blending the ice cubes, even after microwaving, but the food processor gets it done. Thanks for the recipe!
In love in love in love in love!
Many thanks, Katie, for the marvelous low-cal PB ice cream recipe!
Very much appreciate your philosophy of keeping life healthy and sweet =)
The Ninja Baker
P.s. My favorite food is an ume (plum) onigiri (rice ball.)
Dessert faves include swirly soft frozen yogurt and
my mini chocolate cupcakes topped with matcha (green tea) frosting.
This is such a cool trick!
I just bought some of this: http://store.bellplantation.com/4-Pack-Chocolate-PB2-p/cpb2-04.htm
so..it is onnnnn– like chocolate peanut butter ice-cream donkey kong
Wowwwww. I’m pretty sure you just became my favorite person….EVER. THANK YOU
Yummy! Just made this with 2T PB, 3T cocoa powder, and 1/2 banana in my ice cream maker (2/3 C coconut milk + 1/3 C almond milk). The machine seemed to struggle a little bit (could be my imagination), but in 15 min. I had delicious chocolate PB banana ice cream with a smooth and creamy consistency. (c: I probably could have used more banana since the predominant flavor was chocolate PB, but seriously awesome (and easily two generous servings!).
Just made it with water instead of almond milk! YUM! Thank you! What an amazing simple recipe. I know what I’ll be making all summer long.
http://healthymamainfo.com/2012/04/sugar-dairy-peanut-butter-ice-cream/
What type of vitamin do I use and how much? More details pleeeaassse
Sorry, I don’t understand your question…
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Do you mean Vita-Mix? If so, that’s not a vitamin, it’s a special blender. See vitamix.com
A girl in my Food Science class and I once made peanut brittle ice cream from scratch for a school project! Everyone loved it
Sorry, I don’t know where my previous post went to, so I am trying it again. A friend and I once made peanut brittle ice cream in our Food Science class for a school project! Everyone loved it
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