Over the past month I have been working hard at reducing my sugar intake because 70% of what I usually eat is sugar. I use stevia, which is an herb, to sweeten things. It's a different kind of sweetness than that of sugar and you have to use a good brand or else it can be terribly bitter. I use KAL stevia powder and I only use a pinch at a time. The best results that I have had are when I use stevia in addition to a greatly-reduced amount of sugar. For example, when I make banana bread the recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups sugar but I use about 1/3 cup of sugar and a couple of pinches of stevia. You really can't tell the difference.
So, I have developed a killer ice cream recipe for Berry Cheesecake ice cream. You can modify this in several different ways to make lots of different varieties, but basically, you don't have to have lots of sugar to have good ice cream.
Mixed Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream
(use any variety of fruit, frozen or fresh [frozen helps to speed up the freezing process of the ice cream])
1 pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup ricotta (optional, if you can find a good, smooth brand, there's no reason not to use it)
1/2 t almond extract
1 t vanilla
2 T fruit-sweetened jam (you could use store-bought, homemade, or sugar, honey, or syrup if you're not making a fruit ice cream)
stevia to taste (I'd start with a pinch and work up from there. I use about 3 pinches total.)
Beat until smooth
2 eggs (use farm eggs unless you want salmonella)
Beat until smooth
2 cups cream
Beat until smooth
(I would taste it to make sure it's sweet enough, you could always add more stevia at this point, though the fruit will make it a little sweeter, too.)
Let it chill in the fridge for a while and then process it in your ice cream maker like any other kind. I add the frozen berries after a couple minutes of processing, but you could probably add them at any time.
The finished product is delicious and not lacking in flavor at all. My kids and husband both loved it (in fact, it was dubbed 'the best ice cream to date') before I even revealed it's low-sugar status!
Enjoy!
