Product review: Yonanas (and a banana-berry swirl soft serve recipe)

I’m a big ice cream fan – in fact it’s probably the dessert I eat the most, even when there are decadent French dessert treats in the house. Not much beats a small scoop of a quality ice cream, in my book, as an everyday treat. Sadly, my reality is that I shouldn’t really eat ice cream every day because the type I enjoy is, well, the full-fat kind. Ahem. So, what’s the solution? (because to be honest, I DO like to have a little sweet treat at the end of a meal – everything in moderation, right?).  I’ve tried a few times to do the “one ingredient” ice cream using a frozen banana in my food processor to see if I can replicate the creaminess of ice cream but it always turns out kind of gummy. So I was intrigued when the opportunity presented itself to check out the Yonanas ice cream maker.

Yo-what?

A “healthy dessert maker”? Really?

Well, yes – it’s a Fruit “Soft Serve” Machine that allows you to easily create ice-cream-like treats by adding any combination of  fruits like over-ripe frozen bananas, berries, or mango to the chute for a smooth “ice-cream” like taste. The machine churns frozen fruits to the consistency of a soft serve but without the fat, calories, flavourings, colourings or preservatives. It’s easy to use and clean (the chute, plunger, and blade are dishwasher safe). I tried this first with plain frozen bananas and was blown away by the consistency. JUST like soft serve.

I’ve been playing with some flavour combinations over the past little while and my favourite has got to be a banana-berry swirl soft serve. SO easy…

So creamy (it tastes like a frozen yoghurt dessert) but instead of all the calories of ice cream, you’re eating the equivalent of some of your fruit serves for the day. Win!

Yonanas – the pros

• It makes tasty treats quickly (20 minutes from the time you take the fruit out of the freezer to the time you are enjoying your dessert/ treat) and easily.
• The consistency really IS like soft serve!
• It’s easy to customise the flavours you make.
• It’s really easy to use (no open blades).
• It’s really easy to clean (even without a dishwasher).

Yonanas – the cons

Well, yes it is a one-use appliance. Something I normally tend to avoid in the kitchen. But this is so quick and easy to use (and clean), I’m willing to look over that. Also, it’s fairly small, fitting in a corner of a cupboard so it’s doesn’t take up too much valuable cupboard space.

Yonanas – the bottom line

At just $49.99, it’s a reasonably-priced appliance that does exactly what it says and makes the best-tasting non-dairy “soft serve” I think I have tasted made at home. I’ll be using this through the winter as well – a great way to get in more fruits and veggies in your day!

Yonanas – giveaway!

I’ve partnered with Yonanas to give away one Classic Yonanas machine to a reader! Head on over to the giveaway page to enter!

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Disclosure: Yonanas sent me a Classic machine to use and review  and will provide one (1) Classic machine for the winner of this contest. I have not been further compensated for writing this post and all opinions are my own.