Have you ever thought about how wasteful water fountains are? I have.
Fried ice cream doesn’t make sense in my mind. So I made up my own version. Because I can. And I can rant about random stuff. Like this crap below. I’m warning you, I’m on a soap box right now.
I want to talk to you about something. Just because I like to talk about feelings. Because I have a lot of them. It’s just something that has been looming on mind for a couple of months now. I think it’s absolutely crazy how much things can change in a year’s time. How much relationships can change. How much a mind can change. And how much a body can change. This time last year, I was training incredibly hard to try to make it to the CrossFit Games. Well, even though I did not make it that far, I placed 8th in Regionals in the Southwest, and did so by gaining almost 20lbs to be able to stand a fighting chance. Not that I meant to, but I somehow did. With lots of training and lots of workouts.
But after Regionals ended and I injured myself a couple times, I had to take a step back. I stopped doing the prescribed weights in workouts, I started resting more than I had in the past two years, and I started looking into more goals I had. More things I wanted to accomplish. More things I wanted to do. These injuries made me take a step back and look at my life. It made me stop and think about what JULI wanted instead of what other people wanted.
And when I took that step back, I noticed that I hadn’t been happy for a while. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. And for me, that is very important. I started competing because it made me happy. And made me confident. I never cared if I did poorly, I never worried about not finishing a workout. I just tried my hardest and tried to smile through it. But when disappointment began to appear on others faces, I knew it was absolutely time for me to take a step back. I never want my performance in the gym to disappoint someone. That is not why I work out. I work out to better myself. To improve myself physically and mentally. Not to upset someone because I didn’t do all my wall balls unbroken. Or because I didn’t set a PR.
This has been a hard thing for me to come to terms with. I haven’t wanted to admit it, but I don’t want to compete right now. I don’t want to train to the point that I’m spending hours in the gyms, aching constantly, and gaining 15-20lbs to be able to keep up with the amazing CrossFit ladies in my Region. That’s not what I want nor is it what my body wants. And since I’ve stopped training to my max every day, I feel better. Even though I’ve lost a ton of strength and endurance, I’m happier. I feel better in my own skin and I’m finally not crying on a regular basis because I was unhappy with how I looked. Yeah, I cried because of that. No fun. I’m an emotional mess without that crap on my mind.
But I want to make one thing clear. I LOVE CrossFit. CrossFit is one of the biggest things in my life. It’s absolutely changed my life. I have a CrossFit tattoo on my ribcage for gosh sakes. It’s really changed me and how I look at things. I set goals differently because of CrossFit. I see food differently because of CrossFit. I view health differently because of CrossFit. If I didn’t know CrossFit, I wouldn’t know me.
But this year, in 2013, I’m doing what will make me happy. And that means eating fried ice cream. My version, of course.
Banana Fried Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the ice cream
- 2 (14 ounce) cans of coconut milk
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the toppings
- 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- sprinkle of maple sugar or coconut sugar
Instructions
- Place 2 cans of coconut milk in a medium saucepan along with the honey, cinnamon, almond butter, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Add saucepan to medium heat and mix well until well combined.
- Once mixture is well combined and smooth, put in freezer until completely cooled.
- When the mixture is cooled, add to your ice cream maker and turn on.
- When your ice cream has almost completely thickened, place a small skilletover medium heat and add your coconut butter and bananas.
- Then add the cinnamon, coconut sugar, and a pinch of salt to the pan.
- Mix around in pan and cook until bananas are caramelized and soft.
- Top bananas on ice cream and sprinkle with a bit more coconut sugar.
- Eat. Emotionally eat.
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Good for you!!!!
Juli,
I am glad that you shared your struggles with this! I think that it is something we all go through but don’t realize how many others are in a similar situation as we are. I recently wrote a post about it here; http://jengrant10.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/happy-now/ about dealing with the struggles of over-training and thinking that I had to live up to some expectation that I perceived others had of me. Not cool. Not cool at all. I hit the bottom and am working my way up to be a happier healthier me! I know you will do well no matter what you are doing if it is something you are passionate about and love!
Love your recipes and your blog. Thank you for your honesty and realness.
I just love you. You rock :).
I was skeptical about this recipe because I don’t really like bananas, but I had the day off and hadn’t made ice cream since the summer. I have to say, it’s probably my favorite desert recipe I’ve made from the site so far. The bananas tasted like pie and were perfect warm over the ice cream. I probably should not make it very often, LOL. So tasty! Thanks Juli!
Crap, my ice cream machine broke this summer. Guess I’ll just have to go get a new one, just so I can make this! It looks frickin’ amazing. I’m already drooling over other fruit I could add to this.
I stopped giving a crap about what people thought of me last year, and I feel wonderful! I don’t need to have anyone’s approval except my own.
Juli, your spirit is so strong and your humor is contagious. I just love how honest you are. I, too am one of those who tried Crossfit and although I enjoyed it (to a point until the hurts started to pop up) and made some friends it got to a point that it felt like “work” and not “pleasure” and I decided that it wasn’t for me. I haven’t regretted it. Thanks for your honesty and courage in finding what works for you and sticking with it.
I have come to the same conclusions through Ironman training. Somehow over 4 years I lost sight of why I do the sport. Goals can sometimes overshadow the process and then we forget why we love doing something. It becomes more about the end result.
Hi Juli…are you sure 2 tablespoons of cinnamon is accurate in this recipe? Made tonight, and questioned the amount so added 4 teaspoons instead (about 1.3 tablespoons) and it was delicious, but the color was much darker than your picture and I would definitely call it Cinnamon Ice Cream even in light of the lesser amount based on the domination of cinnamon. Great recipe none the less…and FYI searched comments first but couldn’t find anyone who actually MADE this recipe.
Dana, yes, that’s what I used but I loooove cinnamon, so I tend to overuse it. not sure why it looked different though
Thank you SO much for this. It’s very timely. For years I worked out with the same group of people and because I loved it, I excelled. Except at some point I became the benchmark for everyone and suddenly I was expected to outperform and outlast everyone every freakin’ day. It was like having a target on my back constantly. I over trained, lifted heavier than I should and with injuries because I had all these expectations to live up to. Now a smaller group of us are doing Crossfit and I really love it, but it can been hard to not falling to that same trap since all your results are posted everyday. Your post is a great reminder to let go and just love the moment and silence the other voices. Thank you!
Hi Juli,
Love the recipe, but honestly, really love the post even more. I’m sitting over here achy as all get out after two back-to-back lifting days and knowing that I need a rest.
I’m sleepy as hell after the 1-2 punch of the crappy Grammys and the State of the Union & Republican Response; but knowing that other folks are looking for me to be in the box getting it in makes me want to go.
I’m also packing on a lot of muscle (and thought i saw CANKLES forming during my snatches yesterday) and I want to feel good about how I look, just as much about how I feel. This post, IMO, was spot on and had great timing (Thank you God, for Juli!!!). Active rest day it is; slow cardio and abs and home early so i can hit the sack.
Thanks for all that you do; your recipes and sarcasm make my world go round! I truly appreciate it!