A Pint of Highlander Ice Cream a Day...
A Pint of Highlander Ice Cream a Day...
The Ultimate Guide to Making Healthy Protein Ice Cream
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I love ice cream. Especially on the weekends. I ate a pint of it last night. I actually ate a pint of it almost every night through bodybuilding prep to get to 6% body fat.
No, not the fatty Ben & Jerry’s or Talenti from the store. Nor the fake-sugar filled Halo Top. I make my own Highlander protein ice cream in less than five minutes.
A pint of Highlander Ice Cream can be as little as 200 calories. It tastes delicious, and it’s versatile. You can make a variety of flavors that taste like your favorite “real” ice cream.
Here’s how I make it and a few of my favorite flavor combinations.
Highlander Ice Cream Base
To make Highlander Ice Cream, you need a base that will create a thick ice-cream like consistency. My current base is four ingredients and ~200 total calories:
3/4 scoop of protein - 80-120 calories
1 scoop of collagen - 40 calories
1/2 frozen banana - 50 calories
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk - 20 calories (or sub for your favorite milk)
1 1/2-2 cups small/crushed ice
Total macros are 3g of fat, 14g of carbs, and 29g of protein.
Put the ingredients into a blender cup. Order matters. I usually put in the banana first. Fill ice around it. Pour milk on top. Then protein and collagen last. If you pour milk on the powder it can make clumps on the side of the cup. Blend until smooth. You shouldn’t hear ice chips crunching when it’s finished.
I use a Nutribullet to make my ice cream. A blender works fine as well. A Ninja Creami might be best.
With the Highlander Ice Cream base, you don’t even need to add any additional ingredients. The standard base will create a nice coconut-banana hinted ice cream that primarily tastes like whatever protein powder flavor you use. Two stock flavors I like are Snickerdoodle and Oreo, but I also love to get creative with Cherry Cacao Crunch, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Coffee Mocha Macadamia.
Highlander Snickerdoodle Ice Cream
3/4 scoop of PEScience Snickerdoodle protein powder - 80 calories
1 scoop of collagen - 40 calories
1/2 frozen banana - 50 calories
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk - 20 calories (or sub for your favorite milk)
1 1/2-2 cups small/crushed ice
Total calories are ~190. Total macros are 3g of fat, 14g of carbs, and 29g of protein.
This ice cream comes out particularly well because PEScience protein is a blend of whey and casein, which makes the blend a little thicker. If you want to go crazy, you can even add a dash of cinnamon to the blend.
As I’m now trying to gain some weight, my default nightly ice cream is snickerdoodle with a protein brownie, but that’s a recipe for another time.
Highlander Oreo Ice Cream
3/4 scoop of Ghost Oreo protein powder - 120 calories
1 scoop of collagen - 40 calories
1/2 frozen banana - 50 calories
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk - 20 calories (or sub for your favorite milk)
1 1/2-2 cups small/crushed ice
Total calories are ~230. Total macros are 4g of fat, 18g of carbs, and 30g of protein.
The Ghost Oreo powder has little Oreo pieces in it to add some extra flavor, although they get fairly pulverized in the blender. If you’re not dieting, you could even crush an Oreo and sprinkle it after the blend for some added flavor.
Highlander Cherry Cacao Crunch Ice Cream
3/4 scoop of Optimum Nutrition Natural Vanilla protein powder - 100 calories
1 scoop of collagen - 40 calories
1/2 frozen banana - 50 calories
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk - 20 calories (or sub for your favorite milk)
1/2 cup frozen cherries - 50 calories
3 tsp cacao nibs - 50 calories
1 1/2-2 cups small/crushed ice
Total calories are ~310. Total macros are 7g of fat, 31g of carbs, and 30g of protein.
Mix the cacao nibs into the ice cream after you blend it to maintain their crunch. If you really love cherry flavor (and don’t need to worry about calories), I’d add even more cherries.
Highlander Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
3/4 scoop of Optimum Nutrition Natural Chocolate protein powder - 100 calories
1 scoop of collagen - 40 calories
1/2 frozen banana - 50 calories
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk - 20 calories (or sub for your favorite milk)
2 tbsp natural peanut butter - 190 calories
1 1/2-2 cups small/crushed ice
Total calories are ~400. Total macros are 18g of fat, 25g of carbs, and 36g of protein.
Any Highlander Ice Cream version where we add nuts, we roughly double calories from the base. A tradeoff worth considering when not on a hard diet. The Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor still has fewer calories than any other pint of “real” ice cream. And it’s still delicious.
Highlander Coffee Mocha Macadamia Ice Cream
3/4 scoop of Optimum Nutrition Natural Chocolate protein powder - 100 calories
1 scoop of collagen - 40 calories
1/2 frozen banana - 50 calories
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk - 20 calories (or sub for your favorite milk)
About 10 macadamia nuts - 200 calories
1/4-1/2 cup cold coffee
1 1/2-2 cups small/crushed ice
Total calories are ~410. Total macros are 24g of fat, 21g of carbs, and 31g of protein.
Since I eat my ice cream at night, I use decaf coffee with this one. The macadamia adds a great unique flavor that compliments the coffee, but you can sub other nuts here if you prefer. Pistachio is a great flavor, although I don’t use it with coffee.
If you love nighttime ice cream like I do, try Highlander Ice Cream next time you have a craving. Get creative. Use your favorite flavors. Try it tonight. Stay stronger for longer.
Disclaimer: The Highlander is an educational Substack about how to live stronger for longer. As with all exercise, and health advice, consult with a doctor and/or trainer. This is not medical advice.