Ice Cream for Breakfast Boosts Brain Power

My dad used to feed me and my sister ice cream cones for breakfast (unbeknownst to my mom). He always said he couldn’t see any difference between an ice cream cone and a bowl of sugar-coated cereal with milk.

Even as an adult, I have a hard time arguing with that ironclad logic. And so, occasionally, I feed my kids ice cream for breakfast, too.

Not very often, mind you. The last time they got it was while we were on vacation last August.

Breakfast was not included at one of the hotels we’d reserved on the road, we spotted a Russell Stover’s on our way out of Gatlinburg, everybody was hungry, so we thought why not?

That ice cream cone brought back lots of fond memories of mornings with Dad.

Still, I felt a twinge of guilt eating it. What if Mom found out? Would she disapprove?

But I can lay those concerns to rest now, because my sister — bless her heart — sent me a link this morning to this article based on this research. It shows that eating ice cream early in the morning is actually beneficial to the brain.

People who eat ice cream for breakfast have been shown to process information more efficiently and have better reaction times than those who don’t. Who would have guessed?

Obviously, my dad was ahead of his time. 🙂 These days, I’m feeding my kids ice cream for breakfast much more often. And I don’t feel a twinge of guilt about it. Especially when I serve them this healthful, whole-foods version.

Ingredients:

2-3 ripe bananas, frozen
2 cups of other frozen fruit (mango, strawberry, pineapple, raspberries)

Directions:

Blend (we use a Vitamix) until smooth ice cream consistency. Then eat with a spoon. This recipe makes enough to share! Adjust amounts depending on how many (or few) are eating.

The kids’ favorite flavor is mango. Mine is raspberry. It’s good as is, but if you want it a bit sweeter, add a touch of honey. Why not whip some up today for a cold and creamy treat. You can enjoy it first thing in the morning, just before bed, or anytime in between.

Want more recipes? You can view a categorized list of my other cooking posts here: Our Favorite Recipes. Or — for even more Flanders family favorites, plus a wealth of ideas for making mealtime memorable — get a copy of my book Sit Down & Eat.

Have enough nutritious and delicious recipes to fill a book of your own? Then grab a copy of my new devotional journal for culinary artists, Bread of Heaven so you can put them all down in one place.