mango lemon ice cream
Jennifer Iserloh, The Skinny ChefLast weekend, my friend Ahou invited me to celebrate a belated Persian New Year's at her place. Her apartment a few flights up was packed with people, candlelight, and a long table lined with casserole dishes of steaming hot food. Stuffed peppers, rice with a crusty brown disk, and a cool yogurt dip with mint and walnuts.

My contribution was home-made ice cream, inspired by Persian flavors like lemon and cardamom. Since I didn't have any rose water or saffron on hand, I folded in some dried mango, left-over from my ambrosia recipe, for added sweetness and texture. The ice cream was gobbled up pretty quickly, and although mango isn't considered very Persian, my dessert got two thumbs up.

Ahou even stopped in to tell me this afternoon the "insider word", that no one asked me if it was the healthy version. Sadly, most people who don't know me, still think that healthy cooking can't taste good, but when you use lighter, high quality ingredients, healthy meals and desserts can taste creamy, luscious, and tempting. Making lighter ice creams with little or no preservatives is easy, and here are my top three tips to creamy dreamy, lighter ice cream.

Tip One:
Make it like a pro. If you are serious about making ice cream, always make an egg custard like I do in my recipe with real egg yolks for a rich thick consistency just like a restaurant chef.

Tip Two:
Milk it. Mix a non-fat or low fat dairy product with one that contains a little bit more fat (like half and half). A touch of richness is enough for flavor without making it a fat bomb.

Tip Three:
Flavor Savors. Flavor-boost your base with real extracts, fruit, and aromatic ingredients like zest, whole spices, and teas.

Get The Skinny Chef's recipe for Mango Lemon Ice Cream with Cardamom.

Per serving (1/2 cup): 158 calories, 6 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat (2g saturated), 184 mg cholesterol, 0 g fiber, 69 mg sodium