Helping families eat healthier for less

Helping families eat healthier for less

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Simply Fruit Sorbets: Nutritious, Easy, & Low Cost















The challenge this month for Recipe Redux was to create a healthy frozen dessert.
I decided to create a fruit sorbet. I wanted a recipe that didn't require an ice cream maker and that didn’t have too much sugar, like many store-bought sorbet varieties.

This recipe is extremely easy make. Basically, the fruit is peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, and then frozen solid. Then it is processed in a food processor with just a little maple syrup and water. It can be eaten immediately or frozen for up to 2 weeks.
Here are the specifics.
I started with fresh mango and pineapple. I peeled the mango and cut the flesh into cubes. Need help cutting a mango? Click here to see a video on how to cut a mango.
I pulled the top off the pineapple, cut off the outside and the core, and cut the remaining flesh into cubes. Need help cutting a pineapple? Click here to see a video on how to cut a pineapple.
Here are the frozen mango and pineapple cubes in the bowl of a food processor. One cup of frozen mango cubes, one cup of frozen pineapple cubes, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of water are combined in the bowl of a food processor and pulsed until smooth, scraping with a rubber spatula occasionally. Then the whole process is duplicated to make 8 1/2-cup servings.

The photo on the top left is the final mango-pineapple sorbet.

Click here for the complete Simply Fruit Sorbet recipe for all three versions: mango-pineapple, strawberry-banana, and peach.


So how does this homemade fresh fruit mango-pineapple sorbet compare to store bought varieties? Take a look at the chart below to compare.

Chart: Comparison of Mango Sorbets

This Recipe: Pineapple-Mango Sorbet
Haagen-Daz all natural Mango Sorbet
Simple Enjoy Mango Sorbetto
Ciao Bella natural Mango Sorbetto
total cost
$2.57
$4.29
$3.99
$4.49
total no. of 1/2-cup servings
8
3.5
8
4
cost per serving
$0.32
$1.23
$0.50
$1.12





Nutrition Information per 1/2 cup
calories
59
150
80
107
total fat (g)
0
0
0
0
protein (g)
0.6
0
0
0
carbohydrates (g)
15.1
38
21
27
sugars (g)
na
36
15
26
fiber (g)
0.6
0
0
1
vitamin A (% DV)
20
20
10
20
calcium (% DV)
0
0
0
0
vitamin C (% DV)
12
10
6
0
iron (% DV)
0
0
4
0

Label Ingredients
Mango, pineapple, maple syrup, water.
Water, sugar, mango puree, lemon juice concentrate, pumpkin juice concentrate, carrot juice concentrate, natural flavor, pectin.
Filtered water, mango puree, high fructose corn syrup, granulated sugar, citric acid, mango flavor, guar gum, xanthum gum, yellow 5, yellow 6.
Mango, water, sugar.


From this chart, you can see that the homemade recipe has the fewest calories and carbohydrates and it costs far less per serving that the three store-bought versions. From looking at the ingredient labels, one version lists sugar as the second ingredient. Another one lists high fructose corn syrup and granulated sugar, and one has just three ingredients, mango, water and sugar. The homemade recipe contains only fruit, maple syrup and water.
You can use the same process to make a strawberry-banana sorbet or a peach sorbet.

Here are the strawberries on a wax paper-lined sheet.

 Here are the banana slices dipped in lemon before freezing to prevent browning.

Here is the peach sorbet in a plastic container to eat at a later date.

Check out other Recipe Redux healthy frozen desserts by clicking on the following blogs.
Emma Stirling - The Scoop on Nutrition   
Greek Yogurt Pavlova Popsicles
Cherie Schetselaar - Grain Crazy   
Blackberry Lemon Almond Torte
Emma Cutfield-The Hearty Heart   
Coconut Ice, Blueberry and Cocoa, Joint Healing Dessert
   
Carlene Helble- Carlene's Figments   
Peanut Butter Banana 'Ice Cream' Sandwich   
Janel Funk - Eat Well with Janel   
Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream   
Kat Lynch - Eating The Week   
Coconut Chia-Seed Fruit Pops   
Rebecca Scritchfield - MeFirst   
5-minute Frozen Peach Pie
   
gretchen - kumquat   
chocolate "ice cream" bars
   
Emily Greenfield - The Nutriscientist   
Honey and strawberry semifreddo
   
Liz Marr - Liz On Food   
Peach Lavender Ice Cream
   
Elizabeth Jarrard- Don't (White) Sugar-Coat It   
Adult Popsicles: Frozen Boozy Treats
    
Regan - The Professional Palate   
Frozen Samoa Pie
   
Liz Weiss & Janice Newell Bissex - Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen   
Healthy Blueberry and Mango Snow Cones
Jessica Fishman Levinson - Nutritioulicious
Watermelon Sorbet
   
Alexandra Caspero- Delicious Knowledge    
Mango & Coconut Popsicles   
Karman Meyer- Nutrition Adventures   
Coconut Ice Cream with Strawberry Puree   
Yuri - Chef Pandita   
Acerola Chia Lime Popsicles
   
Kristen Bourque- Swanky Dietitian   
Peanut Butter Coffee Popsicles   
EA Stewart-The Spicy RD   
Luscious Lemonade Pie
   
Danielle Omar - Food Confidence RD   
Banana Soft Serve
   
Katie Caputo- East Meats West   
Auntie Rosie's Ice Cream Pie
   
Alysa Bajenaru - Inspired RD   
Coffee Granita
   
Kara Lydon - Peace, Love, and Food   
Peanut Butter Banana "Ice Cream" With Dark Chocolate   
Serena Ball- Teaspoon of Spice   
Splendid Key Lime Frozen Yogurt   
Nicole Ferring Holovach - Whole Health RD   
Peaches and Rum Ice Cream Pie   
Lisa @ Healthful Sense   
Peanut Butter Vanilla Soft Serve
   
Jackie Mills - Delicious Diabetes Cooking    
Summer Fruit Popsicles
    
Audra Losey - Nutrition Know How   
Mocha Pops
   
Kristina LaRue - Love and Zest   
Frozen Berry Yogurt
Don't forget to check back next month for more heathy, tasty recipes.

9 comments:

  1. Fruit sorbets are so refreshing. I love the combination of mango and pineapple. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. I love sorbet, they are so refreshing and my favorite treat! These flavors look awesome. Thanks, Alex

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  3. Love the comparison table, espcially the cost comparison. Really brings home the message of home made.

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  4. Yuk! I definitely want to give this a try! I love how your version is simply fruit w/ a hint of maple syrup and water. Now, which version to try first.... :-)

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  5. Oh, my goodness!! Definitely a big YUM vs yuk! Sometimes auto spell check is realty annoying! Guess I should always double check my comments!

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  6. This looks so yummy! I love the fresh fruits in it. :)

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  7. Looks so good AND so easy! And I love that you included a comparison chart. Really shows why this is a much better choice all the way around.

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  8. These look so refreshing and yummy! I'll add them to my list of recipes to try...

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  9. Ditto on loving that comparison chart - I love the way you make it so simple and accessible to those who might otherwise not be as confident in the kitchen - great post!

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