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.