Blue Agave Sweetened Peach Sherbet

 

I will confess, my new ice cream maker is like a “shiny toy” that I can’t stop playing with.  I have made some sort of frozen concoction every other day.  My last attempt yielded some luscious orange sherbet (check out my last post for the recipe), then again, I used an entire cup of sugar in the recipe and felt somewhat guilty as white sugar is processed and truly vile for one’s health.  Could I compose a sherbet that was all-natural, low in sugar, good for you and great tasting?

Being that sherbet is a frozen fruit base with dairy added in, I chose Hero White Wave Fruit 2 Day in the Mango Peach flavor.  This particular product is an all natural juice with fruit bits and is rather thick for a juice.  It contains no added sugar, and 2 servings of fruit in each 6.75 ounce container.  For the dairy component, I chose lowfat peach kefir.  Kefir is a cousin of yogurt and contains  live and active cultures.  Kefir is high in protein and calcium and has that tangy taste that I like.  The Lifeway brand is sweetened with organic cane juice, but to add a bit more sweetness to the recipe and help it freeze nicely, I chose to use organic blue agave nectar.  This is a low glycemic alternative to regular sugar.  It is extracted from the heart of the agave plan, and has been used for over 5,000 years.   It is slowly absorbed into the body and is 25% sweeter than sugar, so you need less. 

Follow these easy steps:

 

In a large glass pitcher that will fit in your freezer, add in 1 (6.75 ounce) container of Fruit 2-Day Mango Peach. 

 

Add 3 cups of Peach Kefir to the pitcher. Stir to mix.

 

Stir in 1/4 cup of agave sweetener and stir to combine. Chill in freezer for about 1 hour.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze for 30 minutes. Transfer to a freezer bowl and "ripen" for at least 4 hours to overnight.