Before I share this aaaamazing ice cream, I'm going off on a bit of a tangent... 

Because I have to give a shout-out to my girl, Whitney, and her blog. Today, I read her blog post about comparison and it struck a cord with me, and probably most people. 

We often compare our own life to everyone around us, whether we want to or not. Whether we realize it or not. The photos posted on extravagant vacations or smiling babies splattered all over our news feeds. Is our life as good? Is our lunch as vibrant? Was our workout as hard? Is our job as good? Was our ice cream cone as perfect looking!?  

Before we know it, we are convinced a friend's life is better than our own or we end up comparing our achievements. Maybe even stopping a dream we were chasing in lieu what everyone else is doing. 

I liked how Whitney put it, "Comparison is the thief of joy, yes. It is also the thief of creativity."

I.could.not.agree.more.  

Whether it be what we eat, where we work, how we dress, when we work out. We are all different and that's what makes us "us".  As Whitney put it, "you are enough." We don't know what is behind the photographs we see on social media, but we do know what is in our own day-to-day life. Our own dreams. Our own joys. And that is enough. 

There is enough happiness in this world for each of us, and Whitney's post was a great reminder.

I don't really know how this ties in with this avocado ice cream, other than I'm in love with making it and that, to me, is enough. After working all day in an office, where yes, I would rather be at home baking or outside running, I come home and have this after yoga & dinner. I look forward to it. And I kind of start to crave it.  

Can an ice cream be the highlight of your day? Sure, why not! 

I sneak in an avocado because it makes it so creamy and you can't even taste it. 

Cocoa-Avocado Ice Cream {dairy-free}

Makes 4-6 servings

• 4-5 bananas, chopped and frozen

• 1 avocado

• 1 can light coconut milk (14 oz.), or other non-dairy milk

• 1/8 cup water

• 3 large dates, pitted

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder (or cacao powder)

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

• Toppings: toasted unsweetened coconut, toasted pecans, cacao nibs, etc

Directions: 

1. In a high-power blender, blend all of the ingredients except the toppings. Blend ice cream until very smooth and creamy. It should be thick. You can add more cocoa powder if you want the chocolate flavor to be more intense.

2. If the ice cream is too soft, freeze for 1-3 hours and then scoop. Or serve immediately if you like it more like a soft-serve consistency.

3. Freeze the remainder of the ice cream. When you are ready to eat it, thaw on the counter and re-blend in order to make it creamy again. Or, just thaw and scoop.

4. Top ice cream with toasted coconut and pecans or another topping of your choice.

Everyone, keep rocking YOU. And we will all thrive! :)