Blissful blueberry ice cream pies

With the oppressive heat of July upon us in Tel Aviv, I'd ideally like to be sitting in a bucket of ice all day long. But, since that's not really an option, the next best thing is eating something icy cold.

And it's not just me. Most days when I pick my daughters up from daycare, the older one begs me to buy her an ice cream from the neighborhood corner store. I feel for her, I really do, when she looks at me with that cute, questioning face, beads of sweat pouring down from her forehead.

Which is why I decided to experiment with some frozen dessert recipes of my own.

And, if you're trying to stay cool with the kids on a hot summer's day, not only are these delicious to eat, but can be fun to make with the little ones as well.

Recipe: Blueberry ice cream pies

(Makes 6-8 individual pies)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pitted medjool dates (approx. 6 dates)

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1 1/4 cups coconut Cream

• 1 cup frozen blueberries

• 1 tbsp chia

• 1 tbsp hemp seeds (optional)

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions:

1. Soak the dates in hot water for 10 minutes, just to soften them a bit.

2. Place walnuts in a food processor and pulse to break them into very small pieces. Then add in the dates & cinnamon, and blend everything until you get a fairly smooth, pasty texture.

3. Line a muffin tray. Now, scoop out 1-2 tbsp of the walnut-date batter and press it into the bottom of the muffin mold with your fingers.

4. Using a blender, mix together the coconut cream, blueberries, chia, hemp seeds & maple syrup. Then pour this mixture onto the walnut-date crust, filling each muffin mold.Pop the muffin tray into the freezer for at least 2 hours to let the ice cream pies set.

5. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and let thaw for 5 minutes.

6. Note - If you have leftover walnut-date batter, simply roll it into energy balls. And if you have extra blueberry-coconut mix, pour it into ice pop molds and stick in the freezer.