Grapefruit Basil Sorbet
Celebrating the new year with a treat you can feel good about eating, Grapefruit Basil Sorbet.
Happy 2016! I hope I find you fully recovered from your New Year’s Eve party, and another year healthier, wealthier, and wiser.
I’m refreshed and ready to dive into a new year of fabulous dishes, accompanied by butt-busting workouts!
For me, comforting holiday dishes generally equal extra curves. So I’ve vowed to clean up my act, with health conscious meals over the next fews weeks… And pick up my workouts where I left off in early December.
The only problem is, I need dessert. Like air.
I’m not going to tell you that I will completely eliminate sweets. It’s just not possible.
Solution? Lighter, leaner treats. I’ll just think of it as a personal challenge this month.
My sweet hubby got me a new ice cream machine for Christmas. Our old machine bit the dust last spring and I managed to make it through the summer and fall without one.
We decided to give it a spin, starting with a light lemon sorbet. Only, there were just 2 lemons in the fridge. Not nearly enough for sorbet.
Instead we used freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, and HOLY HEAVEN, was it good! Dare I say better than plain lemon sorbet?
This delightfully addictive grapefruit basil sorbet offers a slightly bitter and tart bite, balanced by fresh sweet basil leaves.
It makes your tongue dance a little jig! In fact, Grapefruit Basil Sorbet is so lovely, I would consider giving up chocolate for it. (Please don’t hold me to that.)
Did you know grapefruit helps shrink your stomach, so you feel full?!
Grapefruit Basil Sorbet is fat free, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, utterly delicious, and tricks you into feeling full. You can even make a paleo version by using coconut palm sugar.
You can enjoy it all month when you need a little sweet bite to get you through your day of salads. I’d say that’s a win on all levels.
Take that, January diet.
Grapefruit Basil Sorbet
Ingredients
- 4 large ruby red grapefruits, juiced
- 2 cups water
- 1 3/4 cups organic cane sugar or palm sugar
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1 cup basil leaves, packed
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiling, add the lemon zest, basil leaves and salt. Stir, remove from heat, and cover. Steep the basil leaves in the simple syrup for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the lemon juice to a 4-cup measuring pitcher. Juice the grapefruits into the pitcher until you’ve measured 3 cups of combined juices.
- Strain the simple syrup and discard the basil leaves. Then mix the syrup with the juice. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or to speed up, put in the freezer for 1 hour.)
- Pour the sorbet mixture into an electric ice cream maker. Turn on and mix for 20+ minutes, until the mixture reaches a “soft serve” consistency.
- Eat the sorbet immediately, or put in an airtight container and freeze. After frozen, allow the sorbet to sit out for 10-15 minutes to soften before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more healthy treats? Try these!
Paleo Nut Bars with Chocolate Drizzle
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Very sweet, I would probably cut down the sugar by 1/2; however otherwise this recipe was delicious!
It looked so good, couldnt wait to make it. Finally got to it last night, enjoyed fruits of my labor today. This recipe did not disappoint. Exceeded all expectations. I have a serious sweet tooth and thought I would need that extra 1/4 cup of sugar. No need to do that if you have good grapefruit. I’m learning that the unconventional mixes of various spices in a fruit or a dessert dish is pleasantly surprising. The basil and grapefruit mix was very tantalizing to my taste buds! Thanks for this recipe.
Mouth is watering. This looks so wonderfully refreshing
Such a sweet & delicate sorbet. Would be nice at a Sunday ladies tea party….the basil infusion is so nice!
Isaac,
Every paragraph needs a little excitement!!!!! ;)
For 2012 may I suggest an exclamation point diet?