This treat works for all diets, but it will only be as sweet as the fruit you use, so choose fully ripe and preferably organic fruit. You can add more banana for sweetness, except on a low-FODMAP diet where only half a banana per serving is recommended—use the juice of half a sweet navel orange for added sweetness. If your cantaloupe is too sweet (you get used to less sweet food on these diets), add more lemon juice.
Tip
Your banana should be ripe or slightly overripe, since underripe bananas aren’t permitted on SCD, AIP, and GAPS diets because of the high starch content. As bananas ripen, their starch transforms into sugar and they lose their astringency (the feeling of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth). Overripe bananas, however, are high in fructose and not low-FODMAP friendly, although they’re fine on the other diets.
You can freeze bananas at the perfect ripeness and remove from the freezer 15 minutes before making this parfait, as with the cantaloupe— this will have the added benefit of creating a creamier texture.
Cream Soda Parfait with Banana, Cantaloupe, and Vanilla Bean
Ingredients
- 10 frozen red seedless grapes
- 2 cups (250 ml) frozen cantaloupe chunks
- 1 cup (250 mL) frozen papaya chunks or more cantaloupe
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 ripe banana, divided
- 1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice
- Sparkling water
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories125
- protein2g
- fat5g
- saturated fat2g
- trans fat0g
- carbohydrates31g
- sugars24g
- fibre3g
- sodium29mg
Directions
01
Remove fruit from freezer and leave on counter for 15 minutes to thaw slightly. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean and place half of them in blender with semi-thawed cantaloupe, half the required banana, and lemon juice. Blend and taste, adding more banana for sweetness or lemon juice, if desired. Divide blended mixture between 2 wine or parfait glasses.
02
Without rinsing out blender, blend papaya with grapes, remaining banana, and vanilla bean seeds. Taste and add more grapes for sweetness, if desired. Divide between 2 glasses to 3/4 in (2 cm) below the rim. Top with sparkling water. Eat with a spoon so bubbles mix with fruit when you dip into the pureu0301e below. Top up with more sparkling water, as desired.
Amie Watson is a Montreal-based freelance writer, television contributor, and founder of the Fork That app. Her work has appeared in the Montreal Gazette, enRoute magazine, and The Globe and Mail.
