Vegan 4th of July inspired snacks

1. Patriotic Fruit Tray

Fruit trays are essential at every summer outing. Rather then running to the grocery store and buying a plastic tray of mixes fruit (it's plastic free July so this is a big no-no), create your own fruit tray and add a cute Fourth of July twist to it! It's fun & easy to make and your distant family members will think you are the craftiest person.

You will need:

Strawberries

Blueberries

Bananas

Skewers

Start out by slicing your strawberries in half. Peel your bananas and cut them in 1 inch pieces. Alternate the strawberries and banana bites on your skewers, these will be your red & white stripes of the flag! Depending on your tray size, you'll probably need about 6-8 skewers of just the strawberries and bananas. For the remaining 4-5 skewers, you will repeat the same process but add blueberries at the top of the skewers for the star section! Line them up on your serving tray and impress your friends :)

2. Red White & Blue Ice Cubes

Make your sparkling water extra festive and tasty by adding some fruit to it! Simply put some blueberries and chopped strawberries in an ice cube tray and freeze!

3. Fruit Kabobs

The most tasty version of a Fourth of July sparkler! You'll need a star shaped cookie cutter to slice a watermelon into cute little stars. Throw them on the end of a skewer and line up some blueberries!

4. Vegan Ice Cream

There's nothing more satisfying on a hot day like the 4th of July than some ice cream. Keep up with the festive spirit but avoid dairy with this tasty recipe. It's 3 flavors in one dish, strawberry, banana and blueberry!

For the strawberry ice cream, you will need:

• 4 cups frozen strawberries
• 28 oz (two cans)/ 793 g cans coconut cream*
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded I use Rodelle
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

1. Add the coconut cream to a food processor and whip until soft peaks form.
2. Add all rest of the other ingredients into a food processor and blender together until thick and creamy and combined. Fold in in the whipped coconut cream and mix together until combined.
3. Place all ice cream base into a freezer-safe container and place in the freezer and allow to freeze for 1 hour. Ensure it is covered.
4. Whisk slightly every 20 minutes to avoid it getting too icy for 3-4 hours. It should be getting thicker after each whisking, until it's firm enough to scoop.

For the banana ice cream: 

1. Start with ripe bananas: They should be sweet and soft.
2. Peel the bananas and cut them into coins: It doesn't matter what shape or size the pieces are in, as long as they are chopped up into evenly sized and somewhat small pieces.
3. Put the bananas in an airtight container: A freezer-safe glass bowl like this one is fine, or you can use a freezer bag.
4. Freeze the banana pieces for at least 2 hours: Freeze for at least 2 hours, but ideally overnight.
5. Blend the frozen banana pieces in a small food processor or powerful blender: Pulse the frozen banana pieces. We've found that a small food processor or chopper works best.
6. Keep blending — the banana will look crumbly: At first the banana pieces will look crumbled or smashed. Scrape down the food processor.
7. Keep blending — the banana will look gooey: Then it will look gooey, like banana mush. Scrape down the food processor.
8. Keep blending — the banana will look like oatmeal: It will get smoother but still have chunks of banana in it. Scrape down the food processor.
9. Watch the magic happen! Suddenly, as the last bits of banana smooth out, you'll see the mixture shift from blended banana to creamy, soft-serve ice cream texture. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream. (If adding any mix-ins, like peanut butter or chocolate chips, this is the moment to do it.)

For the blueberry ice cream: 

• 4 large bananas, frozen
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• For garnish, coconut flakes and more blueberries

1. Add the bananas to a food processor and blend. They will break into hard pieces, and will begin to blend into a smooth cream after a few minutes of blending.
2. Add the blueberries in as soon as they become creamy. Blend together until combined.

Combine the three flavors into one dish and serve immediately. For storage, keep in an airtight container in the freezer for 3-5 days. Enjoy!