I don’t know one person who doesn’t like pudding. Do you? I mean…what’s not to like? Silky, smooth chocolate goodness. Mmm…
But I bet many of you don’t make it at home from scratch. Nothing against the box, but really- It’s not that hard! Plus kids really love to help out. Here’s my chocolate pudding recipe from a few years back that’s really easy because it uses cornstarch instead of eggs:
But… since it’s January and all of you are wanting healthy recipes from me, I thought I’d give you a fun way to have your pudding and eat it too, so to speak. I really think you’ll like this one – It’s very healthy and very satisfying. It isn’t diet pudding, (I don’t believe in such things), but it’s a healthy, whole food pudding recipe that takes out the heavy cream, eggs, and refined sugar.
“What’s left?”, you ask.
OK. Don’t freak out. But there’s avocado in here. That’s what makes it creamy and rich and silky! And unless you’re looking for it, you won’t taste it. Dates provide the ‘sugar’, also helping to thicken the pudding and then you’re just adding your favorite milk alternative, a little salt and some vanilla.
That’s it!
It’s so simple to prepare and you can feel damn good about eating it.
I know I did.
*Avocado Chocolate Pudding (Vegan Style)
(Makes about 1 1/2-2 cups)
•Measure out 1/2 cup of almond, soy or coconut milk (most brands are sweetened with cane sugar) into a large cup or glass, add 5 ounces of whole dates, (but feel free to add more if you want a much sweeter pudding, or if your milk isn’t sweetened) to the milk to allow them to soften a bit. (If you’re using the smaller, Deglet Noor dates that are sold in the dried fruit section, that wil be 14 dates, if you’re using the big Medjool dates found in the produce section, it may be more like 9-10.)
•Refrigerate and let sit for several hours if you can. (This step is recommended but not necessary! It just helps the dates soften, therefore making them easier to blend.)
•In a super strong blender* combine the following:
-1 large, ripe (but not mushy) avocado
–your milk/softened date mixture
–4 TB cocoa powder (unsweetened!)
–splash of vanilla extract
–pinch of salt
–a sprinkle of espresso powder (optional)
•Blend this until there are no more lumps. Do whatever you have to do to get all of the lumps gone because those lumps are dates and those dates are your sugar!
(Enlist a tiny helper!)
(But watch said tiny helper with the salt pinching… Many of our desserts have ended up not so dessert-y.)
•Once everything is completely smooth and tastes like chocolate pudding, you’re done!
•Serve as you would any other ‘regular’ pudding…with whipped cream (or cream substitute if you’re actually vegan), berries, whatever you’d like!
Or if you’re anything like my two, just grab a spoon and dig right in!
Whenever I post one of these ‘alternative recipes’, I use my kids as judges. If they like it, especially after just downing a Cadbury Egg, I know I’m good.
———————–
(*I don’t have a vitamix or anything similar, so my regular blender took awhile with this recipe…I ended up using a combo of that and an immersion blender, which worked perfectly)
For a similar vegan chocolate pudding pie recipe, check out this page:
For another dessert recipe using avocado, follow this link for the original ‘Avocookie’:
No Comments