3 Simple Raw Chocolate Treats That Will Rock Your World!
~ excerpt from ‘Be Decadent: Guilt-Free Self-Indulgence for Chocolate Lovers’ by Joanna Steven and Tera Warner
Isn’t it great that you no longer have to sacrifice your health goals to enjoy a satisfying treat?! Not only are these sweet pleasures not bad for you, but they actually pack a nutritional punch. These divine recipes are rich in taste and health benefits!
And your chocolate cravings are guaranteed to be gratified!!!
If that doesn’t rock your world, I don’t know what will. 😉
Cat’s Meow Choc Pudding
“Oh my goodness, do I have a treat for you. This decadent pudding is perfect for those of us in the throes of mid-winter, but it’s also a sumptuous chilled pudding that adds a rich, memorable touch to the end of any summer dinner party.
This recipe is from my raw-food recipe book for children, called Monkey Mike’s Raw Food Kitchen: An Un-Cookbook for Kids!. But this is a very adult-friendly dessert, so be sure to try it out. It’s called ‘Cat’s Meow’ because you’ll be purring like a kitten once you taste it.
I’ve kept the recipe in child-friendly form below, so feel free to let the children in your life have a try at making this. In the e-book, recipes also feature colourful illustrations of ingredients and equipment.”
~ Joanne Newell
Ingredients:
~ serves 4-makes 2 cups
- 1 cup raspberries (fresh or defrosted)
- 2 avocados
- 2 T cacao (or carob) powder
- 2 t coconut oil (runny)
- 2 t almond butter
- 2 t vanilla extract (or two-thirds of a vanilla bean)
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- 4 extra raspberries, as garnish
Directions:
- Place the raspberries in a bowls. Mash the berries with the fork until they are well and truly squashed. Leave the bowl to the side while you prepare the rest of the pudding.
- Cut the avocados in half all the way around the long part of each avocado. Pull apart the halves of each avocado, and use the dessertspoon to scoop out the stone from each half (throw away the stones, or keep 1 or 2 to grow into avocado plants!).
- Use the dessertspoon to scoop out the creamy green flesh from each avocado, and put the flesh in another bowl. Use the potato masher (or you could rinse the fork and use that) to mash the avocados until you can’t see many lumps.
- Add the cacao powder to the mashed avocado, and stir the avocado and powder together with the dessertspoon. Scoop the mixture into the blender.
- Add the coconut oil, almond butter, vanilla extract and agave nectar to the blender, and blend on low speed (turning it up to medium speed) until everything is well blended.
- Rinse and dry the dessertspoon, and use it to put the blended mixture into the bowl containing the mashed raspberries. Mix thoroughly, and then spoon the mixture into 4 dessert dishes.
- Put the dessert dishes into the fridge. Chill the puddings for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Serve with a raspberry on top of each pudding.
PS; Tip for adults: you could just bung everything (except for the raspberries) in a blender, but I find that many blenders don’t mix the powder and avocado as well as when you do it by hand… but if you’re pressed for time, go for the ‘bung it in’ approach!
Chocolate Granola
This delicious granola is super easy to make, so you can definitely triple the whole batch and make 3 trays of it… or more! Then, simply keep it sealed in the fridge where it will stay fresh and tasty for a month. Top it with your favorite nut milk for a great breakfast, or eat it by the handful when you’re on the run.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw buckwheat groats
- 1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
- 3 T raw honey
- 2 T unrefined raw coconut oil
- 2 T raw cacao powder
- 1/4 t cinnamon
- Sea salt
Add ons:
- 1 T goji berries per serving
- 1 t cacao nibs per serving
Directions:
- Soak the buckwheat overnight in plenty of water. Then, rinse it until it is no longer slimy. Set it in a bowl.
- Stir the honey, cacao powder and coconut oil (melted) together until mixed, then add the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour the mix over the buckwheat/seeds, and stir them well to coat.
- Spread the granola over a mesh dehydrator sheet, and dehydrate overnight at 115 degrees until completely dry and crisp. (Optionally you can put it in your oven on the lowest heat setting with the door ajar.)
- Once dry and cool, toss the granola with the cacao nibbs, and transfer to a bowl in the fridge.
Frosty Chocolate Maca Shake
This is my husband’s favorite shake, and I always try to make it before he has a chance to brew coffee – so he skips it, of course! [tweet_dis]Maca powder will give you a boost while also protecting your adrenal glands from the theobromine in cacao[/tweet_dis] (a more gentle caffeine-like substance). It’s a win-win for your body and taste buds.
Ingredients:
~ serves 2
- 3 frozen bananas
- 3 T cacao powder
- 1 T maca powder
- 1/2 cup Brazil nuts
- 1 cup water
- 3 medjool dates
Directions:
- Blend all until smooth. You may need to add a little more water if the bananas were very large.
Indulge, enjoy, and reap the benefits! XO
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