New Year, New Dessert?
Somewhere at the top of everyone's New Year's resolutions is eating healthier. I love to spend time in my kitchen concocting conscious cooking creations. So when a client said they didn't know how they were going to cut out sugar and desserts in the New Year, my thought was "Cutting out refined sugar, yes... but desserts -- no!"
Everything in life is a balance. Clean eating and fitness goals included. As an animal lover, I tend towards vegan recipes when I can. I'm not perfect... it's not perfect, but it's a balance! One of my favorite simple, delicious, and amazingly decadent vegan desserts includes two of my favorite fruits avocado and bananas. My favorite part of this recipe (besides how delicious it tastes!) is that you can make this with only five ingredients and a blender or food processor in about five minutes.
After your ingredients are combined in the food processor, taste the pudding and add more maple syrup if its lacking sweetness. I usually use raw cacao powder in place of the more sugary cocoa powder for a healthier alternative. Cacoa also adds magnesium as a bonus. Cacao has a very strong flavor, similar to dark chocolate. It’s slightly bitter, and it definitely took me a while to enjoy the taste, but the cleaner your diet gets, the more you realize how overly sugary most recipes are. I even love adding cacao or cacao nibs to smoothies and other desserts. The avocados in this dessert provide healthy fats and the bananas add potassium. Its vegan, gluten-free, and guilt-free.
Another way to make this dessert taste sweeter without having to use more maple syrup is adding fresh berries or sliced banana on top. They’re naturally sweetened and taste amazing mixed in with the pudding. I personally like adding raw cacao nibs for texture. They add a delicious crunch that works really well with the pudding and berries. Or for a more protein packed addition, throw on a scoop of almond butter.
Vegan Avocado Banana Chocolate Pudding
Ingredients
1 1/2 ripe avocados
2 ripe bananas
6 tbsp raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
2 tbsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)
1/4 cup almond milk
Instructions
Blend everything together in a food processor until the consistency is smooth and velvety. Taste and see if more sweetener is needed and stir to make sure everything is evenly mixed. Blend a second time if needed.
Top with banana slices, raw cacao nibs, almond butter, or any other toppings and enjoy!
