I was visiting with Aunt Nan last week, and she handed me a copy of the best thing to happen to my Paleo lifestyle since rib eyes went on sale!
Backing up a bit, to live the Paleo lifestyle/diet you consume no grains, no legumes, and no refined sugars. That means, among other things, no bread, no cereal, no pasta, no baked beans, and for the most part, no dessert. Mostly, I’m OK with that, as I’ve always preferred another buttered biscuit to a piece of pie. But even before the dietary changes, every once in a while, I’d like a sweet snack. Removing all of the comfort-food types of desserts (pies, cakes, puddings, etc) means I no longer have that option without a little backsliding. I prefer to maintain my dietary limits, so I rarely slip back into my old ways in regards to sweets.
What the hell! It also had avocados in it! The filling was simply cacao powder (or pure cocoa powder), coconut oil, and mashed up rip avocado. Let me sait it again…But Aunt Nan, knowing my limits, handed me a recipe for chocolate pudding pie. No refined sugars. No grains. And no legumes. And it had chocolate. Chocolate!
WHAT THE HELL?
Gotta be a joke, right? Or one of those hippy versions of real food only it tastes like cardboard (tofu anyone?) Nan said she made it, and it was “VERY yummy!”, so I tried it, just once, to see. If nothing else, I could get BlueTang to try some and get a laugh out of it.
2 cups dates, pitted
Place shredded coconut into a food processor, and pulse for about 30 seconds. Add in the dates and process until it forms a sticky ball. Press into a pie pan.
The Filling:
2-3 ripe Haas avocados, or 1 large Florida avocado
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup agave syrup, (I’ve tried honey, stevia, and coconut blossom sugar, adjust to taste)
1 cup cacao powder
Put all ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into pie shell, or into serving dishes, then place into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour, (I find overnight works better).
It looks like pudding when it done. It stirs like pudding, and has that same consistency. And the taste….well Bill Cosby would be fooled. NO avocado taste, only a rich, creamy chocolatey taste with all the “mouth feel” you get out of whole milk chocolate pudding.
This ranks up there with magnets for the amazing results you get, yet couldn’t explain it. Why do magnets stick to iron? Most of us couldn’t explain it, but we all know that it “just does”. Why does avocados and the other three ingredients taste like:
I can’t tell you, other than, it just does.”Non Fat Milk, Water, Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following: Palm Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Sunflower Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Less than 2% of: Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Artificial Flavors, Color Added”
And think about this. It contains four ingredients, all of them considered healthy. Nothing bad for you. Why couldn’t you eat this for breakfast? I bet it is FAR healthier than the majority of breakfasts that are stuffed into our faced every day, Paleo believers or not. (And for my niece, its vegan too!)
And even better, you can pour this into a mold and make jello pudding pops! The kind that you are allowed to eat 3 or 4 without any guilt (other than eating the last one that was supposed to be saved for the wife – don’t ask).
On my last batch of pudding pops, I poured in about a cup of heavy whipping cream after the pudding was done, and processed it for another 3 or 4 minutes, making it like chocolate mousse, all light, fluffy, and decadent. I’ve used stevia as the sole sweetener, and find it very acceptable. Keep in mind that the recipe is a starting point to allow you to find what works for you. I’m not a huge fan of agave nectar, so tried it once, then moved on to other sweeteners until I found what I liked.
Food, just like most things should be a journey, not a destination.
So, get started, take that first step on a never ending journey of tasty food discovery.
Go buy an avocado with the intent of making chocolate pudding…and tell the cashier what you are doing…I don’t want to be the only one getting those looks like I’m crazy 🙂
Peace,
db
wow that sounds very interesting, I’m going to have to try it 🙂
I just made the Paleo chocolate pudding- holy smokes, it was good! It tasted JUST like chocolate pudding! I was shocked.
I *TOLD* you!
Its really freaky crazy how similar it is….
Sooo I just made this pudding, and its amazing!!!! I’m going to have Kyle eat it as normal chocolate pudding, then tell him afterwards >:) I did the same thing when I made a deep dish cookie pie with the main ingredient being butter beans, he had no clue!!
Glad we can have SOME foods in common! Having a brother that is vegan while I’m Paleo is about as polar opposite as you can find!
And butter bean cookies just don’t sound good 🙁
True 🙂 and yes I agree they don’t sound appetizing, but you couldn’t even tell! Kyle wasn’t the only one that blindly tried them either, another friend of mine did too, and not only did they like it, they have requested I make them again 🙂
Don’t knock it til you try it!