Chocolate Pudding

My hope is that you are excited about this recipe as I am!  Who doesn’t love chocolate pudding?!  The problem is, the stuff you get in the grocery store is full of hydrogenated vegetable oil, artificial colors and flavors.  My recipe is full of healthy fats from avocado and coconut, fiber from the avocado and minerals like magnesium from the cacao powder.  There is absolutely nothing artificial about my chocolate pudding!  And the best part, it only takes a few minutes to make!

HOW TO SOURCE THE INGREDIENTS:

Avocados are finicky little suckers, am I right?  One minute they are hard as a rock, the next they are rotten.  Avocados don’t start ripening until they are picked from the tree and they are ripe within about a week of being harvested.

If you cannot find any ripe avocados at the store, try to find a few that have just a little give to them when you press on them gently.  When you get them home, leave them on the counter.  They like to ripen in temps between 60-75 degrees (On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee).  An avocado is ripe when it has the same give to it as when you make a fist with your left hand and press on the fleshy part below your joints.  A ripe avocado feels similar to that fleshy part of your hand.  Once an avocado is ripe, you can store it in the fridge for several days.

THIS is the coconut milk I use and I have it delivered from Amazon.  I make my daily matcha latte with this coconut milk so I always have it on hand.  You can also find it in most grocery stores in the Asian foods section.  If you are unable to find this coconut milk, no sweat, just use full fat canned coconut milk.

One thing to note, do not get cacao powder confused with cocoa powder.  Cocoa powder is the processed version of cacao.

I get all my pantry staples (cacao powder, maple syrup, cinnamon) from Thrive Market.  If you haven’t tried Thrive Market yet, I highly recommend it.  I’ve been ordering my pantry staples from Thrive since they started back in 2015.  Thrive Market has recently become a B-Corp which makes them even more special because now they are required to put people and planet ahead of profit to keep their B-Corp status.  Right now you can save 40% off your first purchase with Thrive Market.  Just click HERE to start shopping.

BENEFITS OF EATING THIS PUDDING:

Avocados are a fatty fruit like olives and coconut.  They provide us with healthy monounsaturated (omega 9) fats, just like olive oil.  And, believe it or not, avocados are a great way to get fiber into your diet!

Cocoa powder comes from the cacao bean and is highly processed.  I never use cocoa powder anymore.  I only buy cacao powder which is ground up cacao beans.  Cacao is the raw form of chocolate.  According to David Wolfe, a superfood expert, cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world!  That’s right, by weight, cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates and goji berries combined!  Cacao is the number one source of magnesium which the majority of adults are deficient in.  Cacao is also rich in manganese, zinc, copper, fiber and many other nutrients that we need.

Cinnamon not only compliments chocolate but there are studies to show that it helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar.

So, what are you waiting for, go make this healthy pudding right now!

Combine all ingredients into food processor or blender

Voila, you have pudding!