Hey Crossfitters!
I spend a little time every day (usually while I?m eating my Paleo lunch at my desk) looking online for interesting Paleo cooking ideas and recipes. Yesterday I came across one that I added to my ?I just HAVE to try this? list. Paleo chocolate pudding. I love chocolate, who doesn?t?So first, I did some research?is cocoa paleo? Here are a couple of articles that support the idea that it can be fit into a thoughtful Paleo diet:
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/chocolate-coffee-alcohol/
http://www.crossfitsouthbay.com/2010/12/like-water-for-chocolate/
Now, as a true (but reformed) chocoholic, I need to add a word of caution. Substituting Paleo ?sweets? for SAD (Standard American Diet, i.e. poison) sweets is a slippery slope that can lead to total diet failure. Be aware of your limitations. Don?t just substitute the really bad stuff with a bunch of Paleo-ized semi-bad stuff. This chocolate pudding could be like the first drink to an alcoholic. I would not try it until you are committed and comfortable with the Paleo lifestyle. Besides which, if your taste buds are still ?used? to sugary sweets, this won?t taste very good yet. However, if you are truly ?off? of sugar, this is a definitely delicious sweet treat.
At the little Piggly Wiggly in Coldwater, where I do a lot of my shopping, they bag up over-ripe produce and sell it for a buck a bag. Funny thing is, I already knew I wanted to make this pudding, I stopped by ?the Pig? as we call it, on my way home from work and they just happened to have a bag of ?over the edge? avocados waiting to be picked up by yours truly. I got NINE avocadoes for ONE dollar. Holy Moly! You can?t beat that deal with a stick! Plus I purchased a bag of 12 bananas for another buck.(Gluten free banana bread and banana ice cream recipes are coming right up, LOL)
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Now, it was a tiny bit more work to scoop the ?yucky? parts out of the avocados, and I reckon I wasted the equivalent of one whole avocado, but you still can?t beat 8 for $1.
Here is the recipe, for two servings (I made eight):
Unbelievable Chocolate Pudding
2 ripe avocadoes
1 very ripe banana (this is where the ?sweet? comes from, the riper the banana, the sweeter it is)
1 t. vanilla extract (optional)
2 T. coconut oil
Dash of salt (also optional, but it ?brings out? the chocolate flavor)
? c. cocoa powder (I used Special Dark cocoa powder, as it is the lowest carb I could find, for a less intense dark chocolate flavor, I would use regular cocoa powder)
Place avocados (peeled and seeded, obviously) and banana in a food processor, pulse until smooth.Add vanilla, coconut oil, salt and cocoa, continue processing until the mixture is very thick and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice. Spoon into bowls and enjoy.
According to the recipe I found, this pudding freezes well and tastes kind of like a fudgsicle (SP?) when partially defrosted. (I haven?t tried that theory out yet) I do know that the banana flavor intensifies after it has been refrigerated for a day or two. The original recipe called for honey, but I try to stay away from any sweeteners other than fruit, so I subbed the banana, and I liked the combination of the strong chocolate flavor with the subtle banana undertones.
I?m sorry, the pictures are few and far between for this one, but it?s so easy to make you are done before you know it!
