Chocolate Pudding

 I made this for my lunch yesterday. Not the wisest choice for my blood sugars- considering I ate almost the entire recipe. Even though it's raw, I still have to watch the sweet stuff! And take the appropriate amount of insulin albeit much less than if I ate non-raw sugary processed puddings.

What I learned from trying this recipe was that small amounts are best. Keep it a dessert.

It is very rich and stays with you, so I wasn't hungry until dinner, which was nice.

I felt good knowing that I was eating healthy fats from the avocado, and I was getting benefits of raw cacao like energy, and stress-reducing magnesium. Did you know that cacao has more magnesium than any other food?
Cool study on Cacao

Something I was surprised about was that the avocado flavor was not there at all. Mostly present was the banana and chocolate dominating everything else. I think I have avoided using the avocado to make sweet recipes for fear of it tasting too mushy and slick. Not the case here. The pudding has a good texture, much like a pudding should taste and feel in the mouth.

Ingredients

1 avocado
1 ripe banana
1 frozen banana
3 T raw cacao powder
1/4 c raw coconut nectar


Blend together

top with cacao nibs or mint

Mexican Raw Veggie Bowl

 This recipe is adapted from Cafe Gratitude's book. It is called Yo Soy Mucho.

It is a multi-item recipe, which seems complicated, but once you get going, doesn't take much time. One tool I used was a Cuisinart mini-prep which greatly reduced chopping time for me.

The bowl is a layering of shredded kale, a raw veggie "rice," salsa, guacamole and a Brazil nut topping.

I started with the Brazil nut topping first:

Chop together:

a handful of Brazil nuts

a clove or two of garlic

pinch of sea salt

set aside

next I made the  guacamole

I used:

2 avocados

1 T chopped jalapeno

pinch of salt

juice of 1 lemon

handful of cilantro

mix together in a bowl using a fork

cover and set aside

 

Instead of making the salsa I bought some fresh at Whole Foods. It had the same ingredients I was looking for (tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno and garlic) and I saved a little time.

The kale I used came from Capay farms. I know them well and have used their home delivery organic boxes from time to time. They supply Whole Foods in the  SF Bay Area with kale and week to week I look forward to their different varieties that come in. This week was a red kale that looks like an heirloom variety. The leaves were almost an arugula shape with gorgeous purple tips. Instead of needing to shred it with a knife, I just tore pieces with my fingers.

 

Final prep was the veggie rice.

Ingredients:

2 parsnips
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
pinch of salt

Chop up parsnips into 1 inch pieces.
Chop together in mini prep or food processor all ingredients briefly until you get a "rice" size.

Spread on teflex sheet and dehydrate at 105 degrees 20 minutes to soften.

Assembly:

Lay a handful or two of shredded kale on the bottom of bowl or dish. Add veggie rice on top. Next add guacamole and salsa to taste and finally add the Brazil Parmesan sprinkled all over the dish.

This is something I will make again and again. The Brazil nut Parmesan is definitely a must for lots of salads.This whole dish is not only colorful and tasty, but great for my diabetes due to its very high fiber and low glycemic nature. I am getting something good for me in every bite whether it's good fats from the avocado, Selenium form the Brazil nuts or calcium from the kale.

Enjoy!