March 3, 2009

Quick & Healthy Recipes: Not-Really-Chocolate Dip

This is one of my favorite desserts to make for guests.

It takes no more than five minutes to prepare, is rich in body and flavor, and makes for some surprised looks when you tell your guests the "secret" ingredient (which, believe it or not, is impossible to taste)!

I like to serve this as a dessert dip for fresh strawberries, frozen sliced bananas, and whole wheat graham crackers.

YIELDS: 1.25 cups (ten 2-tablespoon servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium avocado, ripe
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa/cacao powder
1/3 cup sweetener of choice (I prefer to use agave nectar for its subtle flavor)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
5 Tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor.

2. Process until mixture is smooth in texture and uniform in color.

3. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

72 calories
1.1 gram saturated fat
2.5 grams fiber
5.5 grams added sugar

Enjoy!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting recipe :) Thanks for sharing - sounds good.

T O'Grady said...

Hey Andy...

What do you know about the Weston Price Foundation? Anything?

What about the "real food" blogs that tout eating a ton of eggs, raw milk, butter and meat products from grass eating cows? I ask because they really discourage the consumption of soy milk, seriously denegrate a vegan lifestyle...

Thoughts?

Dennise

Andy Bellatti said...

Dennise,

Like with any other field, you are going to have your extremist groups.

In the same way that a little butter isn't going to kill anyone, neither is a glass of soy milk.

Like with politics, extremist nutrition appeals to people who want answers handed to them on a silver platter ("all I have to do it drink raw milk and eat steak every night to be healthy? Sounds good to me!")

Andy Bellatti said...

PS: A diet centered around red meat and butter is not healthy.

For whatever reason, there will always be people who fail to realize this and view the likes of Gary Taubes and the Weston Price Foundation as some sort of "gospel of truth."

These people remind me of those who think there is a plesiosaur living in Loch Ness. No matter how many times it is shown that is NOT the case, they choose to believe in "conspiracies" that hide the truth.

After a while, that silliness becomes absolutely draining to engage in serious discussions with.

Andy Bellatti said...

PPS: To give you an idea of how clueless the Weston A Price people are, one of their philosophies is:

"Why eat fruits and vegetables when you can get all your nutrients from beef liver?"

I rest my case.

Anonymous said...

oh, wow. this recipe is fantastic. you and your vegan creations!

Daphne said...

While this is a pretty clever recipe, Andy, I gotta tell ya: I can't imagine wasting a perfectly good avocado on a recipe where you can't even TASTE it! ;) If I had my way I swear I'd eat three plain avocados a day with a spoon from their skins - but I try to keep it to 3 a week to be reasonable!