A Healthier Chocolate Pudding

Yesterday I wanted pudding for breakfast. I had this intense chocolate craving, which happens to me from time + time. Most girls can relate, I'm sure. It's not really the sweetness I'm after, just the deep, bitterly dark chocolate flavor. (I want to write flavour here because it seems more fitting to dwell in those delicious letters a bit longer.) But I'm trying my best not to sub extra dairy or sugar in for all the bread I'm missing these days.

What to do? I have seen several pudding recipes on Pinterest recently -- but they either involve raw eggs or too much sugar. I've made Avocado Chocolate Pudding in the past. And I was pretty surprised with how great it tasted. I've also experimented with chickpeas, making a Chocolate + Peanut Butter Hu-Mousse . . . or dessert hummus.

What would be high in protein, sweetened relatively naturally, and still have good texture?

BLACK BEAN + AVOCADO CHOCOLATE PUDDING
vegetarian + vegan optional, gluten-free

What you'll need . . . 

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (or 1 to 2 tablespoons agave)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted on the stove
• 1/4 cup almond milk + (I used vanilla flavored because we had some)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon flax meal

Method . . .

1. In a food processor, blend together the avocado and rinsed black beans, adding the milk a tablespoon at a time. (1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons.)
2.  Prepare the rest of your ingredients, including melting the chocolate on the stove over low heat, mixing constantly to avoid burning.
3. With the motor still running, add in the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth.
4. Add more almond milk to adjust the texture to your liking. I actually prefer mine thicker, more like a mousse.
5. Eat immediately or chill before serving.

Yeah. Black beans. Remember my Red Velvet Black Bean Brownie recipe last month? They were a hit, so -- I thought -- why not?

NOTE: I think adding three tablespoons of honey was too much for me, so next time I'll be trying just two, which is why I suggested the range in the ingredients. Making recipes like these requires a bit of flexibility and catering to your specific likes/dislikes.

Go slow when you add things in. Avocados are like gold in this house, so you don't want to waste them. You can always add more, but you can't take away. With a little tweaking, you'll get it jjjjjjjjjjjjust right.

I promise!


Some of you have been asking about how I edit my photos, specifically of Ada. I wrote up a very basic tutorial on Writing Chapter Three, if you wanted to check it out.

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