Adventures In Attachment Parenting: Chocolate For Dinner?? by Allison Silver

I cannot deny that I do love me some chocolate and our daughter seems to have acquired that same gene! But don’t most girls? Last week I was having a craving for chocolate pudding but I wanted to make something homemade that didn’t have all the artificial junk in it that instant pudding has so I went to my new favorite resource, Pinterest. I stumbled across a recipe that said, “Healthy Chocolate Pudding.” Can there really be such a thing as healthy chocolate pudding? I continued to read through the recipe and was shocked to discover that this chocolate pudding recipe had no dairy, or artificial ingredients, and required no cooking. All you had to do was blend up a few healthy ingredients in your food processor and ta-da chocolate pudding! Could this be too good to be true? A chocolate pudding that I would love for our picky eater to eat! Heck, if this turns out good she could have it for dinner!

My husband was completely skeptical,”It might be healthy but does it taste good?”

“I  don’t know,” I responded. “But it’s worth a try!” (Yep, that’s me always the eternal optimist!)

I purchased the ingredients and on Friday night I followed the recipe which called for dates, avocado, cocoa powder, pure maple syrup, and vanilla. I removed the pits from the dates and soaked them for twenty minutes in warm water (but you could soak them for a bit longer to make them even softer). I then strained them, saving the water, and tossed them in the food processor with the diced avocados, vanilla, cocoa powder, and maple syrup. I blended it all up adding in the water from the dates until I got the desired consistency that I wanted. And when I opened up the food processor there in front of us was what appeared to be chocolate pudding! Ok, but now for the taste test. I took a small spoonful to test it and it was………wonderful!! It was chocolatey and creamy and everything I had been wanting earlier in the week when I was having my chocolate pudding craving! I was so excited that I called my husband in to test it. He had been making faces when I was assembling all of the ingredients into the food processor. So he had to taste this! He willingly came into the kitchen and said, “That does look like chocolate pudding.” After his first taste he was sold! After we transferred the pudding to a bowl to store in the refrigerator, we both kept using our fingers to clean the food processor. Yes, it is that yummy!

Now the real test was to see if our two year old liked it. After dinner,I asked her if she wanted some chocolate pudding, she smiled and said, “Chocolate!” I gave her some pudding with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and the kid went to town. I was so excited that she liked it I was probably doing the happy dance! That Bill Cosby routine came to my mind where his kids are singing, “Dad is great, give us the chocolate cake!” But unlike Bill’s cake most moms would love for their kids to eat this pudding!

The main ingredient, avocado, is a nutrient dense food, containing nearly 20 essential nutrients and healthy fats your body needs. Cocoa powder contains antioxidants, and dates are full of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, calcium, and potassium. Maple syrup is a natural sweetener containing antioxidants, and is a wonderful alternative to processed sugars. An added benefit is it’s dairy and gluten free so children or adults with allergies can enjoy it and unless avocados and maple syrup are animal byproducts that I’m not aware of then your vegan friends will love it too!

So what are you waiting for! Go to the store, pick up these ingredients, and make your family a Valentine’s dessert they will love and you can feel good about it too! So good that you might even let them have it for dinner!

Healthy Homemade Chocolate “Pudding”

Ingredients

3 ripe avocados, diced

¾ cup pure maple syrup

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup water

½ cup pitted dates

2  teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1  pinch sea salt

Directions

Step 1:Heat water just until warm and add dates to water. Allow dates to soften in water for about 20-30 minutes. Strain dates from water and reserve water for step 3.

Step 2: Combine avocado, dates, maple syrup, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and sea salt in a food processor.

Step 3: Process all ingredients on low, gradually adding 1 tablespoon of the water at a time. Blend until creamy.

Makes about 5 cups. Lasts in the refrigerator for several days or freezes well for later. (Pudding pops anyone?)

Tags: Allison Silver, attachment parenting, healthy eating, homemade food, toddlers, Valentine's treat