Chocolate Pudding

A day off from teaching is a day that I get to spend doing a couple of my most favorite me-time things: cooking and lifting!  With the latter done early today, I had lots of time to make a mess in the kitchen (no joke here!) and ended up coming up with a paleo-worthy sweet treat.

The recipe is ridiculously easy and so damn good!  I'm not sure how much self control I'll have later on! 

Recipe makes 3ish cups

Ingredients:

•2 cups of water

•1/2 cup raw cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts

•1/4 cup raw cacao powder

•1/3 cup chia seeds

•10 Medjool dates pitted

•2 teaspoons Himalayan salt or Kalahari desert salt (sea salt is fine if you don't have the others but I prefer them because they have a stronger salt flavor)

•Cacao nibs, raw coconut flakes, coconut creme, date creme, fresh fruit, or whatever the hell else you want to throw on top. 

Put everything in a high-powered blender and let that fucker blend on high for 2-5 minutes. Yeah that may seem like a big gap in time but whatever kind of blender you have will determine how long this will take. If it seems really thick, add a little more water, maybe 1/8 of a cup at a time. Don't worry if it seems a little too watery because the Chia seeds will thicken it up. 

If you have a shit blender, you should put things in little at a time and you should probably chop the dates, otherwise they may get stuck. If you have a vitamix or similar, your pudding will warm up a bit but hey, that's ok!

When everything is blended and smooth, you can either put your pudding into 1/2 size glass bowls, dump it all into one larger glass bowl, or just put your face it it! 

Don't store this in metal because it will react and change the flavor. If it's a choice between plastic and metal, use the plastic and go get yourself some glass food containers!

Peanut Butter Cup Freeze

Giving up ice cream, especially Perry's ice cream sandwiches, was the hardest thing for me when I went gf/df.

I've had it suggested to me to use frozen bananas to create ice cream but have always been hesitant.  I don't like mushy bananas and I couldn't imagine this not being mushy.  

I finally grew a set and made some. I figure peanut butter and cacao makes everything better, right?

In a food processor put:

2 frozen bananas

1/4 cup of organic peanut butter

2 tablespoons of cacao

Mix until completely blended. 

Top with crushed raw almonds and cacao nibs. 

Snickers Bar Buzzzzz

I originally had a different name for this but when my coach said it tasted like a Snickers Bar I changed it. I usually get inspiration for names based on the flavor and I was going for something like Kicked Up Monkey or something like that. After his comment though I noticed it too. The instant espresso gives this a great caffeine punch. The dates give it the caramel flavor. I used cacao powder to flavor it and added the whole nibs as an afterthought. I love the crunch they have and it was perfect in this smoothie.  This was the perfect pick-me-up for my 6 hour road trip to Fort Drum today and I'm pretty sure it'll carry me through the Rolling Stones concert I'm going to tonite! 

Cheers!

Angie

2 cups of almond milk

2 scoops of protein powder

1/4 cup of cacao powder

1/4 cup of instant espresso  

3 tblsps of hemp powder

2 tblsps of maca powder

2 tblsps of mesquite powder

1 tblsp of lucuma powder

3 tblsps of rolled or Irish oats

Handful of raw almonds

1/2 cup of peanut butter

2 bananas

6-8 medjool dates 

8-10 ice cubes

Chopped cacao nibs

Put everything except the ice and cacao nibs in the blender. Once it's blended, start adding the ice. After you pour it into glasses or whatever, add the cacao nibs. You can add however many you want. This recipe makes enough for 2-3!

Chocolate Sweet Potato Protein

Last sweet potato experiment for the week.  I think I could probably add them to any of my recipes at this point. 

You can use any raw nuts and any nut butter that you like. I just use what's laying around. 

And no.......there's no picture. I forgot to take one again and it was gone before I remembered. 

2 cups of almond milk

1 scoop of protein powder

3 tablespoons of hemp powder

3 tablespoons of whole oats 

3 tablespoons of cacao powder or nibs

1-3 tablespoons of instant espresso 

1/4 c organic peanut butter

1/4 c raw hazelnuts

4 medjool dates

1 banana

1 sweet potato

12 ice cubes

Cube and cook the sweet potato in the microwave or oven until it's soft then let it cool completely. 

Throw everything but the ice cubes in a high powered blender.  As its mixing, add the ice one cube at a time.  You may also have to add a little more milk to thin it out.

This makes enough to share or save!

Magnificent Mayan Protein Smoothie

The Mayans definitely had some culinary creative skills.  Chocolate and spicy heat are one of my favorite combinations!  I'm not too picky on what the heat profile is but I do love smoky heat with chocolate. This smoothie has a perfect choco-spice flavor that hits you in the back of your throat with every swallow!

1 cup of nut milk

1 banana

3 tblsps of Irish oats

1 scoop of your fav protein powder

3 tblsps of hemp powder

2 tblsps of raw cacao nibs or powder

1 tblsp of Maca powder

1 tblsp of cinnamon

2 tblsps of raw honey or 4 medjool dates

1/2 tblsp of cayenne pepper

1 tsp of ancho chili powder

1 tsp of chipotle chili powder

4-6 ice cubes

Throw it all in the blender, except ice,on high.  Add ice a cube at a time until the ice is crushed.  If you have a vitamix or other high powered blender, you can put all the ice in at once.

Chocolate Pumpkin Protien

I love days when I experiment with shit and it actually comes out kick-ass delish! That's today!  All a big question mark.  I was prepared to dump this and start over but when I tasted it I was like, hell yeah!  This is a keeper for sure!

The pumpkin juice for this is from all those pie pimpkins I juiced last fall.  Remember those?  Juice them raw skin and all and then freeze the juice in ice cube trays.  I thought I used it all months ago.  It's amazing what you find when you reorg your freezer!

For the hemp powder and protien powder, follow the directions on the container.  Just because of my dairy issues, I use a plant-based protien (Vega Sport) but use whatever you like. 

•1c of unsweetened almond, hemp or any other nut milk OR 1 cup of water and •1/2 cup raw nuts of your choice

•1c of pumpkin juice (I use pie pumpkins)

•1 banana

•1T coconut oil

•Hemp powder (your fav kind)

•Protein powder (your fav kind)

•2T cacao nibs

•1t nutmeg

•1T cinnamon

•1T cayenne pepper

•2T of raw honey or 4 medjool dates

Throw it all in the blender on high for about 2 minutes.  If you have a smoothie setting, use that shit!

Chocolate Chia Pudding

Chia has quickly become the newest superfood on the market and with all the nutritional benefits, it's no wonder!  Any way you can eat chia is great!  This recipe was born out of my experience with buying a chia pod.  First off, a 6oz pod cost me $3.50!  That's a whole lot of expensive!  The flavor was good but I didn't like the slimy texture.  I went about experimenting in my kitchen.  Lucky for me Iiked the first attempt!  Cheers!  Angie

1 cup of nut milk

1 tablespoon of ground cacao

1 tablespoon of maca powder

1 tablespoon of lucuma powder

2 tablespoons of mesquite powder

6 tablespoons of chia seeds

Mix everything except the chia seeds in a blender on low just long enough to incorporate all the powders.

Pour into a glass jar.  (A pint canning jar is  perfect!)

Stir in the chia seeds, cap, refrigerate until set.  I usually let it sit over night.

I usually make my own nut milk but I do have a go-to store bought that Iove!

Spicy Chocolate Pudding

I love using avocados for a pudding base.  They carry flavors well, especially chocolate.  While I'm sharing the amounts I added, the flavors in this recipe can be tweaked to your liking.  

2 Haas avocados

1 banana

1/4 cup of whole chia seeds

1/3 cup of raw honey

1/8  cup of cacao powder

2 tablespoons of cinnamon 

Ground chipotle powder to taste

Cream avocados,banana, and honey in a food processor.  While the processor is on, add spices and cacao.  Mix for about 3 minutes or until creamy.  Taste pudding and adjust flavoring as desired.  You can add more honey if needed.  Once flavor is to your liking, put pudding in a bowl and stir in the chia seeds.  Store in the fridge in a non-reactive bowl.