chocolate Archives - Heavenlynn Healthy

Healthy Nut Butter Cups

Lynn — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 05:00:06 +0000

I make a habit out of re-testing recipes for this blog. There is never a recipe that has not been tested at least twice before appearing on this blog. With this recipe, I kind of went a little overboard with the testing, because six is the number of interest here. I made these nut butter cups six times already. And not just for friends and family. Mostly for me. Whoopsi.

Let’s be honest here. I never had a sweet tooth. Chocolate, gummy bears, cake or cookies are all fine, but I could never eat more than a few at once or else I felt sick. No, I’m all for the second and third portion of real food. I can easily eat a whole pizza, lots of pasta and breeeeead. And more bread.

So when I made these the other night, Jannis and I both tried one. He was about to put the box back into the freezer, when I yelled „STOP – excuse me, but I want another one“. Can’t blame him because usually that would have made so much sense. But I almost ate the entire first batch that night so I had to make new ones to photograph them.

It’s been a long time since I have tried something so delicate and delicious. You will never tell that it’s made with healthier ingredients, that it’s plant-based and only naturally sweetened with a little bit of maple syrup. And the best part is that they taste extremely delicious as a frozen treat. Incredibly delicious. Trust me.

Whether you’re using peanut, almond or cashew butter to make these, they always taste good. Obviously different nut butters will mean different tastes, but that’s a no brainer, right? I’m not going to lie, I am a sucker for peanut butter, which make these cups taste even better than Reese’s peanut butter cups. But the almond version is my second favorite, especially since almond butter is so healthy and full of valuable plant-based protein.

If you love baking, then you should also go ahead and make the chocolate myself, like I did in this recipe. Making your own plant-based chocolate is the real deal, people. After that, you’ve mastered the plant-based cooking 100 %. It will also safe you quite a lot of money as plant-based and refined sugar free chocolate is still quite expensive. However, I know time is money, so in the instructions, I give you two options. One with store-bought 70% dark chocolate and one with homemade chocolate.

No matter what option you chose: don’t be afraid to try them! They are almost fool-proof, are ready in less than an hour and will leave your taste buds and those of your friends very impressed.

Have fun baking!

Lynn

Healthy Nut Butter Cups

Prep time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour

Author: Lynn Hoefer

Serves: 16

Ingredients

Für die Füllung:

80 g (1/3 cup) nut butter (peanut butter, almond or cashew butter)
½ tablespoon of maple syrup
1 tablespoon of coconut flour or almond meal, more if you're using almond butter
a pinch of sea salt

For the dark chocolate:

120 g of cacao butter (from the organic grocery store)
75 g of raw cacao powder
80 g of maple syrup

Also:

16 mini muffin cups

Instructions

Mix the nut butter with the coconut flour or almond meal and maple syrup. I needed a bit more flour/meal when I used almond butter. Set aside once you can form a rough ball with the dough.
Slowly heat the cacao butter in a water bath (not in the water, but in a seperate bowl in a bowl full of warm water). It should not be heated to more than 38 °C. Add the cacao powder and maple syrup and stir well. Take from the heat and let it cool so it thickens a little bit. (See Notes)
Align 16 mini muffin holes with mini muffin paper cups. Add about 1 teaspoon (a little bit less) into each muffin mold. Spread the chocolate up to the sides using a small teaspoon. It won't really stick to the sides with the homemade chocolate, so it's important to let the chocolate cool down a bit so it thickens as much as possible.
Let the chocolate freeze in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
Take out the muffin tray, then roll the nut butter mix into small balls, placing one into each muffin mold. Gently press them down, leaving just a bit of space between the chocolate and the nut butter, so you can fill it with chocolate.
Re-heat the chocolate in a water bath if it has thickened too much. Cover the nut butter completely with chocoalte, then sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top.
Freeze the cups in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Before eating them, let them sit at room temperatures for a couple of minutes.
Sealed in an air-tight container, I keep them in the freezer. I never know how long they last, because they are always gone within a few days.

Notes

- If you don't want to make the chocolate yourself, you can use 70% dark chocolate. However, most brands are made with refined sugar. Try finding a brand that does not list sugar in the very beginning of the ingredient list.
- There are many brands nowadays that make dark chocolate with coconut blossom sugar, which is my prefered source of sugar in baking as it does not elivate the blood sugar level as much as other sugar substitutes do.
- If you make your own chocolate, I find that if you make the chocolate in advance, let it cool completely and then re-melt it, it is easier to work with and also thicker. It does make sense to first make the chocolate when you're making these nut butter cups.
- You can store the homemade chocolate for a few months in an air-tight container in the fridge.
- If you don't have mini cupcake tins, you can roll the nut butter mix into balls, and then dip them into the chocolate. You'll have to do this twice, to get the best result as the homemade chocolate is quite thin.

Enjoy!

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Sugar-free chocolate sweet potato muffins

Lynn — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 05:00:28 +0000

*This post is sponsored by REWE.

„Stop! Don’t touch them!“ was all I could cry out the other day when Jannis came home from work. He automatically enters the kitchen when he comes home to see if there is anything he can sneak into his mouth.

He yells back „Don’t worry, I don’t like chocolate muffins anyways“.

My face, you guys. My face. Total disbelief. It was literally something that could have changed our entire relationship.

„Said no one ever. Who doesn’t like chocolate muffins?“.

Well. To be honest. Me. I was never really into chocolate muffins, because they were always too heavy for my taste. I preferred fruity cakes. At least before I discovered that you could use sweet potatoes in desserts and skip the refined sugar. It was a game-changing moment in my life and I have never looked back.

I don’t have the sweetest tooth, but sometimes, I really appreciate a decadent treat. However, I still like them to refer to my food philosophy, meaning made out of real food, unrefined ingredients, no refined sugar and plant-based whenever possible. I even want my sweet treats to be as good for the body as possible. Of course I still have unhealthy sweets from time to time – I call this my joy factor – but most of the time, I even prefer the taste of naturally sweetened cakes and sweets.

For this recipe I teamed up with REWE. This year, REWE started a big campaign to reduce sugar in their generic brands. The campaign losely translates to “You are sugar – how much sugar do you still need”? If you live in Germany, you might have seen this campaign in your local supermarket. I strongly believe that it was about time that one of the big players in the German food industry starts to unravel the truth about the high sugar consumption in our society. REWE started their sugar reducing efforts by introducing one of their “REWE Deine Wahl” products, a chocolate pudding, in different sugar reduced options. The consumer can vote online, which one they like best, and this product will hopefully replace the traditional version. It’s perhaps not the ideal approach, but it might raise awareness for the less informed consumer about how much sugar is actually hidden in our foods.

Of course this campaign won’t change the mass consumption of sugar over night, but perhaps it will give some consumers the last notch to start reducing sugar in their diet. The company has the goal to reduce the sugar content of all of their generic products by 2020 – which is already in two years, guys! More infos regarding REWE’s efforts to reduce sugar can be found here.

Generally, I believe it’s great that REWE starts the fight against our sugar consumption as the very first German “Big player”. Health coaches, startups and bloggers like me would never be able to reach a crowd as big REWE does. Therefore, if we want word to spread, we rely on big companies such as REWE to use their logistics to reach the consumers all over the country. At the same time, whenever I walk through the REWE grocery stores, I keep seeing all of the sugar bombs that are currently sold to the consumer in these stores. I would have appreciated it, if REWE had replace their chocolate pudding with the sugar reduced version without asking the consumer first. However, this would have undercut the consumer’s choice. And also, I highly doubt that the average consumer will like the option with the least sugar, because the taste buds of our society are conditioned to favor sweetened over unsweetened. Resetting the taste buds takes time and dedication… something that few people possess these days.

In my “Bullerbü”-world, no one buys chocolate pudding. We all make our own, naturally sweetened pudding. But I know that this vision is far from being realized, and it might never come true. That’s why sugar-reducing advocates like me need big firms like REWE to be willing to reduce the sugar content in their products.

Of course, REWE knows that I don’t eat store-bought chocolate pudding. So they asked me to create a naturally sweetened chocolate recipe, to show that sugar reduction does not equal a sacrifice of taste.

In this recipe, I used sweet potatoes, applesauce and just a teeny bit (45g to be exact) of coconut sugar. I have tried them without the coconut sugar, and most of my recipe testers were not too fond of the taste. The coconut sugar and maple syrup worked better for them. I also liked them without the extra sugar, but my taste buds have really gotten used to close to zero added sugars.

Now you! What do you like to sweeten your treats with? Dates, maple syrup, rice syrup, molasses? Let me know in the comments below.

If you are a frequent visitor at my blog, then you know what comes next. These sugar-free chocolate sweet potato muffins, though made with unrefined, natural ingredients, still count as sweets. Hence, you should enjoy them occasionally, and treat them like you would treat a regular muffin as well. I’m sorry.

Sugar-free chocolate sweet potato muffins

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of chia seeds + 6 tablespoons of oat milk
90g of oats
90g of almonds
2 teaspoons of aluminum-free baking powder
2 tablespoons of arrow root powder or GM-free corn starch
250g of sweet potato puree, see notes
70g of unsweetened applesauce
45g of rapeseed oil or coconut oil
55g of oat milk
6 (40g) tablespoons of raw cocoa powder
45g of coconut sugar
2 tablespoons (30g) of maple syrup (optional)
40g of chopped dark chocolate (I like Ombar, Lovechock or Alnatura), or 70% dark chocolate

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C fan. Combine the chia seeds with the oat milk and let sit for about 10 minutes to thicken. Stir occasionally.
Place the oats and almonds into a food processor and grind to a fine flour. Place into a bowl, add the baking powder, arrow root powder and combine well with a wooden spoon.
In a second bowl, combine the sweet potato puree with the applesauce, rapeseed or slightly warmed coconut oil, oat milk, cacao powder, coconut sugar, and optionally maple syrup. Mix the wet ingredients with a whisk until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix well with the whisk. Add the chopped chocolate and give it a last stir.
Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or use little muffin forms.
Equally divide the batter in the twelve muffin molds. If you like, you can sprinkle some chopped chocolate onto each muffin.
Bake the muffins for about 30 – 40 minutes until you can pull knife out the center of it clean.

Notes

To make sweet potato puree, peel 300g of potatoes and chop them into small bites. Steam them for 20 minutes, then mash them with a fork. You can also roast them for about 30 minutes at 180°C in the oven.
You can also easily make your own applesauce.
If you wonder about the long baking time, I have tested this recipe a couple of times, and found that they were perfect some time between 30 and 40 minutes. It will also depend on the number of muffins that you make.

Enjoy!

*This post is sponsored by REWE. However, all photos and texts are by me and always reflect my personal opinion. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep me dancing around my kitchen all day.

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Anti-Flatulence Vegetarian Chili

Lynn — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 06:28:36 +0000

Today we’re having chili.

Oh no, not chili. This always leaves me bloated and gives me flatulence. And don’t even get me started on my husband/boyfriend/girlfriend. No, Lynn, not bean chili.

Alright, stop. Don’t worry. Chili does not always cause flatulence. The secret is anti-flatulence herbs and spices. I’m talking fennel seeds, anise, dill, ginger, cumin, caraway seeds, garlic or parsley, just to name a few. They will allow for the unwanted gases to leave your body odorless and unnoticed.Uhhhh. She’s talking about our guts and what comes out of it. Disgusting.

Well, come on. This is a health blog and one big part of a healthy body is a healthy intestine, or intestinal flora. It should not be a tabu topic anymore. Did you know, for example that the intestinal flora is a big part of our immune sytem? It is not to be neglected when it comes to health questions.

Now not everybody likes to chew on fennel seedes, so you can pick and choose your favorite anti-flatulence spices. Cumin is especially ideal for chilis, because it gives it its distinct flavor. But not everyone likes cumin either. I recon that garlic and ginger will be everyone’s favorite in this recipe. Am I right? If you want to be on the safe side, just add a little bit of everything.

Like most of my recipes, you can vary the ingredients depending on what your fridge holds. Carrots, fennel, parsnip, leek, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower – choose whatever you still have at home. If you don’t have a pumpkin, just use carrots or beets. The chocolate in this recipe is also a nice gimmick, but it’s not a must.

Finally, I brought a little video that will hopefully inspire you to give it a try. I made this with my first intern Jasmin the other day, and I think she did a fine job directing, don’t you agree?

Anti-Flatulence Vegetarian Chili

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Lynn Hoefer

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 chili, 2 if you like it hot (alternatively ½ teaspoon chili flakes)
3 teaspoons of sweet paprika
80g of tomato puree
2 bell peppers
½ hokkaido pumpkin (about. 300g)
2 cans of kidney beans (à 400g)
3 cans of diced tomatoes (1200g)
1 can of corn (160g)
200g of red lentils
500ml (2 cups) of water
50g of dark chocolate, 70% cacao or higher

Anti-flatulence spices (pick & choose):

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds Fenchelsamen
1 tablespoons of cumin (ground)
1 teaspoon of ginger (fresh or ground)

Also:

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt & pepper
1 tablespoons of raw honey
1 tablespoons of vinegar, such as apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar
a large dollopf of yoghurt (normal or coconut if vegan) for topping

Instructions

Chop the onions and garlic. Roughly chop the veggies and pumpkin. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven.
Sauté the onions, garlic and spices (of your choice) for about a minute. Add the tomato puree and sauté for another minute or so until fragrant.
Add the kidney beans, corn, tomatoes, lentils and pumpkin and two cups of water. Let everything simmer for about 25 - 30 minutes. Stir frequently and add more water if needed.
While the chili cooks, roughly chop the chocolate. Add it to the chili with honey, vinegar and sea salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with more chopped chocolate, a dollop of yoghurt or cilantro or parsely.

Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? Share it with me on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

Merken

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Healthy Cacao Mousse, a holistic resort & a cookbook giveaway

Lynn — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 05:30:18 +0000

*Press Trip. For this post I was invited by COMO Hotels in Bali.

Have you ever been to paradise? I recently have.

I found my own personal paradise at Como Shambhala Estate* in Ubud during my latest visit to Bali. Due to the release of their first cookbook, The Pleasures of Eating Well, COMO Hotels invited Jannis and me to stay and eat at their signature hotel in the jungle. If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen my photos and stories at Como Shambhala Estate, including their amazingly healthy food, natural chemical-free spring pools, yoga and Pilates classes and Spa facilities. The cookbook is a collection of the most popular recipes from the COMO Hotels around the world, with a special philosophie on health, wellness and nutrition – which they call COMO Shambhala. We had the pleasure to try the COMO Shambhala Cuisine, and I loved it so much that there will be a cookbook giveaway at the end of this post.

While I do not need luxury while traveling, I do appreciate a bit of pampering every now and then. When we arrived at the COMO Shambhala Estate, we had already been traveling for 10 days, had taken surfing lessons and explored the island by scooter without a single day of rest basically. Entering COMO Shambhala Estate was like entering a different world. A world of piece, tranquility, nature and mindfulness.

It was perfect.

“Wanacasa”, or “Forest in the mist”

When I woke up the first morning to the rising mist of the Ayung river, I thought I was dreaming. Fittingly, our part of the resort was called “wanacasa” which is Bahasa for “forest in the mist”. We were sleeping right in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by palm trees and the noises of monkeys, owls and other jungle inhabitants.

Glow – the Como Shambhala Restaurant

Before going to Bali, I had done my research to find the best heathy restaurants in Bali and I kept stumbling across the “glow” restaurant at COMO Shambhala Estate, so imagine my excitement when we learned that we had been invited to a candle light dinner at glow on our first night in the jungle. The food at the glow was seriously the best food I have ever had. And you guys know how much I love and appreciate healthy, wholesome and holistic food, so I can assure you that my review has nothing to do with the fact that COMO invited us for dinner. The second night we went back and paid the full price for our meal, because we loved it that much!

The best part of the glow? It’s open to the public, so you just have to make a reservation and you can enjoy this amazing restaurant when you are in Ubud. Prices are very reasonable compared to Germany, but expensive compared to other restaurants in Bali. A main dish comes around at about 15 – 20 Euros, starters and desserts at about 10 Euros, which is actually quite affordable given the high quality and amazing service at the glow.

If you’re in Ubud and you’re looking for an excellent Spa day, then you can also make reservations at the COMO Spa and enjoy a lovely massage or other holistic treatments with high quality natural products. I tried the Como Shambhala Signature massage, and it was one of the best massages I have had so far. All of the COMO beauty products are natural and scented with high quality organic essential oils, which make the entire hotel smell fantastic. They even hand out a complimentary natural insect repellent to all guests, which worked wonders, and is so much more gentle than the No-Bite that we had used before.

The Kedara came pretty close to my definition of “heavenly”…

Before our arrival, I emailed with COMO PR agent Ella, who advised me to spend as much time by the natural spring pools as possible, as it came close to her definition of “heavenly”. I had seen it on the photos, but they don’t do the Kedara (which is what the natural spring pools area is called) justice. It really did come close to my definition of heavenly as well…just see for yourself.

The holistic approach of the COMO Shambhala Estate, it’s focus on health, nutrition and a wholesome diet combined with mind blowing architecture embedded in nature is what I have come to love about the COMO hotel chain. So if you ever have the chance to go on one of their retreats (they offer all sorts of programs such as yoga, stress relieve, Pilates, etc) – then do not think about it and do it. You will come back as a new person.

We met a Swedish couple who celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary at COMO Shambhala Estate, and Jannis and I secretly swore to each other that this is exactly what we want to do in 35 years – but I wouldn’t say no to another stay, say, maybe next year? 😉

Being German, you probably expect me to tell you about the parts that need improvement, because apparently every hotel review needs some negative comments in order to be believable. But I seriously do not have any. I guess the only complaint that some people might have is that the 150 steps down to the Kedara are a whole workout and aren’t suitable for people with knee problems. I actually loved the stone stairs because of it’s butt-shaping effect ;-). Oh and the fact that our own personal assistant Tirta was not there to say good-bye to us was also a VERY disappointing fact. Well, you see, if you can find something to complain about when you’re staying at Como Shambhala, let me know.

COMO Cookbook Giveaway

In order for you to try the COMO Shambhala Cuisine, I am super excited to be able to give away one of their amazing new cookbook “The pleasures of eating well”. All of the recipes that we enjoyed at the resort can be found in the cookbook. It’s not exclusively plant-based, as it also contains a section for fish and meat, so if you’re vegan, then this cookbook is probably not for you. However, a good half of the recipes are completely plant-based, so even if you do not eat fish or meat, you will love the plant-based recipes.

Here’s how you can win:

~~Leave me a comment underneath this post until Thursday, August 3rd, 11:59pm and tell me about your favorite summer 2017 memories so far.~~
~~Please leave your name and a valid-email address so I can contact you in case you’re the lucky winner.~~
~~That’s it. You’re in and good luck!~~

Unfortuntely, the giveaway is only for Germany-based readers. You have to be 18 to enter the giveaway, or have the permission of a legal guardian. The cookbook is in English.

The giveaway is closed. The lucky winner is Lisa (from the German version).

Now that I’ve told you all about Como Shambhala and the glow, I did not come empty handed. I’m excited to tell you that COMO has given me the permission to publish one of their recipes, which we actually enjoyed while we were there. So you can bring a piece of the glow into your kitchen: the cacao mousse with fresh raspberries and pistachios (or in my case, coconut flakes).

For all readers from no matter where you’re from, I also have a code “COMOSocial”, which will get you 10% of the best COMO rate in any COMO hotel around the world. My tip: the COMO Hotels in Thailand, the COMO Point Yama and the COMO Metropolitan in Bangkok are pretty affordable as they start at 100 Euros/night for a room. Maybe that’ll be something for your next Asia layover.

Healthy Cacao Mousse, a holistic resort & a cookbook giveaway

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: COMO Shambhala

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the chocolate mousse:

35g of raw cacao powder
1 big ripe banana
200g of avocado flesh
85g of raw honey
35g of fresh coconot or full-fat coconut milk
1 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
80g of cacao butter, at room temperature
a pinch of sea salt

For the decoration:

175g of fresh raspberries
35g of roasted unsalted pistachios or coconut flakes

Instructions

For the chocolate mousse, simply combine all ingredients except for the cacao butter and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cacao butter and salt until you have a homogenous mousse.
Divide the mousse into four glasses and let sit in the fridge for one to four hours to settle.
To serve, sprinkle with raspberries, pistachios or coconut flakes.

Enjoy!

*Press Trip. For this post, I was invited by COMO Hotels. All opinions are my own, always.

Merken

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Hot Superfood Chocolate

Lynn — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 16:40:46 +0000

I am so excited to share this hot superfood chocolate recipe with you as it’s one of my favorite at the moment. I literally drink it every morning and every night when I’m all cuddled up on the sofa. I was always a fan of hot chocolate but disliked all the loads of sugar that you find in literally every hot chocolate on the globe. So I’ve tried many different versions, different plant based milks, dates, honey, different kinds of spices, but I finally found the version that works best for me. It’s not overly sweet, but has a strong chocolate-y flavor, and it also tastes a lot like fall and winter.

The superfood idea for the hot chocolate came to me, when I added loads of turmeric to my hot chocolate. As some of you might already know, I am the biggest turmeric addict these days. I literally go through one container of turmeric in a fortnight, which is totally crazy, but turmeric is just such a warming spice that it goes with anything in the fall. So let’s see what kind of goodness we have in this recipe:

Raw cacao: Raw cacao is actually totally healthy! Contrary to the sugar-loaded and processed cocoa powder, raw cacao still contains all its nutrients. Cacao has amazing antioxidative properties, which means that it protects our cells from free radical damage. It also contains lots of minerals such as magnesium, calcium or zinc. Magnesium is especially interesting in my case as it is essential for blood pressure regulation.

Turmeric: Turmeric has many health benefits, which is why it is the number one health spice used in the ayuvedic kitchen. It is commonly known for its anti-inflammatory properties, high antioxidant amount and phytonutrients. Historically it has been helping people with tooth aches, menstrual pains, bruises or colics.

Maca: Maca powder is made from them maca root, and it has its origins in South America. Maca is supposed to help with menstrual pains, menopause symptoms, memory loss and energy production. It is also said to increase fertility in women and promote sexual function in both men and women.

For this recipe, I teamed up with Ombar* chocolate which make my all-time favorite chocolate bars, and I am super excited to have created this recipe for them. I would not promote anything that I do not absolutely love, and Ombar is just one of these brands that I completely adore. I’ve tasted so so many plant based and refined sugar free chocolate bars, but none of them could compete with the ones from Ombar. Yes, they are quite pricey compared to traditional chocolate bars, but I think that less is more when it comes to quality chocolate, don’t you think? The raw chocolate in this hot superfood chocolate recipe makes it extra creamy and chocolate-y, which is the best p.

If you can’t find good quality chocolate bars, then simply leave it out, it will still taste delicious, just not as creamy. I hope that you’ll enjoy a cup of this hot chocolate this weekend – I certainly am planning to do so every day until spring…. ok, just kidding, but hey, at least I’ll be treating my body with something good and delicious.

Hot Superfood Chocolate

Prep time

7 mins

Cook time

3 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Lynn Hoefer

Serves: 1

Ingredients

1 cup (250ml) of unsweetened oat milk (use almond milk when gluten-free)
¼ cup (60ml) of water
1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder
1 square of raw chocolate
½ teaspoon of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of maca powder
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of salt
a bit of honey (or maple syrup if vegan) for sweetness

Instructions

Combine the oat milk and the water in a saucepan and gently heat on medium heat. Do not let it boil as this will decrease the amounts of nutrients in the chocolate.
Remove from the heat, add the raw chocolate and gently whisk until it dissolves. Add the spices and give it another stir. Sweeten with honey or maple syrup if desired, but oat milk is already rather sweet.
Froth the top of the milk for a few seconds with a milk frother. If you don't have one, just serve it as it is.

Notes

If you do not have raw chocolate, you can use regular dark chocolate with at least 70% of cacao. You can also leave it out completely as long as you have raw cacao powder.

VIDEO HOT SUPERFOOD CHOCOLATE:

Enjoy!

*I kindly received the pictured chocolate bars from Ombar for recipe testing purposes. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make hour long recipe testings in the Heavenlynn Healthy kitchen possible.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

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Healthy Chocolate Mousse with Avocado and Mint

Lynn — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 05:50:42 +0000

Spring is finally here! Nothing makes me happier than the first warm sunbeam on my soon-to-be freckled nose. Going to the Saturday farmers’ market without a winter jacket felt so good that it even made me buy the first strawberries. I know, you’re not supposed to buy them yet, but I just could not resist. And don’t they look absolutely delicious on this photo? Well, I paired the strawberries with something just as delicious – healthy chocolate mousse with avocado and mint. As it turns out, chocolate mousse makes a great strawberry dip. Given that this mousse au chocolat only contains avocados, bananas, raw chocolate and cacao nibs, it really is a guilt-free Spring weekend snack.

Did you know that avocados contain more than 25 essential nutrients like Vitamins A, C, E & K or potassium and magnesium? Even better, the healthy fats in avocados increase the nutrient absorption of the other vegetables or fruits that you eat with it. I think that’s one of the best reasons to have an avocado a day, because it really does keep the doctor away.

Besides being a super cool way to sneak in greens into your kids’s dessert, this mousse can be thrown together in literally 5 minutes, 10 minutes with cleaning up all the probs. All you do is throw everything into a food processor or blender, and ready is the healthy chocolate mousse. It’s very important to use both ripe avocados and bananas, otherwise the recipe won’t work.

This mousse is also a great light dessert for spring or summer BBQs. Your guests will not believe what it’s made of when you tell them.

Healthy Chocolate Mousse with Avocado and Mint

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Lynn

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2 Bananas
1 Avocado
2 tablespoons of nut butter, I love it with almond butter
3 tablespoons of raw cacao (or 6 tablespoons of normal baking cacao)
5 -10 mint leaves, depending on how strong you like it
2 teaspoons of cacao nibs (optional)
1 tablespoon of maple syrup (optional)

Instructions

Peel the bananas, cut the avocado in half, remove the seed and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Place all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and mix well.
Serve chilled in glasses or bowls.

Enjoy!

Have you made this dish? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below or tag me on Instagram or Facebook #heavenlynnhealthy.

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