I recently wrote a review on Eat Smart, a healthy cookbook written by Niomi Smart. Niomi Smart is a Youtuber, Blogger and Co Founder of SourcedBox. I have started making several recipes from the book since and the variety and tastiness of the dishes are incredible! If you are looking for a healthy cookbook but don’t want to sacrifice taste, then this book is perfect!
I had some chia seeds in the cupboard and I love chocolate so I thought I would create a healthy dessert for me and my boyfriend to enjoy. It was a huge success and now we have something to munch on that is a bit healthier than our ice cream puddings! This chocolate treat is so easy and quick to make and I made it ahead of time so I just had to whip it out and do a Blue Peter “here’s what I made earlier”!
Recipe (serves 2)
2 tbsp (24g) chia seeds
1 ripe banana
3 pitted medjool dates
½ avocado
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
125ml unsweetened almond milk
toppings of choice
Method
Soak the chia seeds in 6 tbsp of water in a tub in the fridge for about 20 minutes. They will become gelatinous and look a bit like frogspawn but they create a creamy and soft texture to the dessert. The chia seeds absorb the water and plump up to make the dessert thicker and tasty.
Put the peeled banana, pitted medjool dates, avocado flesh, cacao powder and almond milk in a blender and blend until smooth!
Stir in the soaked chia seeds (including the water they were in). Place in serving bowls and refrigerate until needed.
Before serving, top with any toppings you like. I used quinoa sprinkles, cacao nibs and strawberries.
Useful tips and facts…..
- Choose a banana that is really ripe – this means that you will get a sweeter dessert!
- Avocados need to be ripe before peeling them. You can put them near bananas as this helps the ripening process. I find Tesco has the best avocados! They just seem to be the perfect ripeness there! You know that it’s ripe as the skin yields to pressure when gently squeezed. The skin also comes away from the flesh effortlessly when it is the perfect ripeness.
- Put a little bit of lime on the unused half of avocado and leave the stone in to stop it going brown. Keep in the fridge up to a few days. It is great on toast for breakfast or lunch!
- Remember to take the stones of the medjool dates!
- Raw cacao powder is like cocoa powder but the stage before it is processed, so you get more nutrients. Cocoa powder is heated and the heating process can destroy some of its healthy properties.
- Some almond milk is sweetened so make sure you get the one without refined sugar. If you like it sweeter, add some honey or coconut to act as a natural sweetness.
I can see myself making lots more recipes from this book…..
