Cocomole

I don't know if those of you who subscribe to my blog will receive this by Valentine's Day or not, but I will send it out to CyberSpace in high hopes that it will. I had planned to do it earlier this week, but Tom and I decided to do a celebration get-away for a couple of days.  It was a combination of a Valentine's Day celebration, a belated anniversary celebration, and an improved health celebration since my surgery on February 15, 2013.  Yes, much to celebrate!  So this blog post was put on hold until we returned this afternoon.  

This Valentine's dessert may seem downright weird to you.  But I discovered there is more to make with an avocado than guacamole.  Combined with cocoa powder it is Cocomole!  I was first introduced to the idea of combining avocado with cacao powder by my son Dan, who works at the Wedge Co-Op in Mpls.  I asked him what was the difference between cacao powder and regular cocoa powder and he explained that cacao is the raw unprocessed form of chocolate and supposedly retains more of its nutrients. Cocoa is the more processed form because it has been dried and roasted and is what we typically find on the grocery shelves.  I used cacao powder that I purchased from the bulk bin at the Duluth Whole Foods Co-op so that I could buy just a small amount of it. You could certainly use cocoa powder for this recipe if that is what you have in your cupboard.

The original idea Dan gave me included only avocado, cacao powder and some natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup.  I tried that and thought it was ok, but decided to add a bit more Pzazz with a banana and coconut milk.  Definitely the Pzazz I was looking for!  Yes, the fat content looks high for this pudding, but remember that it comes from a healthy source of fat found in the avocado, and hopefully my digestive system will handle it well. 

May your Valentine's Day be filled with love and Pzazz!   

Ingredients:
1 medium banana
1 avocado
6 Tablespoons lite coconut milk
(I used canned Taste of Thai coconut milk)
4 teaspoons raw cacao powder or coco powder





Preparation:
Blend all of it together in device of your choice.  (I used my Magic Bullet, but because it was quite thick, it didn't do quite as good of a job as I had hoped, so I mashed it more with a mortar/pestle.)  You can also put this into the freezer to make more of a frozen dessert.  Garnish with a dollop of pureed strawberries or raspberries.  I pureed the strawberries in the chopper attachment of my Cuisinart Smart Stick and it worked like a charm for a small amount.

Nutrition per serving:
Servings per recipe: 2
Serving Size: Scant 1/2 cup
Calories: 234
Total Fat: 13 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 15 mg
Total Carbs: 21 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g
Protein: 3 g