Food that’s both good for you as well as scrumptious.
Health food has been touted as tasteless.
My family knows when I make something healthy for our family shindigs. I’ve gone to great lengths to make healthy pies and fizzy electrolyte drinks. The sun damaged my fruit ice and they were flat. I’ve been thinking about all the health benefits I could sneak into my family’s life.
I‘m not about to give up but when my gluten-free buns were compared to Play-Doh after I forgot the most important ingredient my face fell flat. What can I say I’m always in a hurry.
Since my mind won’t lie still I decided to create this pudding for my parents who have Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. That was when I put essential fatty acids back into their diet.
I didn’t say it was a big hit with them—they ate it but eating dark chocolate was new to them. But my daughter and I love the dark chocolate taste of avocado pudding.
Since then I’ve come up with some variants for every occasion. I honestly can say it doesn’t last long in our house. I never feel guilty for eating it. I feel good eating it. And I’ve eaten it for breakfast too.
That was the last time I made the Play-Doh health bread though. I have been inquisitive and made my cake extra high. I was 12 and still remember being laughed out of the room when I told my brother why it was bitter.
This isn’t about food now but about perseverance. I let those comments sail over my head and continue making that delicious pudding. It seems like it soothes the mind. Knowing it’s good for the brain helps.
I was working on my health with the dietician/speaker Ruth Clark whose cookbook “Cool the Fire Within” —is available on Amazon—where I first got the recipe.
It went against my upbringing; Mom had Dad on the no cholesterol diet of no fats. My parents weren’t getting any better and I was reading books about Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to help my aging parents improve their health. Dr. Perlmutter’s book “The Grain Brain” helped me understand immensely.
This was a switch when as a teen; I watched Mom take fats out of their diet and go “no cholesterol”. I believe it was done out of fear when Dad’s health started having heart problems. He couldn’t have eggs or real butter. He ate only lean meats. He was put on Statin drugs. Later when Dad was in the hospital for COVID, I had to help. That’s when I introduced essential fatty acids.
I’ve been working out health measures for myself and enjoying foods grown on local farms. This has been quite a switch and I do love good old-fashioned bread. I love my Amish cookstove.
I’m willing to experiment with new recipes and healthy foods. But sometimes I want to put a little easy food on the table. The goal is to enjoy both comfort and health food as well.
I hope you enjoy the recipe below and try out the variants. Let me know what you think. Have a wonderful time cooking.
Recipe
Avocado Pudding
Ready in 20 minutes
Serves 3 people
Low calorie, high essential fatty acids. I made it for my parents who had Alzheimer’s and Dementia. It’s full of the good fats that feed the brain.
Ingredients
2lg Ripe avocados
1/4 cup of xylitol
1/4 cup dark chocolate
1/4 cup of Almond milk
Blueberries—set aside three blueberries for topping
Dark chocolate pieces
sprig of mint (optional)
Preparation
Scoop ripe avocado into a bullet with a large spoon.
Add the three other ingredients; almond milk, xylitol, and chocolate pieces; blend until smooth.
Stir in dark chocolate pieces and top with toppings.
Variations
Pistachio—omit chocolate, chocolate pieces, and blueberries; add vanilla bean extract, pistachios, cherry pieces
Christmas—omit chocolate, chocolate pieces, and blueberries; add mincemeat and rum flavoring
Maple Walnut—omit chocolate, chocolate pieces, xylitol, and blueberries; add walnuts, maple extract, and maple syrup
Smoked coconut cream—omit almond milk, chocolate, chocolate pieces, and blueberries; add coconut cream and smoked coconut snacks for topping
Chocolate mint chip—omit blueberries; add mint essential oils and a sprig of mint
