A Healthy Chocolate Pudding
Chocolate hardly seems like the obvious vehicle for healthy nutritional goodness, but the ‘hook’ here is so obvious that it feels innovative: rather than trying to deny or fight the chocolate element of a treat, you instead focus on improving and maximizing every other element of that dish. Out goes the sugar; the heavy dairy component of your typical whipped dessert is diminished. (Hey, they’re getting plenty of milk already.) In its place, you power the dish–and replicate the texture of a mousse–by leveraging…vegetables? Something like that: creamy fruits, starches, legumes–yams, avocado, bananas, even edamame if you’d like–do the heavy lifting, giving the dish a creamy sweetness without any of the bad (but good) stuff. They don’t know what’s in it and can’t tell the difference, right? And at 6PM–or 6AM, for that matter–after the long grind of parenting, the pudding will feel more than sufficient for you; it’ll be downright indulgent.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep
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With a fork, poke all over the sweet potato to vent. Microwave on High for six (smaller) to seven (bigger) minutes. When finished cooking, cut the potato in half lengthwise to vent. Allow to cool.
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If using edamame, boil the edamame to doneness, cooking them roughly two minutes past recommended duration listed on the package. Drain.
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When the sweet potato is cool enough to handle, pull the skin off and push/squeeze the insides of the potato out into a medium-sized bowl; add the innards of the avocado, the banana, and the edamame to the bowl. With a fork, mash all until softened.
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Next, add in a fistful of chia seeds, a few shakes of cardamom, a small splash of vanilla extract, a drizzle of maple syrup (if using unsweetened chocolate), and the amount of chocolate you are okay with your child having (melt first if using cocoa bars). Pour in your milk and mix just enough so that contents of the bowl are distributed throughout.
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Using a hand mixer,* blend on low until the mixture is smooth and clumps are broken up. If the mix is still too thick, add a splash of your milk as needed.
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Recommended: refrigerate for at least an hour before serving–it helps the pudding thicken a bit. But it’s totally okay to serve immediately.
Serve
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Serve on its own, or top with sliced fruits, particularly tarter ones your kiddo may be somewhat resistant to (i.e., raspberries). Pro tip: give them a spoon.
I typically serve as a side dish at breakfast, where it goes great with french toast or pancakes, and you can use any lingering pieces of the carb to scoop up the remains of the pudding for your child. It also can do heavy lifting at lunch, where it can provide nutrients and fiber in the guise of dessert.
Adapt
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Not much needed here, but a little sea salt and whipped cream for yourself won’t hurt.
