Chocolate Is Healthy

Not only was this raw vegan chocolate pie a hit at a dinner party, but it even passed the five year old kid taste test.  Impressive!

ireallylikefood shared this fabulous recipe for a chocolate pie made with a mixed nut crust and filled with a pudding-like chocolate mixture that included avocados, cocoa powder, and shredded coconut.  Garnished with fresh fruit, the raw chocolate pie mixture could also work as a delicious cake frosting.

Check out the link below for the full recipe and a step-by-step process with pictures, of how to make this fabulous vegan chocolate pie.

Chocolate Filling for Raw Vegan Chocolate Pie Recipe by ireallylikefood.

Ingredients:

• 3 avocados (stay with me here, the outcome is truly delicious!)
• 1/2 cup of agave (1/2 cup maple syrup)
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2  Tbsp tahini (aka: sesame butter)  (cold pressed coconut butter I had none)
• (3/4 cup raw carob powder I skipped this because I don’t like it)
• 4 Tbsp organic cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional… I added this because i had no coconut butter)
• berries of choice

Directions:

1. Cut your avocados in half

2. Pit your avocados and scoop out the flesh into your food processor along with the vanilla, tahini, shredded coconut and agave. Blend away (a blender also works for this)

3.  Once it is nicely blended add in your cocoa powder and blend.

4. Fill in your pie crust and top with berries

Recipe: “Raw” Chocolate Pie | ireallylikefood.

The Go Dairy Free site is an excellent resource for living a dairy free lifestyle through news, helpful resources and hundreds of unbiased reviews of dairy free products.   So we’ll always take their recommendations when it comes to dairy free chocolate.    Check out their review of Chocolate Emporium, all of whose chocolate products are dairy free (obviously) as well as kosher.  They make a huge variety of chocolate truffles, candies and chocolate-covered fruits, many of which are also vegan and nut free.

Go Dairy Free | Chocolate Emporium Offers Largest Selection to Dairy-Free and Kosher Communities.

This lovely recipe by Patricia Biesen for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars is free of dairy, wheat, eggs, soy and peanuts and would be a hit at any vegan or non-vegan Thanksgiving celebration.  It’s just as easy to make as any homemade brownie recipe and we love the combination of pumpkin and chocolate.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients:

2 cups garbanzo bean flour

1 TBS pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking soda

2/3 cup of coconut oil (walnut or canola oil works well too)

1 ¼ sugar

1 TBS flax seed meal

3 TBS water

2 TBS vanilla extract

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 12-oz bag of vegan (dairy-free) chocolate chips

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9 x 13″ pan with foil and leave an overhang of foil on the sides.

In one big bowl whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In an even bigger bowl, mix oil and sugar, then add the vanilla, water, flax seed and pumpkin puree. Add in the flour mixture and chips.

Spread evenly in your lined pan. Bake until sides are slightly golden. Approximately, 40 minutes to an hour depending on your oven. You want to see if you can pull a clean toothpick from the center.

Cool in pan completely and lift using the overhang of foil. Cut and serve.

Photos and more after the jump!

Thanksgiving, holiday, chocolate, vegan, chocolate, lactose intolerant, pumpkin – Chicago Eats Allergy-Free.

We can’t wait to try this vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe, courtesy of the Miami Herald.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice (such as Sucanet)
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees and place racks toward center of oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mix the oil, applesauce, salt, vanilla and cane juice, blending well.

In another bowl, whisk the flour, flax meal, baking soda and xanthan gum.

Using a rubber spatula, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ones, stirring until a grainy dough forms. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a melon baller or 1-tablespoon measure, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 1 ½ inches apart. Gently press each with the heel of your hand to flatten slightly and help them spread.

Bake 15 minutes, rotating pans 180 degrees after 9 minutes. The finished cookies will be crisp on the edges and soft in the center. Cool on the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Source: Adapted from BabyCakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-About Bakery by Erin McKenna (Clarkson Potter, $24).

Per serving: 118 calories (50 percent from fat), 7.5 g fat (5.5 g saturated, 0.7 g monounsaturated), 0 cholesterol, 0.9 g protein, 15.3 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fiber, 100.1 mg sodium.

Vegetarian Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies – Vegetarian Fare – MiamiHerald.com.

There’s still time to offer healthy, organic Halloween chocolate treats, instead of the unnatural processed candy found in the supermarket.

We came across this great roundup of all natural Halloween treats.  Options include fair trade certified chocolate coins from Ghana, Clif Spooky S’mores Energy Bars, organic gluten-free chocolates from Equal Exchange and vegan Bluestocking peanut butter cups.  Any of these will deliver the delights of chocolate, without the additives and preservatives.

6 Healthier Halloween Eco-Treats for Kids (No Tricks, We Promise!) | Inhabitots.