Healthy Chocolate Mousse
Over the winter I’ve been eating a bit too much of the good stuff. And when I say good stuff, I mean burgers and chips (homemade, but still), hearty stews enjoyed with oven fresh bread and a lot of butter, along with the occasional indulgent dessert. All this, although incredibly yummy and very satisfying on many levels, has left me feeling a bit “thick around the edges.” A term coined by a certain younger brother.
It’s that time of year, reaching the end of winter when all my clothes start to feel a bit tight and I can no longer fit into my skinny jeans without being prostrate and doing up the button before I stand up. The trouble with getting upright though, is that due to the fact my jeans are so tight, I can’t actually sit down, or in fact, really move much at all! But no matter, I can throw on a pair of less restrictive, much loved jeans that are just managing to hold together (I can’t bear to throw them away), until I manage to get outside and do something to lessen the thickness of my edges. But now is not the time. I find it so hard when it’s this cold and wet. It’s sometimes hard enough getting out of bed, let alone going outside! For an actual walk! But I decided that something must be done, and if I wasn’t prepared to change my non existent exercise routine, I’d have to change my diet. Or at least one aspect of it, and so I chose to remedy my usual sweet tooth cravings for something healthier.
With this in mind, I thought I’d try my hand at making a dessert I could enjoy without adding to my already butter clogged arteries! In creating this recipe I turned to my many vegan friends, who always seem to be in good health and have lovely glowing skin, for a few pointers. The general consensus was that I should definitely use avocado as a base for my chocolate mousse. At first, even thought I understood why avocado would be used (for it’s smooth fatty goodness), I wasn’t sure how it would actually taste. And more importantly, if I would enjoy eating it. But after a few different recipes, I found that mixing the avocado with banana and medjool dates produces the best results. I eat medjool dates on a daily basis and find them incredibly good in so many things! My banana bread being one of them, and the reason I decided to try them for this recipe, already being well versed in how delicious bananas and medjool dates are when blitzed into smooth cream in a food processor. If you’re not a fan of chocolate you could very easily have a banana and date mousse. You could simply add some vanilla powder and eat to hearts content!
As you might imagine, I ate a hell of a lot of chocolate mousse in trying to get this right. At least it’s a pretty healthy version so I can’t say I feel terribly bad about it. I actually made so much that I ended up storing what I couldn’t shove in my face at the time in cute little jam jars and decorated them with the candied oranges and some string. I think this would make a lovely gift for anyone, but particularly for any vegan friends and family you might have. I found it lasts well for up to three days in the fridge in an airtight container, and a jam jar is perfect. In hindsight, I’m not entirely sure this has helped me fit into my jeans any better. Avocado’s, although incredibly good for you, are full of fats. Yes, they are incredibly good fats, but fat even so, eating the amount I have over the past few days probably hasn’t done me any favours. But eaten in moderation, this is a very satisfying dessert indeed. Or afternoon snack. Or an energy packed breakfast on-the-go if made the night before.
I actually found this mousse to be a lot better than the usual butter and cream variety.
Hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and as always...
Love and light!
Susanna xo