Yummy Healthy Homemade Chocolate

Healthy Chocolates

A while back my neighbor brought over some chocolates to try. They were made out of coconut oil, cocoa powder, and stevia. Once refrigerated in an ice cube tray they made a pretty tasty treat, just enough to satisfy that sweet tooth. I liked them, but I wasn't wowed. They lacked body, melted before you even started chewing. Don't get me wrong, they were good, but I didn't go out of my way to make some of my own.

The other day I made chocolate pudding with banana, avocado, cocoa powder, vanilla, and stevia. As you know, I'm pretty loosey-goosey when it comes to measurements so basically it was 2 avocados, 1 banana, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and everything else to taste. Blend it all up in the food processor and stick it in the fridge! Yummy, creamy, smooth. Amazing with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Well, yesterday I whipped up another batch of pudding. But I only had one avocado. To make up for that (and add a protein punch) I added one pack of gelatin. It altered the texture a bit. Like it was grainy but also not. I don't really know how to explain it. Anyway, it was good, but slightly less "puddingy".

Then I got thinking about chocolate. You know. Dove squares. Hershey kisses. Those pop-em-in-your-mouth-whole kind of grab and go chocolates. And I thought back to those that my neighbor had made. And I noticed I still had leftover pudding in the fridge.

I only did 6 to start (just in case they were gross or failed miserably). They were amazing and I devoured them quickly.

Here's my process for the ones I made today:

I put about a 1/4 cup of coconut oil in a glass bowl and softened it in the microwave (not melting it completely). Then I took the pudding and did about an equal amount of that, so 1/4 cup. I added about 1 tsp of xylitol to the mix and stirred it all up.

Kind of gross-looking pudding on there

The container is a cut up egg carton. I spooned the mixture (it's gooey) into the cups, sprinkled them with sea salt, and stuck some strawberry slices on top (last time I sprinkled xylitol and stuck in blueberries--they were so good and pretty!).

Into the fridge they go. It takes about an hour for them to harden fully. When I first made them I only waited half an hour and they were still soft in the middle. Once they are all done chilling they pop right out of the egg carton. (I didn't oil the cups because half the chocolate is oil.) Also, this is a Styrofoam (or something like that) carton, not the paper/cardboard kind.   

This was an experiment that turned out super awesomely. Oh my gosh, they are so good! The coconut oil provides that hardness while the pudding give it that creaminess and body. They have an almost truffle-like texture.   

So there you have it: healthy, delicious chocolates! (Keep refrigerated.)

Sweet Cauliflower Bread

The tantalizing finished product

I am on the second phase of the HCG diet right now and yesterday while rifling through the pantry I came across this amazing-looking jam--sugar free! Instantly I was overwhelmed with the desire to slather it on toast. Unfortunately, ixnay on the bread at this point.

Last week I made cauliflower tortillas and they were amazing. I've also made (not on this phase because cheese is caution) cauliflower pizza crust in the past and that was delicious.

Obviously, cauliflower is basically a bready substitute. But every recipe I've found is savory. Not something I'd want to slather in sweet jam. Yeah, strawberries and garlic? No, thank you.

Today, urged on by my craving, I intend to experiment with making sweet cauliflower rolls/bread. We'll see how it goes.

(Also, does anyone know whether coconut milk is allowed on Phase 2 of the diet? Dried coconut is a yes (unsweetened, obviously) but I can't find anything on coconut milk. My Google searches all came up pretty vague. Comment if you know anything. Thanks!)

So, I gathered my proposed ingredients.

I cut about a 6th of the head off and dropped it into the food processor. (It came out to just under a cup.)

Once processed to about couscous size, I scraped it into a glass bowl and microwaved it for 4 1/2 minutes. Which, in hindsight, was probably too much for the small amount of cauliflower. But all was well. In fact, it worked out perfectly and I cut out a step.

Can you guess which step?

The step everyone hates: squeezing out the excess liquid. I pretty much steamed all that out in the microwave--by happy accident.

I tend, with improvised recipes, to improvise totally. I don't even measure. Pinch of this, sploosh of that, you know?

I put in slightly less than a whole egg. I started out with just the yolk but it wasn't quite moist enough so I added about 2/3 of the separated white, which turned out just right. I like adding flax seed not only because it's a nice binder but because it adds that kind of earthy taste that I feel is inherent to most breads, especially whole grain. I added a tiny bit of vanilla, some cinnamon, salt, and ginger.

Mixed it up.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I put parchment paper on a small tray (the smallest we had, since I had so little "batter," which is what I was aiming for just in case it ended up tasting disgusting) and scraped the mixture into the center and smushed it around with my fingers. Into the shape of a piece of bread! I was so happy.

I baked it for 10 minutes, and then flipped it over and baked for another 10 minutes. Then, for posterity's sake (and because toast is supposed to be a bit brown and crunchy), I flipped it over again for another 5 minutes.

Coming out of the oven

Once it was cooled enough to eat, I spread on a little bit of butter and a lot of that jam I was telling out about. (By the way, that jam tasted so good I was almost convinced it had to be fake. Seriously. It was amazing. Like poptart filling and fruit-by-the-foot all at once but real, and without that aftertaste, if that even makes sense. Yum!)

The texture was really similar to French toast, but less soggy. The first bite kind of got me. It was weird, but really good at the same time. The next bites were even better and I ended up really enjoying it. It didn't get crunchy, though because of what it's made out of I really didn't hold out much hope for that anyway. It held together amazingly and didn't taste like pizza crust or tortillas. My craving was satisfied!

Overall, this "bread" turned out great. Just what I wanted.