You are What You Eat

by Allyson Haas

If the title of this post bears truth, Caleb is made entirely of fruit, carbs and ice cream; he fully embraces the Toddler Food Pyramid.  C USED to be a somewhat decent eater, back when his diet consisted solely of the pureed form. But once he got a taste of the solids, it was all downhill. Many a day I have to fake the goodness into his body by way of a food processor and the oven. Zuchini carrot muffins. Sweet potato “mousse.” Veggie pizza. Thank goodness for the wonder that is Weelicious, the genius book of kid-friendly foods that not only taste great, but are nutritionally sound. If today’s recipe isn’t already in the book, I’m sure it will be bound for the next edition.

If you fine readers can recall my first post for this here amazing blog, you’ll recall that I hate to waste anything. A scrap of old paper, an old item of clothing; especially any kind of something edible. So, in an effort to reduce food waste and to keep my dollars in my bank account and not lining the rubbish bin as spoiled fruits and veggies, I took stock of what I had in my fridge. An overzealous trip to the farmers market had left me with two very ripe avocados approaching the tipping point. In a desperate attempt to use them, and to satisfy my sweet tooth in a somewhat healthful way, I took to the interwebs to see what I could make out of them. Since the temps are still in the triple digits and our home owners insurance folk are playing tricks on us and fixing just one issue at a time on our air conditioner vs. just replacing the whole damn system (read: we’re still without a working one and it was 110 degrees yesterday) I was in search of something of the cooler sort, like maybe an avocado ice cream. Lo and behold, I stumbled on what will now be my all time favorite dessert.Bonus points for the fact that it's vegan.

Let me be clear: I’m not so food obsessed that I was originally planning for this to be an entire post, but the recipe I’m about to share came out so delicious, I’m kicking myself for not having thought to make it oh say, 15 years ago.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby give you Allyson’s Avocado Carob Chilled Mousse. Oh. My. Word.

2 ripe avocados

2 tablespoons raw cane sugar or stevia (I used the former)

½ cup carob powder (a great substitute for chocolate any time cocoa powder is called for)

½ cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (if you have a Trader Joe’s near you, I highly suggest their house brand. It’s the only one I’ve found that doesn't contain carrageenan, which, little known fact, is a nasty shelf stabilizer that can act as a carcinogen in the human body)

1 tsp. or so of Vanilla Extract (I never measure this ingredient)

Blend the avocados and sugar together in a food processor (or in my case, a baby food maker). 

In a separate bowl, whisk the carob powder and milk until combined. 

Add the vanilla and stir to combine. 

Transfer avocado mixture into the bowl with the carob mixture and, using a spatula or whisk, blend until combined. 

Transfer to individual sized ramekins and chill for a few hours. 

Or, if, unlike me, you have willpower, hold off until the next day when this mixture becomes EVEN MORE DELICIOUS!

It was a close toss-up on which was more enjoyable – this heavenly concoction or standing in front of my freezer with the door open. Thankfully, before I ate too much broke the freezer, the Haasbund’s amazingly generous business partner invited us to stay at his beautiful (and air conditioned) home for the weekend where we were able to cool our jets by dipping them in his gorgeous pool. If I'd had any mousee left, I would have given him some as a token of my appreciation. 

On the plus side, at least now I have a legitimate excuse to make some more.