The first avocado went into a smoothie....I kid you not. I juiced four small apples and added a peeled and chopped kiwi, a quarter of a peeled and cubed cucumber, two generous tablespoons of agave syrup (add more to taste) and of course one medium and very ripe avocado, thrown in a handful of ice cubes and whizz it all up. Pour into two glasses and serve, preferably without divulging the ingredients - if pushed admit the apples and kiwi. Himself really liked this smoothie but admitted that not a single drop would have passed his lips had he known about the avocado!
Avocado number two had an even more surprising fate - it ended up in the frosting of a wheat, sugar and dairy free chocolate brownie. If you are going to indulge in a brownie better not to indulge in empty calories but to make them count - this recipe is high in anti oxidants, protein and good fats...although not one for the weight watchers. I invested in the Snog healthy treats cookbook, this was the first recipe that I tried out and was such a success that I plan to work my way though the book. I adapted the recipe slightly by soaking the pecan nuts and dates over night. Pre-soaking the nuts makes them much easier to digest and renders the nutrients more available to the body. Himself has a very sweet tooth so I uped the quanties of agave syrup. It is also very important to use a good quality cocoa - I wouldn't really advise replacing the cocoa with carob powder, cocoa is an excellent source of antioxidants and minerals such as magnesium, it also has ant inflammatory properties but the bottom line is that carob just won't taste as good!
To make the base whizz together in a food processor; 10 medjool dates soaked overnight in water and pitted, 50g of good quality cocoa powder (raw if you can get it), pinch of sea salt; 80ml of agave syrup and 230g of pecan nuts also soaked over night. When the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs and is beginning to stick together press into a 12 x 4 inch flan tin lined with greaseproof paper and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
To make the frosting, whizz together in the food processor 4 medjool dates soaked overnight in water and pitted, 25 g of cacao powder, one medium peeled and stoned avocado, and 80ml of agave syrup and process until smooth.
Spread the frosting evenly over the base and top with a handful of roughly chopped pecans nuts and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. This recipe makes 6 large servings of 18 small bite size squares.
Now I just need to find a recipe for avocado number three....anyone any ideas????
No comments:
Post a Comment