Vegan Chocolate Spread & Pudding

After researching The China Study, seeing/reading Forks Over Knives, and learning about plant-based lifestyles, I'm playing around with eating only fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains these days. I am curious how it will effect my health and change the meals in our home. The first thing I did was make a bunch of snacky dishes to last through the week (shout out to Amanda Barnes who is amazing at doing this all the time, i.e. her garbanzo bean cookie dough dip). So this week I made some hummus, Cranberry Applesauce, and vegan CHOCOLATE PUDDING. This is a solid dessert recipe. The avocado provides a creamy texture and soaks up the cocoa flavor. If the avocados totally freak you out, peanut butter also works deliciously well (see below for ratio). You can also create more of a "spread" or "pudding" consistency depending on your preference. It's great with raspberries or spread on toasted brown rice bread with peanut butter. 


INGREDIENTS
avocados (2)
unsweetened cocoa powder (1/2 cup) 
dates (1/2 cup) pitted, soaked in water for an hour, drained (I don't soak them, but they don't blend as easily); if you have a sweet tooth, double the quantity
pure vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)


PEANUT BUTTER VARIATION

peanut butter (1 cup) organic with no added salt or sugar; this ratio can be used instead of the avocados

FOR A PUDDING TEXTURE
almond milk (1/4-1/2 cup) wait until all ingredients are combined and then incorporate a little at a time until desired consistency is reached

DIRECTIONS

1. Throw the dates in the food processor and pulse into a paste. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. (This can be a little tedious since it's so thick and spits up on the sides. If you end up digging this recipe, make a larger batch so it mixes easier.)
3. Transfer to a bowl or individual serving bowls and chill several hours before serving.