Vegan, Raw, Sugar-Free Chocolate Pudding

For my 18th birthday in 2009, Marika gave me this raw vegan chocolate mousse from Whole Foods. It was absolutely delicious. I don't remember the exact ingredients, but back then I was more focused on foods being merely vegan anyway, although I do remember Marika speaking of avocados and banana.

Since Winter Quarter 2010, I haven't been able to get raw vegan sugar-free pudding out of my head. It has got to be one of the easiest indulgences to make, as there is no baking (raw), so we don't have to fret over leavening or the sugar replacement responding unfavorably to heat.

I found the recipe on a website called "Naturally Knocked Up", which does not mean knocked up by food, but if given no other choice...I'd pick raw, vegan, whole foods every time! It's actually a website dedicated to increasing fertility through food. The woman who runs it is a Master Herbalist student, and encourages whole nutrition in its most natural state to influence the body's natural function.

Enough blather...

Raw Vegan Pudding

1 very ripe banana
1 avocado
1/8 c unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 tsp maple syrup or agave nectar
non-dairy milk for thinning (if needed)

Blend all ingredients until as smooth as you like using a food processor or blender. If the pudding is too think, add the milk 1 tbsp at a time until the consistency suits your fancy.

The website also noted some other options:
1 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1.5 tsp vanilla
mint leaves
fruit

Add whatever you like. This can easily become a nutrient pudding, with protein if you add a nut butter and potassium from the banana and avocado. If you add spice, like cinnamon, you've got some antibacterial action. Berries would supply you with antioxidants as well.

Not to mention the maple syrup or agave nectar...but I see that as more mental well-being, because it's not easy watching everyone I know inhale sugary foods all day long...college students treat their bodies like hazardous dumps! They'll come around.

"Cheese"cake

One of my largest internal struggles, which I hardly ever think about until I am given the opportunity, is my insatiable adoration of cheesecake. You might remember that I don't eat dairy; I have been deprived for so very long.

But wait!

The era of cheesecake abstinence is over with the recipe I am about to divulge to you....

The recipe is from Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet, which has recipes and lifestyle tips for vegans and what she calls "superheroes", or macrobiotics. The cheesecake is from the vegan section of the book - not the superhero section - as the superhero desserts involve more whole grains, fruits, grain sweeteners, nuts, and usually some Japanese culinary methods as well.

Cheesecake

It kind of looks like styrofoam, but I can assure you it's not.

Ingredients
3/4 c Earth Balance Butter
2 c graham cracker crumbs*
1 (12-ounce) package silken tofu
1 c nondairy cream cheese*
1 tbsp safflower oil
1/4 c pure maple syrup
1/4 cup soy milk
2 tsp arrowroot
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon or orange extract
fresh or frozen-thawed mixed berries (for topping)

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. F., and oil an 8" or 9" spring form pan (I used an 8" cake pan).
2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan, turn off the heat and add the graham cracker crumbs. Then press the butter-crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 5 minutes.
3. Combine tofu, cream cheese, oil, syrup, soy milk, arrowroot, vanilla extract, citrus extract (if using) in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour this into the pan over the graham cracker crust.

4. Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let it cool, add the berries, and chill until serving (the cheesecake, that is).

*For the graham cracker crumbs, I used MI-DEL Honey Grahams (pictured above), because they are only sweetened with honey and molasses, AND because it says that they are 100% whole wheat. Packaged foods are not 100% whole wheat unless it literally says "100% Whole Wheat".
Eric found that a good way to crush them was to use a rolling pin on a plastic bag with the air squeezed out...if you have trouble, I'll send him over!


*The cream cheese is "Follow Your Heart Cream Cheese". This brand is good because they use no partially hydrogenated oils, unlike Tofutti.

Everyone who tried this thought it was pretty good...and those were people who eat sugar and dairy regularly, so that's saying something. In the future I would add more cream cheese and less tofu, just to try to achieve a more cheesecake-like consistency. Chilling did help this though!
I also think a little salt might make it tastier. It was sweet but very light.
Don't let it bake for too much longer than the suggested 45 minutes - 1 hour, because the crust may start to burn a little. I would suggest extending the time by 5 minutes maximum after the hour has passed.