Healthy Vegan Chocolate Avocado Pudding!

Another quick recipe for you guys! This pudding is really versatile, you can add in coconut, peanut butter, banana and more and it will be equally as delicious and nutritious! You can even pump up the chocolate flavor by using melted vegan chocolate chips or cacao nibs! I really love quick and easy vegan treats and this is one of them and you can even reduce or double this recipe depending on how much pudding you need. I hope you like it!

- Alexis ♥

Healthy Chocolate Avocado Pudding

• 1 Very Ripe Plantain, black
• 1 Ripe Avocado
• ½ cup Cacao powder (use Vegan Cocoa Powder if you can’t find it)
• ¼ - ½ cup non-dairy milk (depends on how thick or thin you want it)
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• 1 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

Optional

• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ Teaspoon instant Coffee
• ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ Teaspoon Sea Salt

Directions

Slice plantain into equal slices and boil until tender.

Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth.

If you want a firmer texture, let it sit in the refrigerator until firm.

Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Cranberry Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches!

I haven’t had ice cream sandwiches in years before I made these because I could never bring myself to buy vegan ice creams. I had tried So Delicious soy milk ice cream before but it always had this weird aftertaste but I remember the coconut milk based one tasting better. These ice cream sandwiches are so chocolately and the cranberries actually taste like cherries in this, they’re like little brownie ice cream bits of goodness! You can make any sized cookie you like but I went for the traditional size ice cream sandwich cookies. Also, the ice cream doubles as chocolate pudding! Don't freeze it and eat it just like it is and it's delicious!

Yesterday I went on an amazing 10 mile walk around Far Rockaway in Queens and it’s sad to see so many stores still closed and recovering from Hurricane Sandy but at least they’re still working towards it. It was refreshing to go outside in the cool breeze and get some exercise in! Winter is the hardest time of the year to convince yourself to exercise but yesterday was a surprisingly warm day and me and my boyfriend took the opportunity to go and walk around and it was great! The views of the sunset and the ocean were beautiful. More people should take the effort to walk to more places, not even for the exercise, but for the experience. I've walked from one end of the city to the next and you see so many things you wouldn't by just taking the train. I’m looking forward to our walk to Brooklyn on Wednesday!

 -  Alexis ♥

Chocolate Cranberry Brownie Cookies

• 2 Flaxseed Eggs (2 tablespoons Ground Flaxseed + 6 tablespoons water)
• 1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ cups Brown Sugar
• ½ cup Vegan Butter
• ½ cup Dried Cranberries
• ½ cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
• ½ cup Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa
• 1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Instant Coffee
• ½ teaspoon Salt

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350° F.

Mix together ground flaxseed and water and set aside until it thickens.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in the flaxseed eggs, instant coffee and vanilla extract. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, a half a cup to a cup at a time until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries.

Wrap your cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a half hour just so it’s more manageable to work with.  After refrigerating, drop spoonfuls of dough (the size is up to you, I clearly made larger cookies) 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until the cookies are set.

Chocolate Ice Cream

• 1 Avocado
• ½ cup Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa
• ½ cup Non-dairy milk (I used coconut milk)
• ¼ cup Agave (or more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ teaspoon Instant Coffee
• ¼ teaspoon Salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Freeze overnight or until firm.

*For Ice Cream Sandwiches: Let the cookies cool and then freeze them  so they are firm enough to withstand squishing the ice cream between them. After they’re frozen, place a scoop of ice cream between them and squish the two cookies together and you have ice cream sandwiches! If you let the cookies and ice cream meld together in the freezer for a bit of time, they’ll taste even better!

You can serve them plain with the ice cream or add chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.

Quick Vanilla Cinnamon Pudding!

This is a simple and easy alternative to the more complex vegan pudding recipes out there. I wanted a recipe that was simple and that most people would already have the ingredients. Also, this recipe is easily adaptable so just add in your favorite flavors and enjoy!

When I was in Costa Rica, my host family would always make a wide variety of fruit juices/smoothies that was served with every meal and I was craving them so much lately so, I decided to re-create my favorite one; guava! I searched all over NYC and randomly found some baby guava in Chinatown and I bought a pound and whipped up some guava juice! It's the simplest recipe, just take the guavas and cut off the top and bottom and process them in a food processor and you have a guava juice smoothie! I added a tablespoon or less of agave because I like the natural sweetness of the guava. There will be some pulp in this so if you hate pulp, I'd suggest straining it before drinking. Enjoy!

- Alexis ♥

Quick Cinnamon Vanilla pudding

• 1 ½ cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
• ¼ -½ cup sugar (you can use agave or a sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ½ tablespoon vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

Mix together the cornstarch and the ½ cup of cornstarch and set aside.

In a medium sized pan, whisk together all of your other ingredients the remaining milk, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom and salt and heat on a medium-low flame until bubbles start to form around the edges but not boiling. When it reaches this stage, put the flame on low and add in the cornstarch mixture that you set aside earlier, whisking constantly as to not get chunks of cornstarch in the pudding.

After fully incorporating all of the ingredients, put the flame back on medium-low and whisk it every so often until it thickens then take it off heat and add in the vanilla and butter.

Cool it down and enjoy!