Raw Avocado Chocolate MousseIf you find yourself with a sweet tooth, or just want to seriously impress your friends at a dinner party and have them leave convinced that alternative, healthy desserts can be absolutely as delicious (if not more so) than processed sweets filled with refined sugar and grains, then I strongly suggest trying out this recipe!

This whole foods recipe takes only a few ingredients and a blender. The main ingredient is avocado, which is an incredibly versatile food! Lets take a look at some of the health benefits from one of my favorite website, whfoods.com:

• High in essential nutrients such as folate, vitamins K, C, B6 and B5, and potassium and fiber
• Proven to improve hearth health, primarily because it contains oleic acid essential to the cardiovascular system.
• Avocados contain many anti-inflammatory properties
• Full of healthy monounsaturated fats
• Promotes/supports blood sugar regulation

These are just a few of the many wonderful benefits of avocados, not to mention they are just delicious. Try out this great recipe for another way to incorporate this nutrient dense food into your diet!

RAW AVOCADO CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

Ingredients:

1 avocado
1 banana
2 tbsp full fat coconut milk (or almond as a 2nd choice)
3-4 tbsp raw cocoa (or cacao) powder
1/2 tsp vanilla (more or less to taste)
cinnamon and sea salt to taste

Instructions:

Couldn't be easier! Cut open and scoop out the avocado. Throw everything into a blender (or use a hand blender), and mix until creamy. Taste and adjust spices if need be. I served mine with raw cacao nips sprinkled on top, I bet sprinkling a little bit of orange zest could be delicious, too. Be creative!

The other night I made some delicious cilantro turkey burgers, and while I usually go sans bun, I was having guests over who I thought might miss out on the bread part of the burger (this, admittedly, can take some getting used to!). So I experimented with making a gluten/grain-free bun, and it turned out delicious! This is also a wonderful "bread" to spread with some raw almond butter for a snack, or replace in many other situations in place of conventional and inflammatory bread.

If you've been following my blog for some time now, you've read all about the inflammatory nature of gluten-containing foods, as well as know that for many, even whole grains can be inflammatory as well and lead to a host of issues, many of which relate to leaky gut syndrome (aka, increased intestinal permeability). With that in mind, try out this fantastic alternative!

Grain-Free Burger Buns
Adapted from paleoplan.com

Makes about 4 (tops and bottoms)

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
4 tbsp coconut flour
4 tbsp almond flour
4 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (both flours, baking powder and sea salt) and mix thoroughly with a fork. Next, combine eggs and coconut oil separately. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and mix. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it lightly with coconut oil or grass fed butter or ghee. Spread mixture evenly over baking sheet and bake for 10  minutes. You can either shape them into buns before baking, or make more of a flat bread and cut after they have cooled.