The Good Health Guide

by Liz Bygrave of Sweet Sensations
Here’s one for Christmas - a much healthier variation on all the processed, sugar-laden chocolates and desserts we over indulge in over the festive season. Don’t be put off by the avocado, it makes a beautifully smooth, velvety mousse you just can’t beat. And it won’t taste of avocado as long as you don’t use the large size fruit. I use raw, unprocessed chocolate in this dessert - among other things it’s much higher in nutrients than normal processed chocolate (see my article Chocolate As Superfood on this site). However, you can use sugar-free cocoa powder instead.

Ingredients:
Crust:
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup hazelnuts
4 1/2 tbs agave syrup*

Filling:
2 medium avocadoes (or 3 small)
4 tbs raw chocolate powder** or sugar-free cocoa powder
5 tbs agave syrup

To make:
Grind the nuts and seeds to a powder (a coffee mill works well for this) then add enough agave syrup to make the mixture stick together. Use it to line the base and sides of a fluted flan dish, pressing down firmly, and place in the fridge.

Mash the avocado, then blend it with the chocolate powder and agave syrup using a hand blender or powerful food processor.  Make sure you blend long enough to get all the lumps out, then spoon it into the crust. Place in the fridge or serve. Don’t leave it more than a few hours before serving or the avocado will deteriorate. You should be able to remove the flan from the tin if you’re careful. Again, do this just after you take it out of the fridge and just before you serve in case it starts to lose its shape.

For an even quicker dessert, just leave out the crust.

* Agave syrup is available from most health food shops
** Raw chocolate powder is only available on the internet at present. You can order it from
www.rawliving.co.uk
www.totalrawfood.com
www.funkyraw.com
www.detoxyourworld.com

Liz Bygrave runs Sweet Sensations, showing you how to make sugar dairy and wheat free sweets and desserts. For more information on workshops, private kitchen tutorials and her forthcoming recipe book, log onto http://www.lizbygrave.co.uk/ or call 020 8883 7210.

Check out Liz’s articles on this site:
Chocolate As Superfood?
Zylitol - Too Good To Be True?