If you’re both a food blogger and a new mom, you can empathize with me when I say that the amount of time it takes to prepare a dish, photograph said dish, edit the photos, and then compose a blog post is about tripled when you have a little one attached to you when compared to the time it took prior to having your mini-me.
Hence the decline in my frequency of posts as of late.
Lil’ Belle (one of my many nicknames for our sweet baby girl) has really taken to being “worn” by me for pretty much the entire day, every day. Although I love cuddling her close, baby-wearing has its drawbacks: a) the inevitable backache by the end of the day, which I can also partially blame on my complete lack of abdominal muscles (thanks, pregnancy) and b) it makes everyday activities and chores just a little bit more difficult.
Example 1: Emptying the dishwasher requires mad quad strength, as I have to squat rather than bend over. What I’ve lost in ab muscle, I’ve gained in leg muscle!
Example 2: When stirring something on the stovetop or putting something in the oven, I have to shield Lily with one arm, angling my body so I’m holding her away from potential splatters and burns.
Example 3: Setting up a photo shoot and actually photographing food for the blog takes some finesse as I work around the warm, cooing bundle strapped to my torso.
But you know what?
It’s all worth it.
I wouldn’t trade anything for our little baby girl because she is my world. Lily is the perfect result of two pretty awesome people (If I do say so myself) joined in love.
Speaking of two awesome entities joined to create something perfect, let’s talk about this chocolate peanut butter pudding (how do you like that segue?!).
When it comes to food pairings, nothing can top chocolate & peanut butter.
That’s why I’m urging you to make this luscious (and no-cook! and vegan! and easy! and healthy!) pudding for your valentine on Thursday, whether that person is your significant other, child, parent, best friend… or yourself, because let’s face it, you deserve something special and delicious.
This avocado-based pudding is dominated by chocolate, but the peanut butter flavor comes through as well, and the texture is perfectly smooth, creamy, and lush. There’s no denying that it’s high in calories and fat, but there’s no refined sugar and the fat is the healthy kind. Just keep the portions in check, and this pudding is a delicious way to healthfully say “I love you” this Valentine’s Day!
No-Cook Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Keywords: dessert vegan avocado chocolate peanut butter pudding
Ingredients (4 servings)
- 2 medium-sized ripe Hass avocados, (they should have black skin & yield slightly when gently squeezed), peeled & pitted
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- tiny pinch salt
Instructions
Place avocados, maple syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla extract into the bowl of a food processor and process until well-blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in the cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt, and process until well-combined.
Divide pudding evenly among 4 dishes.
Serve cold or at room temperature.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
342.2 calories, 23.0 grams fat, 4.4 grams saturated fat, 10.4 grams fiber, 18.3 grams sugars, 7.8 grams protein
