Sugar-Free Monday! Some of you might be wondering how it got its name. Well, once upon a time, a young blogger had a dream of starting a series called "Sugar-Free Saturday". It sounded so nice. But Saturday came, and that young blogger got too busy with life. "Well," she thought, "Sugar-Free Sunday sounds pretty good!" But alas, this was not meant to be after all, as other things came up. Thus, "Sugar-Free Monday" was born. Life is busy. Sometimes life hands you a chocolate bar on Sugar-Free Saturday and so you have Sugar-Free Monday instead.
For those of us trying to, one recipe at a time, do something sweet for ourselves that gets us one, tiny step closer to eating healthy, THIS is something I am excited to share. It uses whole foods, has so many good fats from seeds, nuts, avocado, and coconut oil, and also very little sweetener (we use whole dates for the crust and honey for the filling), and is a breeze to throw together in the food processor. There is no baking involved, really just gathering ingredients, blending them together, assembling, and freezing. This would be a great one to involve the kids in! It's fudge-y, just the right amount of sweet, and just the right amount of chocolate (a lot). You'll see.
A word on honey. Honey does have fructose, the molecule in sugar that is so difficult for our bodies to digest. However, honey is a whole food that has been available to humans through evolutionary history, and is still consumed in its natural form. Raw honey contains anti-oxidants, has been shown to reduce inflammation in some studies, and has medicinal properties when applied to the skin. It will still raise your blood sugar, but not nearly as much as processed sugar. So, while I wouldn't tell anyone to eat copious amounts of any sugar, honey is healthier alternative, especially since it hasn't been processed. Use organic honey: it means it came from bees that pollinated organic plants. There are some theories that a lot of the bees are dying off because when they pollinate pesticide-ridden flowers, they bring the pesticides back to their hive. Let's not support that practice.
Dates are also a great way to add sweetness directly from nature. Among other nutrients and benefits, dates come complete with the fiber necessary to digest the sugars they contain, much the same as eating a whole piece of fruit!
Here with go with our tart.
Gather the following ingredients:
1 8-inch fluted tart pan (any pan with a removable bottom will work)Base:
1. 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2. 1 cup mixed seeds (I used sprouted almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds)
3. 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
4. 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) coconut oil
5. Pinch of sea salt
Filling:
1. 2 ripe avocados
2. 1/4 cup coconut oil
3. 1 tsp vanilla
4. Zest of one orange
5. 1/2 cup raw cocoa powder
6. 1/4 cup raw honey
7. Pinch of sea salt
In a food processor, grind the base ingredients until a sticky crumble forms. You want to blend long enough for the oils in the nuts and seeds to come out so the mixture will hold together when pressed. Pour this mixture into your tart/cake pan and use your fingers to press it into a tart shell. Place in freezer to set while you mix together the filling.
For the filling, in the same food processor that you just used (and rinsed out), combine all ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Spread layer over the base layer and place back into the freezer to set for one hour.
Use slices from the orange that you zested to decorate the top of the tart just before serving. If it will be in the freezer for longer than an hour, pull it out 5 to 10 minutes to warm up slightly before serving.
That's it! Once you have all of your ingredients, this can be thrown together in less than 15 minutes, and be ready in an hour. Easy and delicious, two of the things that make eating things that are good (or at least "better") for us so much more plausible!
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