Real Food Friday Feast - Avocado Chocolate Truffles (yup, you read right!)

Who doesn't like chocolate truffles?! The problem is chocolate truffles don't like most of us;) Unless they're made from scratch, by you, and you know every ingredient in them, you are likely eating a whole bunch of badness in every sinfully delicious mouthful. Even if they're made from scratch, by you, let's face it, they're loaded with sugar and not a whole lot of goodness. But what if you could take that mouthful of all things "not nice" and turn it into something that's, not only delicious, but also GOOD for you?

Now that I have your attention... ;)


Enter the humble avocado. Not everyone's favourite (although I can't figure out why!) but certainly something that your body would welcome. They are so full of goodness.

Did you know that the avocado is actually a fruit and NOT a vegetable as most people think! Unfortunately, they're a fruit that very few kids enjoy eating. It's a pity because these are the kinds of things you want to be getting into your kids bodies. Here are some benefits to eating avocados:

• Healthy brain: Dr. Daniel G. Amen, author of "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life" considers avocados to be one of the top brain-healthy foods when it comes to preventing Alzheimer's Disease. Avocados combine brain healthy omega-3 fatty acids with natural vitamin E, which has been clinically proven to prevent Alzheimer's disease from progressing and even reversing it in its earliest stages.
• Healthy heart: Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats that boost heart health and help lower blood pressure. Avocado's monounsaturated fats also contain the phytonutrient beta-sitosterol, which is clinically proven to lower LDL and triglyceride blood levels while raising HDL. The Vitamin B6 in avocados and the natural folic acid from their high amount of folate help regulate homocysteine, which is a harbinger for bad heart health if it's high. The natural vitamin E and the master antioxidant glutathione are also recognised heart health boosters.
• Pregnancy: Folic acid is commonly recommended for pregnant women to help the foetus develop properly. But synthetic folic acid is not ideal and, in fact, a lot of researchers now believe it causes more harm than good. They recommend using natural folate for its folic acid content instead. Folate also reduces stroke risk which is another good reason to eat it naturally.
• Eye health: Avocado contains the carotenoid leutein, an antioxidant that specialises in protecting the eyes from oxidative stress damage which leads to poor vision, cataracts, and macular degeneration.Blood pressure: Avocado has a higher potassium content than bananas. That, coupled with omega-3 and oleic acid, lower blood pressure.
• Anti-aging: Avocados are one of the few foods that contain large amounts of a master antioxidant called glutathione which supports the liver and the nervous system. It's responsible for replenishing and recycling other antioxidants in the body and it's vital for a strong immune system
• Digestion: Nutrients and enzymes in avocado reduce inflammation in the stomach and the mucous lining of the small intestine's. This also improves the body's ability to absorb carotenoids and nutrients. In a study where half of the participants ate salads with avocados and half without, all of those who ate avocado absorbed five times the amount of carotenoids than those who didn't. Carotenoids include beta carotene and lycopene. Beta carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, and lycopene is a compound that reduces stroke and prostate cancer risks.
• Cancer: Studies have shown that avocados can help protect against prostate and breast cancers

If those don't convince you, I don't know what will! But I guarantee that if the flavour of avocados is still enough to put you off, these will help you get all the goodness into your system without having to actually taste them. And you'll love everything mouthful!

Something to add here, quickly, is that you will need powdered sugar for this recipe BUT, before you rush off and buy that awful, processed castor sugar, let me tell you how to make your own powdered sugar really easily.

You will need:
1½ cups of your sugar of choice (xylitol, organic brown sugar or coconut sugar)
1 Tbs of corn flour or arrowroot powder (Make sure it's not GMO. It should say on the container if it isn't but it won't say if it IS actually GMO! This is actually optional but it doesn't give it a more powdery consistency)

Method:

Place ingredients in a high speed blender and blend for 30 seconds to a minute until you are just left with power.
Leave the lid on until the dust settles or you will have a white film all over everything around you;)

Now that you have the powdered sugar, here is how to make the truffles.

Avocado Chocolate Truffles (Makes about 12 medium-sized truffles)

Ingredients

1 large ripe avocado
¼ cup + 2 Tbs raw cocoa powder (OR half slab dark chocolate instead of the extra 2 Tbs cocoa)
¼ cup powdered sugar (plus a bit extra to roll them in)

1 Tbs raw honey (this is optional. Some people will find them sweet enough without it but if you need more sweet, add this)
2Tbs coconut oil
¼ cup ground almonds or pecan nuts or walnuts (or your favourite nut of choice! These are optional as well) Make sure they are properly soaked and dried.

Method

• Puree the avocado in a food processor until it's smooth
• Add sugar, honey, coconut oil and cocoa powder and mix until blended
• Place mixture in the fridge for about 30 minutes until the mixture has hardened a bit
• Get your hands dirty by picking up some of the mixture and rolling them into balls (this is where the kids could have a lot of fun!)
• Roll each ball in some of the powdered sugar followed by the ground nuts
• Enjoy!

You can also free free to add some of the nuts to your avocado mixture if you are big nut fan. These truffles are great for anyone who is lactose intolerant and the great advantage is that each truffle is only about 42 calories. Not bad for a sweet treat;) You can add some variety and roll them in grated chocolate, or grated dried coconut or absolutely anything else you feel like for that matter. They won't make perfect balls so you can pretty them up by placing them in some small cupcake liners if you want.

These treats are the perfect size to pop into your sweetheart's mouth tonight as you celebrate Valentine's! Have a wonderful, love-filled day:)