Celebrations are best made with chocolate! My precious baby boy turned one this weekend. To celebrate he had his first chocolate. A mama made; all healthy, superfood powered, all raw, all vegan, cacao ganache cake topped with a goat. To be honest he was more excited about the goat!
My little farm boy's first and favourite foods are things like superfood smoothies, Barley Green, sauerkraut, lemon (yes, you read correctly - lemon!), cinnamon and chia porridge. He has never had sugar or grains. Did you know that while the world advocates rice cereals, gluten and sucrose loaded formula, teething biscuits and other horrors for small babies these are probably the worst introductory foods? The immature virgin gut is unable to handle grains and sugars. And in this refined flour obsessed era it is no easy task avoiding the gluten. Wherever we look we are faced with pasta, cereals, breads, snacks. Our digestive system is ill equipped to handle the onslaught. It is no wonder so many have gut issues and food allergies. We think that healthy must taste horrible but this is not at all the case!
When I make raw cacao chocolate my little boy always asks for some but it was only when turning one that I gave him his first, honey sweetened taste. His reactions were interesting. More ended up on his face and fingers. But, after a few tastes he asked for the avo over the chocolate. His watching grandparents were dumbfounded. I, of course, am delighted. While I do not want to deprive him, I do not wish to fight with him over whether he will or will not have "just one little mouthful of veggies".
CHOCOLATE GANACHE CRUST:
1 cup almonds soaked overnight
1 cup of depitted dates with enough water to cover
dash of salt
dash of vanilla seeds
500ml water
Rinse and dry almonds. Blend dates and date water in power blender. Remove. Add almonds, vanilla, salt and water. On high, blend.
Strain the almonds through cheesecloth - this is a time consuming process. You want the almond pulp quite dry. The almond milk that remains is delicious and can be refrigerated to drink cold or added to fruit smoothies. It'll last 1 week. Mix the date paste and almond pulp together and press into your cake pan. My favourite is this silicon mould on its glass top. Refrigerate while you are making the filling.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
5 large ripe avos
1 cup raw organic cacao
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
Dash of vanilla pod
Blend all together in a food processor until smooth. Taste. You can tweak the filling by adding more cacao or honey for a darker or sweeter consistency.
Spread the delicious soft chocolate ganache on top of your almond crust. Refrigerate. This lasts well for a week. Believe me people are shocked to discover there's actually a veggie in this yummy cake! Avo is a nutrient dense whole food. Of course it is also a good fat which is essential for brain and heart health. Combined with all the other wonderful ingredients this Chocolate Ganache is really a superfood which can be eaten - guilt free - for breakfast!
How true is Hippocrates statement; "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food". Our modern lifestyles have taken us so far from this ideal way of living. It is time to return to our nourishing traditions of wholesome and exciting foods. It is therefor thrilling to me to give my little son a good foundation. He is so excited about the diverse and colourful options of food. And he is flourishing!
In honour of the 49th week of the #fruitsandveggiesmonday challenge, held by lovely @lenasveganliving, I'm sharing the ganache birthday celebration for my healthy, enthusiastic one year old Son!
