Raw Cacao and Almond Butter Pudding. Vegan.

I may be biased and reallllllly craving chocolate but this is the BEST sweet treat I’ve eaten in a long time.  Seriously.  Think of a peanut butter cup made into a creamy ganache/pudding texture.  Insanity.  No lie. Seriously, vegan – carnivore —— everyone will love this.  Kid you not.  I made this in my Vitamix.  Plated it for my photograph and while doing that – my daughter ate the remaining.  Then she continued on to eat the staged version.  Get those cashews soaking now… really. Honestly.  Go!  🙂

Ingredients:

1 cup of raw cashews (soaked overnight or at least 8 hours) in fresh filtered water
1/3 cup of fresh filtered water
3 tablespoons of maple syrup
3 tablespoons of cacao powder
1 small or 1/2 of a very ripe banana
1 heaping tablespoon of almond butter (I melted Justin’s)
Pinch of salt

Directions: (yields 2 servings)

Drain the cashews and rinse them.  Place those and your other ingredients into your Vitamix.  Blend on high for about a minute. Then stop and scrape the sides down and blend for another minute again.  Spoon into your bowls and refrigerate until chilled.

Optional toppings:

Nuts
Cacao Nibs
Vegan chocolate chips
Fruit

As you all know, I’ve been working hard at doing heart rate training.  That has continued this week.  Pennsylvania had some excessive heat earlier in the week so I’ve hit the treadmill Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday brought some lovely temperatures, and I know I shouldn’t have run a long run 3 days in a row (first two were speed work) but I got it done. Sore knees and all.  AND I had a fun photo shoot Tuesday night with some awesome Lucy Activewear.  I’ll post a sneak peek below.   Tank can be found here.  The capris can be found here.

Monday: 10 treadmill miles
Tuesday: 8 treadmill miles
Wednesday: 17 outdoor miles

— Knead to Cook