CHOCOLATE TART PUDDING — Eat Good Food & Move

CHOCOLATE TART CHERRY PUDDING

Just in time for back-to-school lunches, I’ve partnered with the Montmorency Tart Cherries to bring you a delicious, vegan, paleo, and nutritious recipe that could be part of a breakfast, a snack, or a low-sugar treat!

As an added bonus, making this recipe produces 4 pudding cups (if you do 4 ounces, more if you double the recipe!), meaning it’s basically meal prep!

Research suggests Montmorency tart cherries may help you recover after intense exercise. Other studies have examined the impact of Montmorency tart cherries on heart health, sleep and inflammation. Thankfully, this all-American superfruit is available in a wide range of forms (dried, juice, canned, frozen, concentrate) and can be enjoyed all year long! Choosing U.S.-grown Montmorency tart cherries can help support local agriculture and preserve generations-old family farms. This varietal is not imported like other types of tart or sour cherries. Even though you won’t find Montmorency tart cherries in the produce section, they are farm fresh since they are picked at the peak of ripeness and dried, frozen, canned or juiced to be used year round.

INGREDIENTS:

1 can full fat coconut milk

½ cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk

5-6 tablespoons cocoa or cacao powder (I used cacao, and went with 6, because I’m all about the chocolate taste)

3 tablespoons arrowroot powder

1/3-1/2 cup tart cherry juice, depending how strong you want the cherry flavor

3- 4 tablespoons maple syrup

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: collagen powder or protein powder, adaptogens

To store: 4 ounce mason jars

For Parfait:

Plain dairy-free yogurt (I used coconut)

Lower-sugar granola

Dried tart cherries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat coconut milk and almond milk over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk in cocoa powder and arrowroot starch until completely dissolved. *** Be overly thorough on this step to avoid lumpy pudding.

2. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, except for vanilla, until it reaches a low boil.

3. Let cook at a low boil for one minute, stirring, to thicken. Add vanilla extract and optional ingredients, if desired.

4. Pour your pudding into containers you are using, or a glass bowl, if you’d rather portion them out later. I used a funnel to pour my mixture directly into the mini jars. I found that it did best cooling first on the counter, covered, before moving to the fridge.

5. Lasts 3-4 days in the fridge (but good luck not eating it all before then)

Recipe adapted from Salted Plains