My Summer Vacation: Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I made another batch of Chocolate Avocado Pudding. Here's what I used: 1 whole avocado (about 2 cups), 1/4 cup xylitol (or you can use the equivalent of another granular sugar substitute like Swerve or stevia or equivalent liquid sweetener), 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I doubled the amount the other recipes called for), and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. If the avocado is one of the less buttery types add 1 tablespoon at a time of coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, or heavy whipping cream to thin to pudding consistency. I mashed mine with an antique handheld mixer, the 4 recipes I consulted were split between using a fork or a food processor. For a flavor reminiscent of Mexican hot chocolate add 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/16 tsp cayenne powder.

About 2 cups avocado.

1/4 cup low carb sweetener.

1/2 cup cocoa powder.

1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

I blended several recipes I found on-line; I took the parts I liked and altered the parts I didn't. For example, only 1 recipe says how many servings it makes (2) but it didn't really tell you how much that is, e.g., 1 cup. It just said use a medium avocado; what the heck is a medium avocado? The avocados I regard as small are considered medium or large in Washington! Some recipes used liquid sweeteners others used difficult to find natural sweeteners; I used xylitol. And 3 of the 4 called for coconut milk or or heavy whipping cream; I use something only if the avocado mixture is too thick to blend easily. My recipe makes about 2 cups of pudding; I use 1/2 cup as a serving so the recipe makes 4 servings. The nutritional info is approximate since 3 of the 4 recipes had the info but none tell you how large the serving size is. Interestingly, the amount of protein per serving is about 5 g for each of them. Fats range from 19 g to 25.5 g with an average of 22.5 g, so somewhat similar. Calories & carbs, however, were all over the board! The range for calories was 223 to 284 per serving or an average of 257 calories. For carbs it was 5 to 24 g or an average of 13 g. I don't know what is causing the difference since the recipes are somewhat lacking in data. According to the Carb Manager app I am using a 1/2 cup serving of keto-friendly Chocolate Avocado Pudding has 1 g carbs and 88 calories.

Beat on the lowest setting.

When most are smaller chunks add sweetener and beat again.

Add the cocoa powder and beat again. If too stiff add 1 Tbsp coconut milk or similar.

Beat until silky smooth. The natural oxidation of the avocado will give a richer brown color.

During the drive up this morning I saw Calvin the Recycler on his way back home; LaVie was passing the parking lot as I approached it. During my sunrise walk I saw Mike & Dulci waiting for Laure, Champ, & Molly to start their walk. Down by the park Loy was waiting for the bus. As I passed the 3 Fox Terrier Lady's house she was just coming out with them for the dog walker. As I neared the top of Lurline, a woman stopped me, it turned out to be Gerry; both Lorraine & Suzette had asked me if I knew her. They thought we would really hit if off and we did! We spent nearly an hour standing by the side of the road talking about a variety of things from invasive species to dementia! During that time we saw LaVie come by with Bailey, Bean & Kira on their way back home, and Tina with Massimo, Ink, & Chloe Bacon. Then Lorraine came by and joined the conversation; we were there so long LaVie came by again after she had finished walking Bailey! It was a very enjoyable conversation!

Eleven minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Five minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

I saw Garfield Lite again. I'm not sure if he lives at that house or if he just discovered it was fun to terrorize the ʻEhakō!

Needless to say, Dad was pau with breakfast by the time I got to his room and he was napping. He had finished half of his fried egg sandwich and all of his papaya and banana. He drank 120 ml cranberry juice and 30 ml water.

During my mid-morning walk I only saw Sujin & Tucker down at the park. Later Loa drove by on his way to deliver the clean laundry to Maunalani.

We ate lunch out on the lanaʻi again. Lunch today was Shepherd's pie, Seasoned broccoli florets, Tossed salad, Ambrosia, and Chicken & wild rice soup. Dad ate all his 1/2 peanut butter & banana sandwich but just picked at the dessert; he does not like ambrosia. He drank 120 ml orange juice but no water.

Just as we started lunch a Gold Dust Day Gecko (Phelsuma laticauda) came running along the railing with something in its mouth; another day gecko was chasing it. I looked closer and saw that it had caught a small Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus). It jumped off the railing and on to the planter; I think it was because I moved closer to get a photo. (That is always an issue with observing animals. Does the act of observing the animal alter its behavior?) The small house gecko eventually got loose.