Want a delicious dessert and only have 5 minutes to spare? Here’s today’s easy healthy dessert on the run recipe! I originally made this as a vanilla pudding-ish recipe. When you leave it out of the fridge, it is like a vanilla pudding or vanilla frosting. When you put it in the refrigerator, it firms up and becomes ice cream-ish (just not as cold!). I added cacao nibs and it was a little like chocolate chip ice cream without all the work. Yum!
If need some fast, healthy frosting — you can use this recipe too!
Time to Prepare
5 minutes to make this easy healthy dessert recipe.
Serves
3 – 6 people
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut butter (This is a mixture of coconut oil and coconut meat. It’s typically sold in your health food store by the nut butters or you can buy it online. On its own, it’s a fantastic treat and fast snack, so I love having it on hand in my kitchen! Wilderness Family Naturals makes my favorite organic coconut butter and Artisana is another great brand).
- 1 cup filtered water
- 2 Medjool dates or 1 tsp raw honey (Dates become much easier to work with if you soak them in water first — see instructions below. This is optional if you have a food processor or blender and are in a hurry.) – You can add more if you want it sweeter. I found that 2 dates is plenty sweet!
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp Celtic Gray Sea Salt (full of wonderful trace minerals!)
- Unsweetened cacao nibs (optional garnish, add to taste)
Instructions
- Optional step if you have time: If you are using dates and want them to be super easy to work with or if you don’t have a food processor or high speed blender, get a glass bowl with lid, add the 1 cup of water and 2 dates and put the lid on. Leave this on your countertop until the dates soften up (make sure to take the pits out first). The longer you soak dates, the easier they are to work with. If you don’t have a food processor, the dates become soft enough that you can use a fork or whisk to mix them up with the water and then add them to the other ingredients and mix up. Alternatively, you can use honey (see ingredients above).
- If you have a food processor, you can pit the dates and put them in your food processor with the S-blade (or high speed blender) and blend up until the dates are mushy, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. The mixture will be pudding-ish, but not as firm. You can eat it as is or firm it up by putting it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. If you leave it in the refrigerator longer, it will firm up to more of an ice cream consistency.
- If you don’t have a food processor or blender, put all ingredients together and use a whisk to blend it up. A way to make this much easier is to put the ingredients in a saucepan and put it on the lowest heat setting on your stove top. This will melt the ingredients so that they mix up easier. If you do this, transfer the blended up mixture to a glass storage container and allow it to cool before eating.
- Store in the refrigerator if you want it to be firm like an ice cream type texture or if you are storing it for a week. Store in your refrigerator if you want to store it for up to 2 months.
Easy Healthy Dessert Serving Suggestions
- Enjoy on its own – If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth right after making it, eat it as is! You only need a tiny amount to satisfy your sweet tooth with this treat. 1 small spoonful is plenty.
- Layer with almond butter – put a thin layer of almond butter in a small bowl (about 2 teaspoons), add a tiny pinch of sea salt, then add 1 tsp of the vanilla dessert on the top. This makes a truly wonderful, grounding treat that has the deep satisfaction of the almond butter with the light sweetness of the vanilla healthy dessert treat. It’s a wonderful combination and this tiny amount can be just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.
- An ice-cream-ish treat! Add unsweetened raw cacao nibs for a really nice vanilla chocolate chip dessert. You can also use sweetened cacao nibs, if you like. I found that the unsweetened nibs gave a really nice contrast in taste that keeps your body satisfied and does not induce cravings for more. You will likely find that all you need is a small scoop for this rich healthy dessert, about 1 tablespoon of the vanilla dessert and 1 teaspoon of the cacao nibs.
- Use as vanilla Frosting – If you use this recipe as frosting, make sure you frost with it before it firms up too much. If it was stored in your refrigerator, you can take it out and bring it to room temperature or put the container in a bowl of warm water to gently warm it up enough to frost whatever you are frosting!
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As a coach, writer and recovered former executive, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle when over-scheduled. In my journey to radiant health, I created a whole health system of eating, exercise, renewal and recharging -- a roadmap toward health & vitality. I empower clients to create their own whole health systems, in their own unique ways. I have seen amazing results in working with my clients!
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This looks so incredibly yummy and I’m going to make it.
Lisa
XO
Hi–I went to get the coconut butter, but both brands I found are made with palm oil, and I do not buy things with palm oil because harvesting it has decimated the habitat of the orangutan. I found coconut cream. It has some additives but no palm oil. Can it be used in this recipe instead?
Hi Regina, Have you tried Artisana brand coconut butter? Or coconut manna by Nutiva? Another option is Wild Traditions coconut butter or Tropical Traditions coconut cream. None of these have palm oil.