My mum tells a story about the food she fed us kids when we were very young. She had read somewhere that one banana and one avocado per day were all you needed in order to obtain your daily dietary requirements…and she believed this. So we ate a lot of bananas and avocados when we were very little. The bananas were easy to get into us but avocado was another story. At that time mum’s sister had just returned from a trip to Taiwan. Auntie Wendy told mum about a delicious sweet chilled drink that the Taiwanese made using avocado. In fact, all throughout Southeast Asia avocado is used for sweet drinks and deserts. Back in the eighties, here in Melbourne, avocados were used on toast and for making guacamole.

Using them in a sweet dish or in a smoothie was simply unheard of. But mum was desperate for her toddlers to have some avocado each day so she made her own version of this pale green treat for us to have and guess what? We loved it! Mum says she blended the avocado with a little milk and raw sugar to make a mousse-like consistency. Sometimes she would put some cocoa powder in to make a chocolate version. Goodness…we had no idea how trendy we were with our chocolate mousse made from avocado although it wasn’t vegan and it wasn’t really raw.

My version of chocolate mousse does not contain any avocado but relies on chia seeds which get completely blitzed in a high speed blender along with coconut cream and nuts to produce the mousse-like creaminess. It’s nice to have a break from avocado especially when they are not in season or if you are sensitive to high FODMAPs.* No wonder I’m so sensitive to FODMAPs with all that avocado mousse I ate as a child. Poor mum…she always tried so hard to feed us well but sometimes the results would backfire on her…”you try your best and that’s the best you can do” as she often says and no doubt many mums would feel the same. Thanks mum for all that love that went into our food. You are the best.

1/8 avocado is not considered high FODMAP according to Monash University FODMAPs app

So no avocado in this one. Just lots of high protein chia seed. Plus, I used raw cacao maca powder instead of just cacao because why wouldn’t you? The maca seems to soften the bite of the cacao and the cacao masks the slightly unpleasant flavor of the maca. These are two superfoods just made for each other. And if you’re into the superfood craze then you will be happy to know this mousse also contains brazil nuts and raw coconut oil.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Mousse tastes creamy rich and chocolatey and is sure to satisfy all the chocolate mousse-aholics who want to be happy without ruining their health. Whether the superfoods of today will still be prized tomorrow well, we will have to wait and see but in the meantime why not make the “mousst” of it?

VEGAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

60g chia seeds

40g brazil nuts

40g raw cacao maca powder *

80g coconut sugar

400ml coconut cream

100ml filtered water

1½ tsp vanilla bean paste

1 pinch pink himalayan salt

to serve (optional)

coconut yoghurt

fresh fruit

hazelnut chocolate spread (recipe from New Nordic Bread)

vegan chocolate coated hazelnuts

vegan chocolate buttons

edible flowers

Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until very smooth and creamy. Divide amongst two serving containers and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or until chilled. Serve with coconut yoghurt, fresh fruit, hazelnut spread, vegan chocolate coated hazelnuts or vegan chocolate buttons

*you can make your own mix of cacao and maca using 20g of each powder