20 • Thursday, May 20, 2021 • On the Edge of the Weekend
Food for Thought … with Vicki Bennington
Going Green
When you hear someone say they are “going green,” you may jump to the conclusion that they are going to start recycling; they began to use filtered water instead of bottled water to reduce waste in landfills; they are turning out lights to reduce use of electricity in their homes or are only using natural “green” products for cleaning. But since you know this is a food column, you may be a little curious Vicki about how to go green Bennington with food. A story simply about vegetables is way too obvious, but no matter how much you guess, unless you read ahead, I bet you wouldn’t think I was talking about chocolate dessert. How can chocolate go green? As my brother always says, “I just tell it; I can’t explain it.” And I will have to second that. That same brother’s wife tried out a recipe on us that really took me by surprise: Healthy Chocolate Mousse. That
might not sound so out of the ordinary. But she is always looking for or concocting healthy foods, and came up with a recipe for Healthy Chocolate Mousse that actually utilizes the super healthy avocado as its base. What? you might ask. It is almost hard to believe once you taste it. And I knew ahead of time. We even fooled my husband who had no idea what was in it until we told him - after he had already eaten it. Not only is it a delicious dessert, but you benefit from all the wonderful attributes of that little green avocado, including a long list of vitamins and nutrients, more potassium than a banana, heart-healthy fat, fiber and antioxidants. And the mousse tastes great. My sister-in-law has sprung a lot of “healthy” dishes on us over the years. She is gluten intolerant and has other food allergies, so she is always searching for dishes that fit in with her “clean eating” style to keep those allergies at bay – yet taste delicious. She developed – or at least discovered –
Start with avocados and cocoa. (Photos by Vicki Bennington)
