Chocolate Covered Bananas

I was playing around with the fabulous fudge sauce again.  Oh my goodness, I cannot get enough of it!  Dark chocolate?  Yes ma'am!  Healthy chocolate?  Bring it on!

Don't believe me that chocolate can be healthy?  Just google it and you'll see ~ dark chocolate health benefits ~ but in a nutshell it is extremely high in anti-oxidants, has properties similar to polyphenols which are found in black tea and red wine which are proven beneficial for heart health.  It also helps lower the bad cholesterol {LDL's ~boo, hiss!} while raising the good ones {hooray for HDL's!}.  It helps reduce the risk of heart attack, strokes, high blood pressure and may even reduce the risk of cancer!  But wait!  There's more!  It also includes nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, folic acid, B2 and B6!

It was so valued in the ancient Americas as food, medicine and beverage that it eventually became the official currency!  The Aztecs even required their citizens to pay their taxes in cocoa beans!  Those Aztecs were onto something I tell you!   They knew what a valuable commodity it was!  I'm surprised it isn't our currency even still today what with the world's almost crazy obsession with it! 

We once threw a dessert party at our house and I am not kidding you, every.single.dessert {except one} that came was chocolate!  We're obsessed people!  Obsessed!!!

So here is what I propose.  It is a simple switch.  Just switch out your cocoa powder for the real stuff.  The cacao powder before it is heat treated and processed and the nutrients are damaged.  I mean, if you're going to eat chocolate, you might as well eat the real stuff and get the health benefits out of it!  Seems like a no brainer to me!  But I digress...

I was telling you my latest creation with the fudge sauce.  It is so tasty, my friends!  This time I decided to dip bananas into it and then roll them around in crushed almonds.  Whoa! Tasty yet so simple!  Check it out:

Chocolate Covered Bananas

1 cup coconut oil, gently warmed*
1 cup agave nectar*
1 cup raw cacao, or unsweetened cocoa powder*
1 cup crushed raw almonds, or more as needed
Bananas, sliced about 1" thick, as many as desired

Combine coconut oil, agave and cacao in a blender until smooth.  Gently warm for a runnier sauce or place in fridge to thicken the sauce if needed.  Dip banana slices in fudge sauce and roll in crushed almonds to coat.  Place on a dish and freeze.  Serve frozen or thawed for 5 minutes or so.

This one truly is a healthy and tasty dessert!  And just goes to prove, yet again, how versatile that fudge sauce really is!  

* If you have a hard time finding these ingredients, you can purchase them from here. That's where I order mine from.   And if you want a brief low down on the coconut oil benefits, you can read about it on my original fudge sauce post!

~ ~ ~

This recipe was featured in The Holistic Kitchen Cookbook available on Amazon. I'm so honored to be included. Go check it out!