Day 181: Chocolate "Mousse"

CALL FOR HELP!
I'm stymied by calorie-dense desserts for people with dietary restrictions.
  • No dairy so no cream.
  • No animal products so no egg.
  • No refined sugar or flour so no, well, no sugar or flour though honey, maple syrup and whole-grain flours and whole grains are okay.

It's like vegan on steroids. What DO you make?

This is more than a casual question. I'm cooking for a neighbor who's ill and on a much-restricted diet. Mostly I'm happy to experiment and learn along the way. But in this instance, I'd rather not, I'd rather have tried-and-true-and-tested great results. Comments are fine. Or my e-mail address is on the right. In advance, many thanks.

If you have ideas or sources (and in a perfect world, recipes) I'd much appreciate it.

THE MOUSSE
Perhaps it was eight years of not eating meat. If I weren't going to eat meat, I saw no reason for meat substitutes. Even now, I enjoy the occasional veggie burger but in its own right not as a substitute for a beef or lamb or turkey burger.

So tofu-based mousse is confusing. It might be enjoyable in its own right. But it's not cream-rich mousse. And it's certainly, to my taste, not worth nearly 400 calories and 9 Weight Watchers points.

CHOCOLATE "MOUSSE"
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Serves 6


12 ounces chocolate (to my dismay, chocolate contains more sugar than I knew and didn't actually meet my sick neighbor's diet requirement)
16 ounces soft silk tofu
4 tablespoons honey (substituted for maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the chocolate. Mix it with the remaining ingredients in the food processor until very smooth. Transfer to serving dishes and let chill for at least 20 minutes.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Serving: 390 Cal (43% from Fat, 8% from Protein, 49% from Carb); 8 g Protein; 19 g Tot Fat; 8 g Sat Fat; 48 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; 132 mg Calcium; 2 mg Iron; 49 mg Sodium; 13 mg Cholesterol, Weight Watchers 9 points


Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

Comments

  1. Suggestion: I made a "fake" (but totally intentional) pseudo avgolemono soup earlier this summer. I didn't use any eggs, and got the perfect smooth, unctuous, creaminess from a blendered avocado. (Hence: Avocadolemono Soup.)
    Back in the 50s, avocadoes were often sweetened and used in pies and other desserts... do you think you could come up with an avocaco-honey something or other?
    Sorry, no actual recipes to offer... :(

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  2. Thanks CookieCrumb, Great idea, thanks, there are certainly lots of calories in avocadoes! A friend last night also suggested roasting pears or apples, bringing out their sweetness and condensing the calorie density.

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  3. I must say that I would like to try this out despite I don't have any restrictions in my diet but I would like to ask you: what makes soft silk tofu different from normal tofu?

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  4. "Extra firm" tofu and "firm" tofu stand up to stir-frying whereas "soft" tofu is better for things like mousse ... at least so I read, this is the first time I've done anything except stir-fry.

    Two other recommendations: good chocolate and LESS chocolate so that it's delicately infused with vs overpowered by chocolate.

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  5. Hey Alanna--

    What about a sweet potato pudding? You could roast the sweet potatoes, puree them with some non-dairy margarine, maple syrup, vanilla, and orange zest. You could even make a crust with ground nuts, wheat flour, and margarine and have sweet potato pie (admittedly trickier). You might also try coconut milk as a non-dairy pairing for chocolate (and calorie-rich). Just suggestions, sorry I don't have any tried-and-true recipes. Good luck!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna