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Healthy Chocolate Banana Pudding – No Sugar Added

When you’re a real food household or your kids don’t get the opportunity to know what processed food and real sugar is, coming up with snack and treat ideas can be bit of a mental bog down (though these fifteen toddler snacks do help!). While I was never a huge pudding fanatic as a child, a lot of my friends were and thus, their kids are now too. So in an attempt to give baby bear a similar dessert as her friends, I whipped up this chocolate banana pudding recipe!

Since my oldest daughter is only two, I’m not sure if pudding cups are still a huge lunch time staple as when I was a kid. I was never a huge fan of them to begin with but so many of my friends were.

Flash forward to us all having kids and I’ve been seeing them more and more frequently. Many of my friends kids are 3-5 and snack pack pudding cups have begun to make an appearance.

Unfortunately, baby bear is at the age that she has finally noticed that other kids are eating food she is not. Womp womp. This creates a bit of a sticky spot for me as I don’t want to deprive her of fitting in but I can’t, for the life of me, give her so much crap food.

I’ve been more and more lenient with her having bites of “daddy’s food” which is a lot of sandwiches on white bread or chips (sigh, yes, I am a health FANATIC and my hubby is not). But I just can’t imagine giving her a juice box or pudding cup.

My issue with pudding cups is that they honestly just suck. Yes that is a blanket statement but they have just about zero nutritional benefits and yet they’re used as snacks and not even a once in a while treat.

Sugar, modified corn starch and palm oil are the first few ingredients. So, so un necessary! I’ll leave the sugar debate alone as we all know where I stand on that but even the oil makes me cringe. Palm and vegetable oils are pretty terrible for you as they’re horrifically processed, promote inflammation and mess up your membrane barriers.

So not exactly something I want to give my daughter even as a “treat”.

So in an attempt to make her feel normal and keep my mind at ease I whipped up some chocolate banana pudding!

And it was a huge win.

Not only did all the kids love this pudding (myself included. I think I ate half of what I made haha) but I was beyond happy that there was absolutely no added sugars!

Yup you read that right, not even maple syrup was added to this recipe (gasp!).

This chocolate banana pudding not only tastes great but is super healthy too!

Using a base of bananas keeps the pudding sweet and helps with texture. Bananas also help with digestion, contain vitamin b6 and obviously give a potassium hit.

The almond butter and chia seeds in this healthy recipe offer two perks:

Not only do both of these ingredients help to thicken the pudding and give it a creamier consistency but they also give the pudding a hit of healthy fats.

Chia seeds especially are one food I think just about all kids need in their diet because they come with so many health benefits. I used almond butter (my favorite) but I image this recipe would be great with sunflower seed butter also if you need a nut free option.

And lastly, cacao powder. I have a genuine obsession with this chocolate powder and you can read more about it’s amazing health benefits here. But know this, it is one of the least processed forms of chocolate. It has more calcium than cow’s milk. And it makes everything chocolate need I say more?

This chocolate banana pudding has four ingredients, making is beyond easy to whip up. It’s dairy free, gluten free and vegan making it fit almost all dietary restrictions. It contains no added sugars from any source but has a balance of natural sugars and healthy fats to prevent much of a sugar crash. Plus, it’s creamy, chocolate and decadent.

It makes a wonderful healthy snack for kids or delicious, spoon licking treat and it’s oh so much better than store bought pudding cups! I know I won’t be able to hold out on all sugar filled foods forever with my daughter, but I can keep trying!

Ingredients In The Chocolate Banana Pudding

3 very ripe bananas
3 tablespoons cacao powder
2 tbs Almond butter
1/2 tablespoon Chia Seeds

Note: all of these health boosting ingredients can be purchased through my favorite retailer Well.ca– and the best part is that they offer free shipping!

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

How To Make Homemade Healthy Chocolate Pudding

Peel and break apart the banana.

In a food processor, combine the bananas, cacao and almond butter.

Combine until smooth.

Pour mixture into a bowl and whisk in chia seeds.

Let sit in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up and chill.

Makes two small servings or one large.

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