Since I’ve started eating a whole foods based diet and avoiding most processed foods, many of my unhealthy cravings have vanished. To those reluctant to switch, I promise, it gets easier if you stick with it. Plus, you’ll look better and feel amazing!

I used to have ice cream and boxed cereal on a daily basis, and although the ice cream was usually a lighter version, it was loaded with either sugar or artificial sweeteners along with other chemicals to attain that “perfect” consistency.

The cereal I had seemed healthy, but even those whole wheat biscuits have to undergo processing to be transformed into pretty little shreds of wheat compacted together to get their shape. To me, that’s not really in its “whole” form anymore.

One thing I am unable to shake, though, is how these things are consumed; with a spoon (and cup in my case). So, I still have my cup and spoon, but you’ll usually find organic carrots that I diced and put in the freezer along with frozen organic wild blueberries. The carrots satisfy my desire for crunch and the blueberries are just awesome.

Yes, I like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and this cup has been with me since I was a little boy. It’s the perfect serving size and I’m pretty sure everything tastes better inside my turtle cup!

I simply love eating cool, creamy, and/or crunchy food with a spoon and cup. I’ve nixed the ice cream a long time ago, and only eat the Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Cereal for my boxed choice.

Think Grape Nuts, only a lot healthier! I love it plain with almond milk or as a crunchy topping to my homemade puddings/purees. Like, for instance, this super healthy and scrumptious chocolate pudding made with black beans and pumpkin.

Here’s all you need to make your own healthy pudding to savor guilt free…

Pumpkin Black Bean Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients

1 15oz. can pumpkin puree (I use the Farmer’s Market Pumpkin Puree in a BPA-Free can)
1 15oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used organic, BPA-Free canned beans)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp pure stevia powder (if you are not a fan of using all stevia, use only 1/4 tsp and add 2 tbsp raw honey or more if you want it really sweet)
1/2 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened coconut milk from the can and have had success with unsweetened almond milk too)
pinch of baking soda
dash of sea salt
*Optional: 1 tbsp natural peanut butter and/or 2 scoops high quality chocolate or vanilla protein powder (Sunwarrior makes a great protein powder)
*Optional #2: Add 1 or 2 digestive enzyme or probiotic capsules to help digestion and bloating because you will want to eat a lot of this!

Directions

I like to keep things simple and easy; add all ingredients to your food processor and mix until you have a creamy consistency. I pulsed it a few times and then let it run non-stop for almost a minute.
Put into an air-tight container and chill in the fridge until ready to devour.

Here are what the cans I used look like…

And then you transform these into this!

What do you think? Does this sound like something you’d try or are you repulsed by the combo?

If you make this, please let me know how you like it and if you made any changes. I bet adding banana and shredded coconut would seriously up the flavor profile!

Coconut Fun Facts

Technically the coconut fruit is a drupe not a nut. Typical drupes include peaches, plums, and cherries.

Coconut oil was the world’s leading vegetable oil until soybean oil took over in the 1960′s.

Coconut oil contains MCT’s (medium chain triglycerides) which are easy to digest and a great source of energy that also helps boost metabolism.

Falling coconuts kill 150 people every year – 10 times the number of people killed by sharks.

In Thailand and Malaysia, trained monkeys are used to harvest coconuts. In some of the countries, annual competitions are held to find the fastest harvester.

Coconut water can be a substitute for blood plasma. It was known to be used during World War II in tropical areas for emergency transfusions.

The coconut does not get dispersed like other drupe fruits which spread through consumption by wildlife. Since coconut is very buoyant and highly water resistant, the coconut palm disperses its seed using the ocean.

I’ve been enjoying coconut a lot lately and love it’s health benefits and flavor! I’ll use organic canned coconut milk for smoothies, mixed with beans in a puree, as well as just milk to drink. Shredded coconut is also great added to cereal or sprinkled on baked goods.

Do you like using coconut? Any recipes/tips you care to share?

Any advice on how to get your baby to like you again?