Happy Winter!

The season is in full swing, and we’re bundling up here in the Great White North. Save for a few uncharacteristically warm days, February has been nippy and there’s been snow.

Dressing warm is key for these winter months. In late January, as I was exploring the Niagara-on-the-Lake Icewine festival and freezing my buns off, I came across a wondrous icewine chocolate truffle, rolled in nuts. Holy moly, was it ever scrumptious!

Being the nutrition-obsessed individual that I am, my mind immediately made a nutrition profile, at the same time as wondering, “how on earth something so tiny can taste so delicious?!”.

That drool-worthy truffle, along with my serious love for avocados, was what inspired this new recipe.

I always seem to find a way to “healthify” sweet treats (and OK, sometimes I screw up pretty bad – whoops!). In University, my roommates were always my little guinea pigs ( sorry Alyssa, Jo, and Megs.. and then Katie, Kat, and Tanya, too!). They bravely tested my experiments gone wrong, but they definitely had their limits.

But fear not, friends, I have come a long way since my early recipe development days.

These chocolate truffles are proof! My co-workers were feelin’ them, and even my dad gave them the “thumbs up” – which I consider my biggest victory! He’s pretty picky when it comes to sweets, so you best believe that they’re good.

You’ll like them for their rich, chocolatey flavour, their creamy texture, and their light cocoa dusting.

I love them for their secret ingredient – Vitamin D! I managed to sneak in a little extra sunshine by including a vitamin D/ Omega-3 liquid supplement (the complete list of ingredients is below).

For those living above the 49th parallel (listen up, Canadians), it’s pretty difficult to obtain sufficient vitamin D from sunlight between the months of October – April. About 40% of Canadians fall below the recommended vitamin D blood level cut-off in the winter, and that puts us at risk for a myriad of health issues. A prolonged deficiency of the “sunshine vitamin” in children can lead to rickets, and adults with low intake can be at increased risk of developing osteoporosis (1).

For more information on vitamin D intake and a leading researcher’s perspective, click here:
http://www.theontarion.com/2015/02/an-easy-resolution-to-maintain-your-health/

So treating yourself to one of these delicious truffles will not only help you meet your Omega-3 needs for the day, but also give you a little boost of vitamin D.

They’re pretty much chocolate covered sunshine!

Chocolate Avocado Truffles

Ingredients:

1 medium sized avocado, ripe

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup pistachios, ground

3 teaspoons NutraSea + D supplement, Grapefruit

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Coconut flakes, toasted

Instructions:

Mash ripe avocado in bowl; in double-boiler, melt chocolate chips over medium-low heat. Once melted and smooth, combine with mashed avocado. In food processor, grind pistachios and thereafter, add to chocolate avocado mixture. Stir in cocoa powder, vitamin D & Omega-3 supplement, and chill in freezer for approx. 5 minutes. Remove from freezer, form round balls with hands and coat with cocoa powder and pistachios or coconut flakes. Enjoy!