Friday, December 16, 2011

Vegan Raw Persimmon Cranberry Coconut Pudding

Is it just me, or are persimmons the most AMAZING fruit ever.  They taste like candy no?  My kids go crazy for them and it's refreshing to have a different fruit there in the fruit basket.  

I so wanted to find a way in incorporate persimmons into a dessert, and a raw pudding sounded like a great idea.  No fuss, few ingredients, nutritionally dense...all big winners in my book.  I was craving something cold, creamy, and sweet (but not too sweet, you know I like the tart stuff).  The coconut, persimmon, cranberry combo did the trick.  This pudding turned out really well and I wanted to share its wonderful, flavorful simplicity with you.  

Ingredients:
-1 can full fat coconut milk here or here 
-4 ripe fuyu persimmons (a non-astringent variety; they are squat and look like a tomato) 
-1/4 cup dried cranberries (free of sulfates and cane-sugar)  
-2 tablespoons ground chia seeds

How To:
1.  Soak cranberries in filtered water until soft, 1-2 hours.
2.  Peel and chop persimmons 
3.  Use a coffee grinder to make the perfect fresh ground chia seeds
3.  In blender (high speed or otherwise) blend coconut milk, strained cranberries, persimmons, and ground chia.  
4.  Store in refrigerator until cool.  Enjoy with granola, dried fruit, or any other choice topping.  

Notes
*This pudding tastes better with time, as the flavors combine and the coconut flavor decreases quite a bit.  My husband had trouble identifying the coconut at all the second day...and this was shocking because he has impeccable taste buds.  
*Add more cranberries, if desired, it will certainly increase the tart factor. 
*You can add a sweetener of choice, but I prefer the sweet to tart ratio in this recipe.  

About Persimmons

Health benefits of persimmon fruit

  • The fruit is low in calories (provides 70 cal/100g) and fats but is rich source of dietary fiber.
  • Persimmons contain many health benefiting phyto-nutrients flavonoid poly-phenolic anti-oxidants like catechins and gallocatechins as well as important anti-tumor compound betulinic acid. Catechins are known to have anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and anti-hemorrhagic (prevents bleeding from small blood vessels) properties.
  • Fresh permissions contain anti-oxidant compounds like vitamin-A, beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin and cryptoxanthin. Together, these compounds functions as protective scavengers against oxygen-derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that plays a role in aging and various disease processes.
  • zeaxanthin, an important dietary carotenoid, selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes where it is thought to provide antioxidant and protective light-filtering functions; thus, helps prevent "Age related macular disease"(ARMD) in the elderly.
  • The fruits are also very good source of vitamin-C, another powerful antioxidant (especially native Chinese and American persimmons; provide 80% of DRI). Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals.
  • The fruit is good in many valuable B-complex vitamins such as folic acid, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), thiamin...etc. These vitamins act as co-factors for numerous metabolic enzymatic functions in the body.
  • Fresh Persimmon fruits also contain healthy amounts of minerals like potassium, manganese (15% of DRI), copper (12% of DRI), and phosphorus. Manganese is a co-factor for the enzyme, superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as cofactors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Copper is also required for the production of red blood cells. 
    (above facts complied from this site)
Shared on
Wellness Weekend, Just Another Meatless MondayThe Prairie HomesteadMelt in your mouth MondayMangia Mondays, Midnight Manic Meatless Mondays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Traditional Tuesdays,  Pennywise Platter Thursdays, Fat Tuesdays, Raw Foods Thursday 

11 comments:

  1. OMG—yum!!!!!

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  2. Hi Vegigail,

    Thanks! It is a very interesting combination of flavors. :-)

    Be Well,
    --Amber

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  3. I love, love persimmons, too! The color of this is very intriguing . . I would have thought it would turn out more pink with the persimmon/cranberry combo? Thanks so much for linking up to WW this week! :)

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  4. Hi There Ricki~

    Yeah, a fellow persimmon lover! :-)

    I was very surprised too when the color turned out rather muted. Here I thought the pudding was going be golden orange like the beautiful persimmons. I call it peachy!

    Hope your Holiday is going well so far.
    Best,
    --Amber

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  5. hännah @ dishesanddishesDecember 20, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    You just reminded me of how long it has been since I made a chia seed pudding. This recipe looks wonderful and so inventive. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi There Hannah~

    Thanks! Chia pudding is the best!

    Happy Holidays to you.

    Be Well,
    --Amber

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jill@ RealFoodForager.comDecember 27, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. This was very interesting! Hope to see you next week!

    Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!

    http://realfoodforager.com/2011/12/fat-tuesday-december-27-2011/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tessa Domestic DivaJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    You know something crazy...I've never had a persimmon before!! Weird...I have to find one stat and put the mystery to rest!

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  9. Hi Tessa,

    I think you will love them. Just make sure they are nice and ripe. They are my daughter's favorite! Please let me know what you think. We don't have them all the time, but it's a fun change now and then. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Heather @Gluten-Free CatMay 15, 2013 at 6:25 PM

    I've never done anything with persimmons. What a fun recipe to try! Thanks for sharing this at Raw Foods Thursdays. I'm always so amazed at what I learn each week!!

    Heather

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Heather. :-)

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