Vegan Avocado Chocolate Mousse?!?! + Calcium & Pregnancy
I’ve never been a milk drinker. In fact, I absolutely hate it. I blame this hatred on the milk I drank when I was really little (sorry mom!). We lived in the country (I like to refer to it as The Outback of New Brunswick), and my mom used to get unpasturized, unhomogenized, full fat milk from the farm down the road. It was thick, sometimes chunky, and tasted like hay. But I had to drink a glass of milk with dinner, so by my teen years I was savvy and insisted that it be skim milk, in a tiny juice glass, with an ice cube. Even then I could barely get it down! Needless to say, my diet doesn’t include much milk.
During pregnancy, your calcium needs don’t actually increase like some other nutrients (folic acid, iron, etc.). This is likely because your body becomes more efficient at extracting calcium from your foods. So you just need to make sure that you’re getting 1200mg per day. There are lots of dairy free calcium sources if you’re not a milk drinker like me, or if you just want a little variety in your diet. Here are some of the best sources. I’ve included some dairy options as well for comparison:
| Top Calcium Foods, 1,200 mg/day | Mg | Calories | Fiber G |
| Soybeans, Edamane, 1 cup boiled | 504 | 254 | 11 |
| Sheep Milk, 1 cup | 473 | 265 | NSS |
| Salmon, canned with bones, 1/2 can | 424 | 240 | NSS |
| Rhubarb, 1 cup cooked | 348 | 287 | 5 |
| Goat Milk, 1 cup | 327 | 168 | NSS |
| Mozzarella, part skim, 2x 1-inch cube (1 1/2 oz) | 307 | 127 | NSS |
| Skim milk, 1 cup | 300 | 86 | NSS |
| Almond Milk ,unsweetened, 1 cup – approx | 300 | 30 | NSS |
| Soy Milk, unsweetened, 1 cup – approx | 300 | 80 | NSS |
| Yogurt, full fat, 1 cup | 296 | 149 | NSS |
| Whole milk, 1 cup | 276 | 146 | NSS |
| Collard Greens, cooked 1 cup | 266 | 49 | 5 |
| Tofu 1cup (w/ nigari: calcium sulfate and magnesium chloride | 253 | 176 | 2 |
| Hemp Milk, unsweetened, 1 cup – approx | 250 | 60 | NSS |
| Rice Milk, fortified, 1 cup | 250 | 70 | NSS |
| Cheddar Cheese, 2x 1-inch cube (1 1/2 oz) | 246 | 138 | NSS |
| Spinach, cooked, 1 cup | 245 | 41 | 4 |
NSS = Not a Significant Source
Please note that the calcium in alternative milk beverages such as almond, cashew or hemp milk is added to reach between 250 – 300mg of calcium per serving. But the type of calcium they use is pretty cheap and not highly absorbable. You will absorb some, but try not to use alternative beverages as your primary source of calcium.
So I was recently looking for a dairy free, soy free chocolate pudding recipe and came across some people substituting avocado in for milk. It sounded gross, so of course I had to give it a try, then create my own!
Chocolate Avocado Mousse
It took a couple of adjustments to get it just right, but I’m very pleased with the result! The cacao can be bitter, and the maple syrup is needed to balance it out, so you will likely need to adjust this recipe to match your tastes (I like mine with a slight bitterness shining through).
This recipe contains a little bit of calcium in the almond milk, and the avocado is a great source of folic acid!
So here is my recipe for vegan, soy free Chocolate Avocado Mousse! :
1 avocado
3 tbsp cacao
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
5 tbsp almond milk
Blend until smooth. You will need to stop and scrap down the sides of your blender occasionally.
Serve with some fresh strawberries. YUM!!
Makes 3 servings …so you might have to share : (