Probiotic Bliss

Chocolate Yogurt with Blueberries & Cashews

First it was omega-3s, then it was antioxidants; now, the food rage is probiotics.  (Mind you, these have all been mainstay elements of whole, unprocessed foods for millennia, long before food scientists and genetic engineers and corporate interests got involved in our food chain.  Thankfully, we’re now “discovering” that traditional cuisines contain plenty of foods that keep us hale and hearty.)  Probiotics — literally, “pro-life” in a nutritional/biological sense — are beneficial bacteria that do things like help our digestive systems establish and maintain healthy intestinal flora.  These flora then facilitate our metabolism and enhance everything from our immune system to our neurological functions.  In short, probiotics aren’t just “pro-life,” they’re “necessary-for-life.”

Probiotic foods include fermented specialties like yogurt, kefir, cultured buttermilk, cultured sour cream, coconut kefir (a non-dairy drink), lactic-fermented sauerkraut and kimchee (and/or any other vegetable), miso soup, fish sauce, traditionally-brewed soy sauce…there are plenty to choose from.  Yogurt, however, is probably the most common item on the American probiotic list.

Given yogurt’s popularity and  how much everybody loves chocolate, why not have a probiotic dessert?  Transforming plain Greek yogurt into chocolate yogurt takes less than a minute, and you’ll have a rich, creamy dessert that tastes like chocolate mousse.  Or stir naturally-sweetened jam (i.e., sweetened with grape juice rather than refined sugar or high-fructose corn syrup) for a fruity, ice-cream-like probiotic treat.

Chocolate Yogurt

To make chocolate yogurt, start with about 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (preferably whole-milk yogurt) in a small bowl.  Using a fork or whisk, stir in 1 T. maple syrup and 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder until you have a smooth chocolate yogurt.  Taste it to check the sweetness level and add more syrup if desired.

Serve unadorned in a pretty glass or bowl or top with fruit and/or nuts.  (I topped mine with cashews and blueberries.)  If you like, garnish with a sprig of mint or a dollop of natural jam…or swirl in some jam to get a fruit-and-chocolate effect.

Enjoy!

Tags: chocolate, chocolate mousse, dessert, greek yogurt, jam, maple syrup, probiotic