00 the Chef Some cultures like to finish off a meal with a dessert of fresh fruit, which is, of course, healthier than desserts made with refined sugar, fat, and white flour. If you enjoy the taste of chocolate but want a healthier alternative, think carob. Make some of this dipping sauce and you have a dessert fit for almost any meal. Since cashew pieces for the base are high in fat and calories, this is a 'dipping' sauce or to dribble over fresh fruit. It adds flavor—but was never intended to be the main dish. You can use almost any type of raw fruit for dipping. Get creative.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups raw cashew pieces
  • ½ cup non-dairy milk (almond, coconut)
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2½ Tbsp sweetener (honey, real maple syrup)
  • ½ cup carob chips *
  • 1–2 Tbsp Roma or Pero Instant Natural Beverage (dry powder)
  • Fruit for dipping (½ a cup per person of your choice of sliced apples, halved strawberries, blueberries or other type of small berry, sliced bananas, or sliced kiwis, etc.)

Preparation

Place all items (except fruit) in blender and blend till creamy. 

You may need to stop the blender periodically and scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Serving

Place a tablespoon full in tiny individual dishes for each person to use as their personal dipping sauce.

Add another tablespoon of non-dairy milk and dribble over pudding or cut pieces of fruit in a small dessert dish or saucer.

Place left-over sauce in an air-tight container and place in the refrigerator where it will keep for several days.

* Carob, an evergreen flowering shrub, belonging to the pea family, is cultivated for its edible seeds. It has become a substitute for chocolate in a variety of recipes (although it does not come from the same plant as chocolate. Harvested from bean-shaped pods, carob is grown around the world, according to Purdue University. Carob is rich in a number of nutrients and antioxidants, and may help lower cholesterol levels. Carob naturally contains polyphenols, which help lower blood cholesterol levels in a way similar to dietary fiber. It is also rich in calcium and in the trace mineral, selenium. The Real Raw Food website points out that carob works as an analgesic, anti-allergic, antibacterial, antioxidant, antiviral, and antiseptic.

References (accessed 2/15)

http://www.livestrong.com/article/250365-what-are-the-benefits-of-carob/

http://realrawfood.com/health-benefits-carob