Cooking Flexitarian- For Palentine's Day & Avocado Chocolate Mousse Recipe

A couple of years ago I held a Palentine dinner party for some of my closest friends in the food business after Valentine's day because we were all working on the actual day. At first thought, easy, they will eat just about anything, however when I thought about it a bit more that was far from the case. One was a vegetarian for health reasons, another was celiac, another was on a low carb meat-heavy diet and another was on weight watchers. True, not picky eaters but what I like to call "specialty eaters" I was in good company because I too was on a specialty eater plan that changed just about every week. So I took to the grill because who doesn't like a bit of summer eating in February right?

The menu I came up with was pleasing to everyone and we all got a nutritious, tasty, true Flexitaran meal that fit all our needs-

"Palentine Menu"

Warm baked corn tortilla chips with Salsas and Hummus

Smoked Salmon with Cucumbers and Honey Mustard

Mixed Grill

Marinated Rainbow of Peppers, Mushrooms, Eggplant, and Zucchini

Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms

Corn and Flour Tortillas

Grilled Romaine for salads and wraps

Cowboy Sweet Potatoes

and......

Chocolate Avocado Mousse garnished with raspberries

This delicious dessert qualifies as a “raw foods” dessert as well as vegetarian.

Chocolate Avocado Mousse can be made a couple of days ahead. A delicious and nutritious treat that anyone can eat. It even qualifies as a “raw” dessert. Stevia and Splenda can also be used for the sweetener.

Recipe:

Serving size: 4

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados, peeled and diced

1/3 cup of excellent quality cocoa powder unsweetened agave syrup to taste (about 1/4 cup) or honey if you prefer.

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or orange extract zest of one orange (optional)

1/2 teaspoon instant coffee

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 (1/2-pint) carton of raspberries for garnish

Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

In a food processor puree avocados, cocoa powder, and sweetness of choice.