Find Your Magnesium and Stress Connection with this Recipe

Introduction

Are you a chocolate lover but not so in love with all the fat and calories? Are you searching for a healthier way to get your chocolate fix? Well, this Chocolate Avocado Pudding recipe is out of control, full of extra rich and deep chocolate flavor.

An added bonus is the recipe is loaded with panic-busting magnesium to help calm you down when life starts pushing you over the edge. Avocadoes, cacao powder, maple syrup, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and vanilla extract all contain magnesium which is Mother Nature’s tool to reduce stress.

Magnesium and Stress

So why is magnesium such a panic-busting ninja? Why do magnesium and stress fit together like two pieces of a puzzle? This mineral plays an essential stress management role. When anxiety happens, calcium enters the cell. Magnesium needs to be there to push calcium back out, thereby turning off your body’s angst-ridden response and enabling relaxation.

When the body feels stressed, it shifts into “Fight or Flight” mode, reprioritizing your needs. This means that its normal workload – things like digestion, absorption, elimination, assessment, and metabolism – takes a back seat to its “fight or flight” efforts.

And today, this happens a lot more than you may be aware of because stress, by the body’s definition, is not just the bad stuff. The body reacts to all the good stuff the exact same way too!

Are you getting in enough of this nutrient every day? Most of us aren’t! In fact, more than 70% of US adults currently don’t meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA). That’s not better! Why is this? Food preferences, intolerances, processing, soil health, and intake of other nutrients are just some of the reasons why people’s intake is often too low.

Several studies have shown that low magnesium levels are a contributor to psychological tension. Excess anxiety may contribute to magnesium loss leading to a deficiency and magnesium deficiency may lead to increased feelings of burnout– a vicious cycle!

So how do you break the dreaded magnesium and stress cycle? By giving your body what it so desperately needs! As with any other nutrient, it’s not only important to get enough magnesium, but important to get it from a variety of sources.

This recipe can help get you started on the right track. Plus is super quick and easy to put together in just a few minutes. Ok, so let’s get to it!

THE RECIPE

BETTER DARK CHOCOLATE AVOCADO PUDDING RECIPE

Recipe by Courtesy of The Better Nutrition ProgramCourse: DessertCuisine: VeganDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
  5 teaspoons unsweetened 100% cacao powder
  4 tablespoons maple syrup
  1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
  1/3 teaspoon soy sauce
  1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  pinch of salt

• Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend on low for one minute or until well
  combined. Serve as is or chilled and enjoy! Yes, this recipe is that easy.

Notes

• If you are not using low-sodium soy sauce, skip the pinch of salt. If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, you will need to use a gluten-free soy sauce, You can substitute the virgin coconut oil with regular coconut oil (also known as refined coconut oil). Just know that the virgin coconut oil provides flavor to the recipe and swapping it out might make the avocado flavor more pronounced, changing the overall recipe flavor. This recipe can be made ahead and refrigerated. In the refrigerator, the Chocolate Avocado Pudding will harden up a little because coconut oil solidifies in cooler temperatures.

Conclusion

Give this yummy recipe a try — you won’t be sorry you did! I hope you’re now aware of the magnesium and stress connection and the impact it can have on your body if out of balance.

Leave a comment below and let me know how you like this dish and how it turned out. Enjoy!