Chocolate coconut yogurt with lots of toppings!

I have a confession to make. Until the last few years when I have truly become a vegan, I used to be absolutely addicted to frozen yogurt. You would think that a health-minded person like me would think, no, frozen yogurt is NOT a substitute for a meal but line up out the door to get a cup I did!

But, when New York City gets hot and sunny as it did today, my cravings for something sweet and creamy emerge.

Luckily, a few days ago I made vanilla and chocolate coconut-based yogurts. Of course, you can buy coconut yogurt's such as the ones by So Delicious but the homemade ones are so easy to make and so much better tasting!

So, today I had a Chocolate yogurt with vanilla cream, shaved coconut and lots of chocolate chips!!! Dairy-free, sugar-free, packed with nutrients and antioxidants and bursting with healthy probiotics, I felt light as a feather and so energetic afterwards...

Here are the two yogurts I made a few days ago:

Ingredients:
4 cups coconut meat (you can open fresh or buy prefrozen from Exotic Superfoods)
Coconut water (or regular filtered water)
4 capsules of probiotics (I used Innate probiotics- by FAR my favorite brand)

For the chocolate yogurt:
3-4 tbsp unsweetened chocolate powder (I used raw cacoa powder)
3-4 tbsp agave nectar

For the vanilla yogurt:
2 tsp vanilla bean
1 tbsp agave nectar

Directions

1) I always believe in doing things in the easiest way possible, so blend all of the coconut meat first. You will need to add water very slowly just to get enough water in there so that the mixture blends smoothly. The less water you put in the thicker the yogurt and I personally love my yogurt thick!

2) Blend in the powder from the probiotic capsules

3) Take 1/2 of the mixture out and set aside.

4) In the blender with 1/2 of the coconut meat mixture, blend the vanilla beans and agave nectar. Place this mixture in a mason jar and cover and put in your dehydrator or a very warm place overnight.

5) With the remaining 1/2, place it back in the blender (hint: if you do the vanilla first, you don't have to clean the blender!) then add the chocolate powder and agave nectar. Add this mixture to another mason jar. This is your chocolate yogurt. Place this mason jar in your dehydrator or a warm place overnight with the other jar.

6) In the morning, refrigerator the jars and THAT'S IT!

A few months ago, I my Easy Peasy Vanilla Yogurt and topped it with shaved coconut, blueberries and Oh Alaska chocolate syrup- yum! The choices are endless and limited only by your imagination!

Easy Peasy Creamy Homemade Coconut Yogurt!

In the past, when I have been craving yogurt, I have either made my Coconut Cream Pudding (see below) or have bought the So Delicious coconut yogurt sold in stores. So, yesterday when we were all having yogurt bowls, I thought, "if I can make my own almond milk, I can certainly try to make my own yogurt!" As are all things that are homemade, it was so creamy and delicious and SOOOOOOO much better than the store-bought variety!

Whether you are trying to eat more dairy-free, are trying to minimize/eliminate the dairy in your childrens' diets or are lactose intollerant, this recipe is so easy and worth trying.

First step is getting all the ingredients you need.

You will need Coconut Meat. You can cheat and buy these great bags of the frozen meat by Exotic Superfoods OR you can purchase 3-4 Thai coconuts at your local health food store or Whole Foods. Watch this short video on How to Open a Coconut.

And, then you will also need:

- 1-2 vanilla beans (approximately 1/2-3/4 tbsp)

- 1/8 cups agave nectar (or more if you like it sweeter)

- healthy splash of vanilla extract

- Coconut or regular filtered water (I used just a bit of coconut yogurt)

Place all of the ingredients except the coconut or regular water and blend. Add water slowly as needed until mixture smooth. At this point if you want you can take part of the mixture aside and have Coconut Cream or Chocolate Pudding (I made both!)

So, here is the coconut pudding (with some delish toppings!). Although the yogurt above doesn't look as white and bright, it is actually just the picture (and the fact that I added more vanilla beans!) Nice thing about this yogurt recipe, is that before you heat up the mixture to make into yogurt, you can put some aside for pudding like this...

And, here is the Chocolate pudding I made from that adding 2 tbsp raw cacao powder and a hint more agave nectar!

Second step: Add in your Probiotics!!!

I used 2 capsules from my favorite probiotics, Innate, by just opening up the capsule and dumping the powder in!

Step 3: Cover mixture and placing in a warm place.

Ideally, this is a dehydrator set at 110 degrees but you can also cover a bowl and place it in either near a warm place such as a space heater or oven OR (and you have to be careful with this) warm up your oven at the lowest temperature possible, open the door for a minute to let the heat escape, turn off the heat and then place the bowl inside the oven to warm it up. (not cook it!!!) The longer you leave it out the more sour and "yogurty" if will taste!

After you take it out of the dehydrator or oven, place it in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy! You will be seeing many concoctions using the homemade yogurt in the days to come!!!