Sensitive to caffeine, but love chocolate? Enter carob. It's not chocolate, but it is naturally sweet, low in fat, contains calcium, and there is absolutely no caffeine. Another benefit of carob is that it contains pectin, which is high in soluble fiber. Besides, chocolate is also linked to migraines.
Carob comes from a pod of a Mediterranean evergreen tree. The pod is slightly sweet and the taste resembles chocolate. The pods are dried and roasted, and the pulp is ground into a powder called carob powder or carob flour. Carob powder can be substituted one for one in place of chocolate in recipes. Carob has been mentioned in the Bible. The carob pods were considered to be the locusts that John the Baptist ate while living in the dessert. The carob tree is sometimes known as a locust tree, or Saint John's Bread tree. We have locust trees here in America related to the carob tree, with long curved brown seed pods that are not edible. The carob tree is about 50 ft tall, and contains hard brown seeds embedded in a sweet, edible pulp with its own special flavor and texture.
Heavenly carob pudding (6 servings)
Ingredients;
- 6 tablespoons of carob powder
- 7 and 1/2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder
- 1/3 cup of honey
- 3 and 1/4 cups of milk
- 3 teaspoons of natural vanilla
Method;
- In a large saucepan, mix together the carob and arrowroot.
- Add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir the mixture until it is smooth.
- Add the honey and the rest of the milk, and cook the mixture over medium heat until it thickens and begins to boil.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Serve warm or cold.
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