My 5 Favorite Whole Foods Plant-Based Treats for Valentines or Anytime

With Valentines Day around the corner we all need a little treat, don’t you agree? I am a fan of treats just like everyone else, but making treats that taste good and leave me feeling good is like an epic adventure quest! I remember Valentines Day my freshman year at college . . . I was super excited to make my Grandma’s red velvet cake in a heart shape, of course. It also turned out that somehow my bed was littered with Hershey’s kisses that kept finding their way in my mouth along with other treasures that kept appearing that day. Those treats were all tasty but I felt SO sick that night, I could hardly wait to crawl in bed. I am not so good at putting the brakes on which is one reason I appreciate to the healthier options. Here are a few of my favorite treats from around the web that won’t leave you crying uncle after having a few too many. In fact, I notice that I am often more quickly satisfied with these and less prone to keep going back for more:

Whole Food Plant Based Chocolate Cream Pie

Having evolved from a few favorites, this really is my favorite treat right now. Rich, yet naturally sweetened and free of dairy, gluten, and oil it’s a decadent treat you can feel good about and is sure to please everyone.

Raw Brownie Bites

These amazing little combos were the inspiration for my chocolate cream pie filling–one day my husband was in charge of making these for my birthday and kept adding more and more water to get things moving in the blender. Chocolate mousse was born and it has been a favorite treat ever since. But made primarily of walnuts, dates and cocoa, these little bites are far more nutritious than you’d ever guess by the way they taste.

Chocolate Hummus

I may rename this one–hummus doesn’t always conjure up pleasant thoughts for my kids and others. Still working on helping them love hummus, but this hummus is hands down their favorite. We always catch them licking their fingers, licking the serving spoon, licking the bowl . . . you get the picture. It’s super quick and easy and low-cost too, using primarily beans instead of nuts that are so often the star of plant-based desserts. I even feel great about serving it as a snack with apples and usually do at least once a week.

Black Bean Brownies

While we are on the beans, this black bean brownie recipe is the best as far as I am concerned. Do not omit the chocolate chips (and to make refined-sugar free chocolate, see my Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe). I have tried many and this recipe is the one! One of these days I’ll share my Whole Foods Plant-Based Ice Cream that we LOVE to have with these for birthdays and other special occasions.

Vanilla Cashew Cream

A great compliment to any treat or delicious on it’s own, this 4-ingredient Vanilla Cashew Cream comes together in a flash and adds an amazing rich and delicate flavor. Pair this with berries and and/or anything chocolate and you have an amazing combination. One of my favorite combos is to make the Chocolate Mousse used in my Chocolate Cream Pie and and top it with this, berries, toasted almonds or coconut. It’s a rich dessert that a small serving leaves me totally satisfied.