Too much refined sugar is bad. Too much fat, particularly saturated fats, are bad. When you put them together, they work synergistically to fuck you up so much more. But everyone zeroing in on the sugar exclusively, pay attention. There are 4 calories in a gram of sugar, and 9 calories in a gram of fat. In one serving that’s 21 grams of sugar times 4, which is 84 calories from sugar. By contrast, even though there is less fat by volume at 12 grams, it still amounts to more calories than the sugar at 108 calories per serving.
And notably only 1 gram of fiber per serving.
I don’t even remember what Nutella tastes like, and even when I did try it I never understood the hype. If I were trying to make a healthy alternative, I would blend together a mix of hazelnuts, walnuts, oats, cocoa, dates, and however much needed water to get the desired consistency. I don’t feel like added fats should be necessary (nuts are already naturally high in fats), but if I wasn’t satisfied with the results, I might try using a little canola or avocado oil. Knowing me, I’d probably squeeze some flax in as well.
That would be healthier, but it’s no wonder you were disappointed with the results. The stickiness of the dates would definitely let you lower the fat content, but replacing all of that with water is going to give a very different texture.
To mimic the texture of the saturated fats, you’d do better to use olive oil or the avocado oil you suggested and store the result in the refrigerator. Both of those solidify at refrigerator temperatures the way the saturated fats do at room temperature - canola doesn’t, so that won’t work as well.
Replacing the powdered milk with oats (which would also help a little with gelling the mixture) is good, but don’t forget to add a pinch of salt that is inherent in cow’s milk but the oats are lacking.
You’ll still not be getting the flavor exactly, but those two substitutions should get you a lot closer and a much more similar texture. The walnuts in particular are definitely going to throw you off though. You could reduce the cocoa powder slightly to make up for the extra bitterness, but they would still add a heavier earthy flavor to the mix that people used to milk rather than dark chocolate probably won’t find appealing.
Too much refined sugar is bad. Too much fat, particularly saturated fats, are bad. When you put them together, they work synergistically to fuck you up so much more. But everyone zeroing in on the sugar exclusively, pay attention. There are 4 calories in a gram of sugar, and 9 calories in a gram of fat. In one serving that’s 21 grams of sugar times 4, which is 84 calories from sugar. By contrast, even though there is less fat by volume at 12 grams, it still amounts to more calories than the sugar at 108 calories per serving.
And notably only 1 gram of fiber per serving.
I don’t even remember what Nutella tastes like, and even when I did try it I never understood the hype. If I were trying to make a healthy alternative, I would blend together a mix of hazelnuts, walnuts, oats, cocoa, dates, and however much needed water to get the desired consistency. I don’t feel like added fats should be necessary (nuts are already naturally high in fats), but if I wasn’t satisfied with the results, I might try using a little canola or avocado oil. Knowing me, I’d probably squeeze some flax in as well.
That would be healthier, but it’s no wonder you were disappointed with the results. The stickiness of the dates would definitely let you lower the fat content, but replacing all of that with water is going to give a very different texture.
To mimic the texture of the saturated fats, you’d do better to use olive oil or the avocado oil you suggested and store the result in the refrigerator. Both of those solidify at refrigerator temperatures the way the saturated fats do at room temperature - canola doesn’t, so that won’t work as well.
Replacing the powdered milk with oats (which would also help a little with gelling the mixture) is good, but don’t forget to add a pinch of salt that is inherent in cow’s milk but the oats are lacking.
You’ll still not be getting the flavor exactly, but those two substitutions should get you a lot closer and a much more similar texture. The walnuts in particular are definitely going to throw you off though. You could reduce the cocoa powder slightly to make up for the extra bitterness, but they would still add a heavier earthy flavor to the mix that people used to milk rather than dark chocolate probably won’t find appealing.