Low Carb, Non Fat Chocolate Mousse

I've been trying to lose some weight, but desserts are always my downfall.  I have heard from a lot of people (and my doctor also recommended) that cutting carbs will help with weight loss.  So I found a book called The Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook in my library system.  This was one of the recipes that really stood out.  I'm sure it wasn't as decadent and delicious as a 'real', fattening chocolate mousse, but it sure hit the spot and satisfied my sweet tooth. Also, if you're cooking for a diabetic, someone who needs to watch what they eat, or you are just looking for healthier options, this recipe is for you!  It was so good that even my children gobbled it down and asked for more the next day!

Here is the simple yet scrumptious recipe!

Low Carb (Non fat) Chocolate Mousse

Serves 4, Serving Size ½ cup

1 (1.4 oz) pkg sugar-free, fat free instant chocolate pudding mix
1 and ¼ cup non fat milk
4 oz fat-free whipped topping (Cool Whip), plus 4 TBS
Cocoa powder
4 strawberries, sliced (optional)

1. In a medium bowl, stir pudding mix into milk and whisk for 2 minutes.
2. Gently fold in 4oz whipped topping.
3. Pour ½ cup mousse into individual serving dishes.
4. Top each with 1 Tbsp whipped topping and dust with cocoa powder. Top with sliced strawberry.

Exchanges/Choices
1 ½ carbohydrate, Calories 120, Total Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 370 mg, Total Carb 24 g, (Fiber 1g, Sugar 8g) Protein 4g

From the book The Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook (pics by me)

This is not the best pic, but I wanted to show how luxuriously creamy, rich and thick this mousse is.  Is your mouth watering yet???  :)

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins

How can something with the words triple chocolate chunk in the title be good for you?  It seems a little too good to be true, doesn't it?  Well, do not despair, because these muffins are extremely delicious and satisfying, yet filled with the wholesome goodness of oats and the protein power of Greek yogurt. Yes, there is the addition of sugar substitute and chocolate chips to this, but anything in moderation is good.

Once again, this is one of those recipes found on Pinterest.  A cute little 16 year old girl hosts a blog here.  The link is no longer available via Pinterest because some users reported it as spam.  I'm not sure what the deal with that is, because it seems like a legit site.  Who knows?  I'm just happy to come across this wonderful recipe, which my 7 year old devoured in 15 seconds flat!

You can see that my muffins didn't rise too much.  It is important to fill up the cups all the way, if you want tall, rounded muffins.

A few tips:

The recipe suggests to use foil cupcake/muffin liners.  My foil liners were lined with paper, so I just used paper liners.  All of my muffins stuck to the paper, and I wasn't able to remove them easily.  (No worries, as neither my son or I have any trouble gobbling up the tiny leftover bits directly from the liners!)  To avoid this, next time I think I will just spray my liners with a little cooking spray, or use silicone baking cups.

So every recipe for muffins/cupcakes that I have ever seen always recommends to fill the cups 3/4ths of the way up.  I did this, and had so much batter left over.  I was able to fill a little six inch silicone mold (which I sprayed, by the way and had no issues getting the mini cake out) and had a nice little cake along with my 12 muffins.  I would recommend filling the muffin cups all the way for nice, tall, rounded muffin tops.

Finally, if you are not on any sugar restricted diet, I would recommend using 1/2 sugar and 1/2 splenda (or even all sugar - which means these will not be healthier anymore).  Although still delicious, there is a slight after taste of the splenda, which I am not accustomed to yet.

Here's the recipe, with some of my changes and tips!

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins (via healthyisalwaysbetter.tumblr.com)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c oats
3 egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar) (I used the vinegar)
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup hot water
1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia OR Regular sugar*
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) mini muffin pans (or one large 12 cup muffin pan) with foil cupcake liners (spray liners with oil spray or use silicone cups also sprayed with oil spray), or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.

Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans, filling all the way to the top of liner.

Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.

Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!

Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!

Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per large Muffin or 58 Calories Per mini Muffin *The calorie count will change if you use regular sugar.

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Yesterday I mentioned how much I love Pinterest.  This recipe is proof of that love!  I am also in love with Chocolate Covered Katie and her healthy dessert blog.  First of all, I love dessert.  Second of all, they are healthier (but still 'oh so good').  What's not to love?

This chocolate covered pie uses garbanzo beans or navy beans. (I used the garbanzos).  At first there is such a distinct smell to the beans that you wonder, is this going to smell like this when it's cooked?  No.  It smells divine, just like a deep dish cookie pie should!  Even though it was healthy, even though my children saw the beans going in, they begged to have more at every meal until the pie was finally all gone.  That is also proof of how good something healthier (when done right) can be!

Now, I'm saying healthier, and not healthy. This is not diet food, people.  There is still sugar (although I replaced half of the brown sugar that is called for with splenda), and chocolate chips and chocolate sauce or ice cream at the end.  But the flour is replaced by beans which will provide protein, fiber, iron, manganese, and folate.  All that from a dessert!  So without any further delay or description, here is the recipe!

Deep - Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

(recipe, adapted slightly from Chocolatecoveredkatie.com)

2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) (500g total, once drained)
1 cup quick oats (or certified-gf quick oats)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 T canola oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (You can sub evaporated cane juice or white sugar). I used 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 regular splenda)
1 cup chocolate chips

Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a good food processor (not a blender). Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan (I used a 10-inch springform pan, but you can use a smaller pan if you want a reallydeep-dish pie.) Cook at 350F for around 35-40 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.